ADE

ADE is an open-source, local-first desktop application that unifies every major AI coding agent — Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, Factory Droid, and OpenCode — into one native workspace. Built by Arul Sharma and licensed under AGPL-3.0, it runs on macOS and iOS (via TestFlight), with a terminal-native TUI called ade code. The project is free forever and requires users to bring their own API keys or agent subscriptions.

What It Is

ADE sits in the category of AI coding assistants and multi-agent orchestration environments. Its core job is to eliminate the context-switching and copy-paste overhead that comes from running multiple AI coding tools in separate windows. Every agent runs against the same git worktree, with live diffs, approval gates, and PR management — all without leaving the app. The architecture is local-first: a persistent "brain" process runs on the user's machine, and desktop, terminal, and iOS clients attach to it as thin clients.

How the Worktree Model Works

The central organizing concept in ADE is the git worktree, called a "lane." Each task gets its own isolated branch and worktree — its own checkout, terminals, ports, and history — so multiple agents can work in parallel without stashing or rebasing conflicts. Key behaviors:

• Spin up a branch and worktree in a single action from the UI or CLI
• Stack worktrees on a dependency graph; rebase when parent branches land
• The same lane list appears in the terminal, desktop app, and iOS companion simultaneously

Multi-Surface Architecture

ADE's "brain" is an always-on, machine-owned process that owns the project catalog, sync websocket, and executor authority. Desktop (Electron), ade code (terminal TUI), and ADE Mobile (SwiftUI on iOS) all attach to it as clients. Runtime state lives under .ade/ inside each project as a SQLite database, with machine-wide state under ~/.ade. This design means a task started on macOS is immediately visible on iOS, and a diff can be approved from a phone while another agent runs tests on the Mac.

Agent Chat and Grid View

The agent chat surface lets users pick any supported agent — Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, OpenCode, or Factory Droid — from a single prompt box. Grid view tiles multiple agent runs side by side so they can be watched in parallel. Messages, tool calls, and "computer-use proofs" sync to every connected screen. A subagent feature lets one lead agent dispatch a fleet of worker agents and track each one live.

Built-in Tooling Beyond Chat

ADE includes a full set of IDE-adjacent tabs beyond agent chat:

• PR management: Open, review, diff, and merge pull requests in-app; auto-merge when CI is green
• Built-in browser: Shared browser pane for web QA, element inspection, and proof capture
• Remote runtimes: Point ADE at a remote machine and run agents there with full tool access
• Linear integration: Pull issues, move them through states, and link PRs without leaving ADE
• Cron automations: Schedule recurring agent tasks
• ade CLI: Full command-line access to lanes, PRs, tests, actions, and brain management

Update: v1.2.40

The latest release is v1.2.40, published on 2026-07-28, according to the GitHub repository. The project has been actively developed since its creation in February 2026, with frequent releases. The homepage references v1.1.12 in a catalog label, while the GitHub releases page shows v1.2.40 as the current stable build. Windows support is noted as paused in the README — the Windows build pipeline exists but is commented out, with the project shipping macOS-only releases for now. iOS is available via TestFlight.