bb

bb is an open-source agentic IDE built by Michael Yong and the get-bb organization, designed to control, customize, and automate itself as a foundation for building your own software factory. It is MIT-licensed, local-first, and runs on your machine using the AI provider subscriptions you already pay for. The project is in active development with a stable core architecture, and the latest desktop release is version 0.37.0.

What It Is

bb positions itself as "the IDE that builds itself" — an agentic development environment where almost any surface (desktop app, web app, CLI, and HTTP API) is a first-class way to drive AI agents. Work runs in threads that users can follow live, steer at any point, or hand off to another agent. Rather than locking users into a single AI model, bb acts as a multi-agent orchestration layer that brings Claude Code, OpenAI Codex, Cursor, Pi, OpenCode, Grok, oh-my-posh, Hermes Agent, and more into a single unified workspace.

Multi-Agent Orchestration Model

One of bb's defining characteristics is its support for running multiple AI agents simultaneously, each in its own thread. Users can assign tasks to whichever agent fits best, and agents can spawn and manage other agents. Crucially, each agent runs on the user's own provider subscription — billed directly by the provider, not by bb. This means bb itself is free to use, and the cost of AI compute stays with the user's existing accounts.

Supported agents and integrations listed on the homepage include:

• Claude / Claude Code
• OpenAI Codex
• Cursor
• Pi
• OpenCode
• Grok
• oh-my-posh (omp)
• Hermes Agent
• And 5+ more

Extensibility and Self-Customization

bb's extensibility model is a core differentiator. The homepage states that "almost anything in bb can be changed in a single prompt" — users can ask for a task tracker and bb will create a sidebar panel, a CLI command, and a skill that teaches every agent to use it. The GitHub integration, agent memory, scheduled jobs, and remote access are all implemented as plugins using the same tools available to users. The platform is designed so that nothing prevents users from building their ideal workbench.

Deployment and Platform Support

bb is local-first and runs on the user's own machine. The desktop app supports macOS on Apple Silicon (arm64) and Intel (x64). Linux users can run bb via npx bb-app@latest. Windows users are directed to run bb inside WSL2 (Windows Subsystem for Linux). An early-adopter nightly build is also available alongside the stable desktop app. The CLI and HTTP API are first-class interfaces alongside the desktop and web app, and bb can be accessed remotely over Tailscale.

The repository is a TypeScript monorepo. bb uses native add-ons including better-sqlite3 and @parcel/watcher. Telemetry is anonymous (app starts, thread counts, message counts) with no user, host, project, or message content attached, and can be opted out via BB_TELEMETRY=false.

Update: bb Desktop 0.37.0

The latest release as of the available data is bb desktop 0.37.0, published on August 12, 2026. The changelog entry for this version is highlighted on the homepage as "A much faster mobile app." The GitHub repository shows active development with the last push on August 14, 2026, 1,883 stars, and 207 forks. The README notes that "core architecture is stable, but workflows and surfaces are still evolving," signaling that bb is production-usable but still iterating rapidly on its surface areas.

Open-Source Deployment Model

bb is MIT-licensed end to end. The homepage explicitly invites users to fork the repo, customize agents, tools, and UI, and deploy their own build across an entire organization. The project runs local-first on user machines, meaning there is no bb-hosted cloud dependency for core functionality. This makes it suitable for teams with strict data-residency or security requirements who want full control over their agentic development environment.