engineering / agent

ZCode

An AI coding workbench with a desktop app, a browser interface and a terminal agent, with source for the client, backend and agent CLI.

Repository owner zai-org

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Published 11 Oct 2026Listing updated 12 Oct 2026

At a glance

Purpose: An AI coding workbench with a desktop app, a browser interface and a terminal agent, with source for the client, backend and agent CLI.
Runs in: Local agent with shell, Web service
Operating systems: macOS, Linux, Windows
Needs: Runtime: Node.js 24.14.0; Needs internet: Yes; Needs accounts or API keys beyond your agent: Not stated
Files and data: Reads files: Not stated; Writes files: Yes; Sends data to other services: Yes
Tool type: Agent
Delivery: From GitHub
Version: Latest on the main branch
Access: Code on GitHub
Compatibility: According to the README, ZCode offers a desktop app built on Electron, a web interface and a terminal interface. The README says the desktop bundle command supports the operating systems mac, win and linux and the architectures x64 and arm64, with macOS arm64 as the default target. The README says the command-line install script puts the runtime under ~/.zcode/runtime and a zcode command in ~/.local/bin by default. The README describes remote projects over SSH and WSL. It refers to a provider configuration file but does not name model providers.
External costs: The repository metadata states an Apache-2.0 licence. The README gives no pricing and does not name model providers or subscription plans. The README points to NOTICE.md for the scope of features and offers. Your coding agent or model provider may charge for usage.
Permissions: The README says pnpm bootstrap installs workspace dependencies, prepares local desktop resources and builds bootstrap packages. The README says desktop development starts Electron and source watchers, and uses production service configuration by default; pnpm dev:desktop:test selects the test environment. The README says the CLI installer downloads a runtime into ~/.zcode/runtime and creates a command in ~/.local/bin by default, with ZCODE_DIST_HOME and ZCODE_DIST_BIN_DIR changing those locations. The README gives a sudo command to remove the macOS quarantine attribute from a locally built app. The README says web mode listens on 127.0.0.1 without an access token by default, generates a token for non-local listening, and allows token authentication to be disabled with --no-token. The README says remote development uploads resources over SFTP to SSH or WSL projects. The README points to NOTICE.md for execution and data risks.
Usage terms: Apache License 2.0, as stated in the repository. See its LICENSE file for the exact terms. The README also points to NOTICE.md for licence and third-party copyright notes.
Interface: desktop

Code on GitHub

zai-org/ZCode

Apache-2.0

TypeScript7,724 stars2,369 forksLast pushed 10 Oct 2026 UTC

Z.ai's coding agent harness. Powerful, intelligent, extensible.

Public GitHub data fetched 13 Oct 2026 UTC · 0 days old

View on GitHub ↗

What it does

The Chinese README describes ZCode as an AI programming workbench with a desktop app, browser interface and terminal agent. The README says the repository contains client, backend, shared UI, agent CLI and runtime source.

The README says zcode without arguments opens the terminal interface and zcode --web starts the web interface, with both modes running locally without Electron. The README says web mode uses the current directory as its workspace and listens on 127.0.0.1 by default. The README describes the desktop app as using Electron.

The README points to UI_PLUGIN.md for UI plugin development, including an Excalidraw canvas collaboration example.

Who it is for

Developers who want to run or build the ZCode desktop app, web interface or terminal agent from source.

Example tasks

Start the terminal interface by running zcode with no arguments.
Start the web interface for a project with zcode --web --workspace /path/to/project --port 3030 --no-open.
Run the desktop app in development with pnpm dev:desktop.
Bundle the desktop app for macOS, Windows or Linux with pnpm bundle:desktop.
Read the UI Plugin guide to start developing a UI plugin.

Getting started

According to the README, install Git, Node.js and pnpm, then run pnpm bootstrap from the repository root. For development, run pnpm dev:desktop for the desktop app, pnpm dev:web for the web interface, or pnpm --filter @zcode/cli dev for the terminal agent from source. To build the command-line package, set a download base URL and run pnpm build:zcode. The README says its install script puts the runtime in a user folder and creates a zcode command. For a desktop package, run pnpm bundle:desktop. The README has the exact commands.

Limitations

The README is written in Chinese, and the repository also has an English README file named README.en.md. According to the README, you need Git, Node.js and pnpm at the versions set in mise.toml, and the command-line release still needs Node.js to run. The README says local desktop builds are unsigned, so macOS may block the first launch, and it gives a sudo command that removes the quarantine attribute from the app. The README says packaging and signing need the tools and configuration for the target platform. The README says building the command-line package requires a download base URL and its example address is a placeholder. The README says remote workspaces over SSH or WSL need an extra preparation step. The README points to NOTICE.md for the scope of features and offers, maintenance rules, execution and data risks, and licence and third-party copyright notes. The repository can change at any time; check its README before you install.

Data practices

According to the README, the terminal and web modes run on your machine, and application data is written under a .zcode folder inside the base directory, which ZCODE_DATA_BASE_DIR can change. The README says the web development server proxies the OAuth token request to the currently configured product service. It says installing the new command-line release does not delete the old Lite folder or migrate or delete existing session data. The README does not describe telemetry or where prompts go, and it points to NOTICE.md for execution and data risks.