[!WARNING]
Beta software: BetterC0de is an early beta release. Bugs, crashes, incomplete features, and breaking changes are normal and expected. Save your work, review changes before running them, and report problems through GitHub Issues.
Download the current beta installers from the GitHub Releases page. GitHub Packages does not contain the desktop installers.
Meet your workspace
BetterC0de is a desktop AI coding environment. It brings coding assistants such as Claude Code, OpenAI Codex, Cursor Agent, and Grok into a shared workspace with an editor, terminal, Git tools, and browser previews.
Open a project, choose an available provider, and describe what you want to build. Keep the conversation next to your files, inspect the results, and review the changes before you commit them.
Three ways to work
| Mode | Make room for what matters |
|---|
| Editor | Work directly with files, search your project, inspect changes, and keep an AI conversation beside your code. |
| Agent | Focus on conversations and tasks. Arrange panes so chats, terminals, plans, and diffs are easy to reach. |
| Canvas | Arrange projects on a visual canvas with live previews and runtime information. Explore how your work looks across screen sizes. |
Built around your workflow
- Bring your preferred agents. Connect supported coding tools and choose from the providers and models available to your setup.
- Keep context close. Work with project files, conversations, terminals, and changes in the same app.
- Work side by side. Keep several conversations visible and organize the workspace around the task.
- See what you are building. Use browser previews, select page elements, and send visual feedback to your agent.
- Review with confidence. Inspect staged and unstaged changes through the Git and Diff views.
- Make it your own. Adjust appearance, panel layouts, and separate windows to suit your working style.
Download
BetterC0de is free during the beta. The GitHub Releases page contains the installer files and update metadata for each version. Select the newest beta, expand Assets, and choose your platform.
Open source as of 21 September 2026. The full source is in this repository under the MIT License. Beta installers are below.
Not sure which Mac you have? Open About This Mac — an "Apple M…" chip means Apple Silicon. Or just use betterc0de.com/download, which picks the right build for your system.
Installing a beta build
BetterC0de installers are not code-signed, so your operating system warns before the first launch:
- Windows: SmartScreen shows "Windows protected your PC". Choose More info → Run anyway. Unsigned Windows builds do not update themselves: they show a new version with a download link under Settings → General → Updates, and you install it by running its installer.
- macOS: open the
.dmg and drag BetterC0de to Applications. If macOS blocks the first launch, open System Settings → Privacy & Security and choose Open Anyway. If it reports that the app is damaged, run xattr -dr com.apple.quarantine /Applications/BetterC0de.app in Terminal.
- Linux: install the
.deb with sudo apt install ./betterc0de_<version>_amd64.deb or the .rpm with sudo dnf install ./betterc0de-<version>.x86_64.rpm. Either one installs the libraries the app needs. For the AppImage, run chmod +x BetterC0de-<version>.AppImage first.
Each release lists SHA-256 checksums of its files in SHA256SUMS.txt. Known problems of each version are in the changelog. For 0.1.0-beta.2, the Apple Silicon download contains the Intel build, which runs through Rosetta 2.
Start here
- Download BetterC0de for your platform.
- Install BetterC0de and connect a supported AI provider.
- Open a project folder and start your first conversation. For Agent mode, trust the folder first under Settings → Permissions → Trust project.
- Review the resulting files and changes in your workspace.
Follow the getting-started guide for a walkthrough without terminal commands.
Explore the guides
| Guide | What you will find |
|---|
| Getting started | Installation, provider setup, your first task, and troubleshooting. |
| How BetterC0de works | Workspace concepts, everyday workflows, and diagnostic data. |
| Brand guide | The name, logo, visual direction, and reusable product descriptions. |
| Contributing | Setup, code conventions, CI, and the UI/theme contribution guide. |
Build from source
The application source, mobile companion, tests and build tools are all in this repository. INSTALL.md has the full walkthrough and troubleshooting; this is the short version.
Requirements
| Tool | Version | Notes |
|---|
| Node.js | 22.23.2 (pinned in .nvmrc) | Releases are built with exactly this version. Node 22.15 or newer and Node 24 are also supported for development. |
| npm | 10.9 or newer | Node 22.23.2 includes npm 10.9.8. |
| Git | 2.x | Several build steps read repository metadata. |
| Python | 3.10 or newer | Only used by node-gyp when a native module has no prebuilt binary. |
| C/C++ build tools | see below | Same condition as Python. |
Operating-system specifics:
- Windows 10/11, 64-bit: Visual Studio 2022 Build Tools (or newer) with the Desktop development with C++ workload. For example:
winget install Microsoft.VisualStudio.2022.BuildTools and select that workload.
- macOS 12 or newer: Xcode Command Line Tools (
xcode-select --install). Build on a Mac with the architecture you want to package.
- Linux (x64):
sudo apt-get install -y build-essential python3 (Debian/Ubuntu) or sudo dnf install -y gcc-c++ make python3 (Fedora). node-pty has no prebuilt Linux binary, so the compiler is always needed. Packaging additionally needs rpm (for rpmbuild) and xvfb (for the packaged-app smoke test): sudo apt-get install -y rpm xvfb.
No global npm packages are needed. TypeScript, Electron, electron-builder and every other tool come from the lockfile. Docker is optional: when available, release:check also tests the .rpm in a Fedora container.
Install
git clone https://github.com/kerim0x1/bettercode.git
cd bettercode
nvm use # or: fnm use / mise use / volta — anything that reads .nvmrc
npm ci # exact versions from package-lock.json; also installs the git hooks
npm run dev # backend, Vite and Electron with hot reload
On Windows, run the same commands in PowerShell. On macOS and Linux, ./setup.sh checks the Node and npm versions and then runs the same install.
Setup
No .env file or account is needed to build, test or start the app. Optional environment variables, such as a separate profile directory or forcing the usage ping and crash reports off, are listed in .env.example. Set them in the shell that starts the app. Development data lives in ~/.betterc0de-dev; installed builds use ~/.betterc0de. To use AI features, connect a provider in Settings → Providers.
Commands
| Command | What it does |
|---|
npm run dev | Development app with the schema and backend watchers, Vite and Electron. |
npm run verify:source | Fast source gate: versions, type-checks, format check, lint and all test suites. |
npm test / npm run test:backend / npm run test:mobile / npm run test:packaging | One test suite. |
npm run lint / npm run typecheck | Lint, or type-check the UI (typecheck:backend, typecheck:shell and typecheck:mobile cover the rest). |
npm run format:check / npm run format:changed | Check or apply Prettier on the TS/TSX files you changed. |
npm run build | Production build of the backend and renderer, with bundle budgets. |
npm run build:win / build:mac / build:linux | Installers for the current OS in release/, through release:check's package, packaged-app launch and installer steps. Naming another OS fails. |
npm run release:check | The release gate. Clean install → versions → format → lint → type-check → tests → production build → phone app builds and device tests → package → launch the packaged app → installers → install/launch/uninstall test. Exits non-zero on the first failure. |
npm run release:check -- --list shows the steps. Locally, the install/uninstall test is skipped because it would change your machine (and replace an installed BetterC0de); CI runs it on clean runners. Pass --installer-smoke to run it anyway.
Releasing
- Merge a change into
main with an accurate entry under Unreleased in CHANGELOG.md.
- After CI passes, Automatic release prepares the next shared version and changelog section in a tagged release commit. The protected
main branch remains unchanged.
- The Release workflow checks Linux, Windows and both Mac architectures again, then publishes the GitHub release only when every platform passed.
The release checklist covers recovery and manual tagging. Releases are unsigned by decision; code signing explains what that means for users.
Troubleshooting
npm ci fails with EPERM/EBUSY on Windows: a running npm run dev, Vite server or BetterC0de window holds files in node_modules. Stop them and run npm ci again.gyp ERR! or a missing compiler during npm ci: install the build tools listed above, then rerun npm ci.release:check stops at preflight: it names the missing tool (for example xvfb-run or rpmbuild on Linux) or the wrong Node version, and prints the command that fixes it.- Format check failed: run
npm run format:changed, review the diff and commit it.
- Native module or ABI errors after switching Node versions: delete
node_modules and run npm ci.
More cases, including registry/DNS failures and backend start-up timeouts, are in INSTALL.md.
Contribute
Read Contributing, Security and the third-party notices before submitting changes or distributing a build. The development guide covers the repository layout and architecture.
BetterC0de source is released under the MIT License. Third-party terms stay with their owners; see third-party notices.
Sponsorship & partnerships
You can sponsor BetterC0de with contributions starting at $500 USD. Please read our partnership guidelines before contacting us.
Stay connected
Visit betterc0de.com for product information, join the Discord community, or read the terms and data information.
BetterC0de is in beta and was open-sourced on 21 September 2026. Available installers and features may vary by release. AI provider access, usage limits, and billing depend on the provider you connect. Automatic crash reports and a usage ping are available but off unless you turn them on in Settings → General → Privacy & Diagnostics; see Diagnostics and data.
