Hoverwing
A desktop IDE for coding agents that holds every edit for your review.
Run Claude Code, Gemini CLI, your own API key or a local model in your project.
Hoverwing shows what the agent plans, asks before it runs anything risky, keeps its
file changes until you accept them and saves a checkpoint before every turn.
Website · Download · Quick start · Features ·
Limitations · Security · Development · Contributing
Early (version 0.9) and looking for testers: try it on a real project and
tell us what was unclear.
▶ Hoverwing in 34 seconds · made with AI (Claude Code and a video skill); the screens are the real app
Formerly called Kestrel (renamed in October 2026). Not related to other projects named Kestrel.
Why Hoverwing?
Coding agents are powerful, and they work on your files, run commands and read your
secrets if you let them. Hoverwing is not another AI: it is the cockpit around the
AI you already use.
- 🛡️ Nothing risky happens silently. Writes, commands, browser and MCP access
ask first. Secret files (
.env, keys, .ssh) are always blocked.
- 🔍 Every change is reviewable. Accept or reject agent edits per file or per
hunk, and jump back to any checkpoint before an agent turn.
- 📦 Optional Docker sandbox. Run an agent in a hardened container that only sees
your project.
- 🔌 Bring your own AI. Agents via the Agent Client Protocol, any OpenAI-compatible
endpoint (OpenRouter …) or local models with Ollama and llama.cpp. No account, no
middleman, no telemetry.
Quick start
- Install the file for your system from Download.
- Open a folder (Open folder … on the welcome page, or
Ctrl+O / Cmd+O).
- Pick an agent in the agent panel on the right (Claude Code and Gemini CLI are
included), click Start and confirm the command line once. Sign in inside the
agent the way you normally do (for Claude Code: run
claude and /login in a
terminal); Hoverwing never sees those credentials.
- Ask for a change, e.g. “add input validation to the signup form”.
What you get: the agent's plan and tool calls in the panel, a question before every
command it wants to run, and its edits under Changes, where you accept or reject
them. Nothing is written to disk before you accept (with Review changes on, the
default for new agents). Checkpoints at the bottom of the panel undo a whole turn.
No agent? Add an OpenRouter key or a local model under Models and use the
built-in chat; the setup assistant (command palette → Setup assistant) checks your
hardware and installs Ollama.
Features
Bring your own AI
| You have … | Use it in Hoverwing as |
|---|
| Claude Code, Gemini CLI, other ACP | Agent – templates included; log in inside the agent itself (Hoverwing never touches your credentials) |
| An OpenRouter / OpenAI-style key | Provider for chat and autocompletion – keys live only in the system keychain |
| A local model | Ollama or llama.cpp – the setup assistant installs and configures Ollama for you |
| MCP servers | MCP manager – Hoverwing proxies their tools to agents, with a permission level per tool |
Download
Get the newest version from Releases:
| System | File | First start |
|---|
| Windows 10/11 (x64) | Hoverwing-Setup-<version>.exe | SmartScreen may warn (not code-signed yet): More info → Run anyway |
| macOS (Apple Silicon) | Hoverwing-<version>-arm64.dmg | Not notarized: open once, then System Settings → Privacy & Security → Open Anyway |
| Linux (x64) | Hoverwing-<version>-x86_64.AppImage | chmod +x Hoverwing-*.AppImage, then start it |
Releases up to 0.9.1 still carry the old name (Kestrel-…). Picking model, effort and
mode per agent, and the GitHub sign-in, arrive with the next release.
The Windows installer lets you choose the folder and creates desktop and start-menu
shortcuts. Installed apps on Windows and Linux check for new versions on start and
offer the update in the status bar (macOS needs a signed build for that) – nothing
is downloaded without your click (switch it off with
Turn off automatic update check in the command palette). Settings, keys and
checkpoints survive updates and uninstalling. What the app connects to, and when,
is listed in PRIVACY.md.
This is the beginning of the README. Read the rest at the original. Read the full README ↗
