CodeWhisper

An AI-powered coding interview coach that guides your thinking — never gives you the answer.

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Description

CodeWhisper is a native desktop overlay application for developers who want to get genuinely better at coding interviews — not just memorize solutions. It sits on top of your screen while you tackle LeetCode, HackerRank, or any interview problem, reads the problem via OCR, and coaches you using the Socratic method: asking targeted questions that push you toward the solution yourself rather than handing it to you.

Instead of copy-pasting hints from a blog post or watching someone walk through the solution, CodeWhisper acts as a mentor sitting next to you — probing your thinking, surfacing what you already know, and escalating guidance only when you're truly stuck. The result is real understanding, not pattern-matching.

Built with Tauri 2.0, CodeWhisper runs locally and privately. Your code sessions and conversation history stay on your machine. Only your API calls to Claude leave the device.

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Features

• Always-on-top overlay — floats over your browser or IDE; collapses to a small bubble when not in use
• Screen capture + OCR — reads the problem text directly from your screen via Tesseract; no copy-paste needed
• Socratic AI coaching — powered by Claude API; guides you with questions rather than answers
• 4-level hint ladder — escalating hints from a subtle nudge all the way to pseudocode structure
• Algorithm pattern library — 10 built-in patterns (sliding window, two pointers, BFS/DFS, dynamic programming, etc.) with explanations and examples
• Session history — every coaching session and message stored locally via SQLite
• Freemium model — 3 free sessions to try it out, then unlock unlimited access via Stripe

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Tech Stack

Layer	Technology
Desktop framework	Tauri 2.0
Backend	Rust
Frontend	React 18 + TypeScript
Build tool	Vite 5
Styling	Tailwind CSS 3
State management	Zustand 5
AI coaching	Claude API (Anthropic)
OCR	Tesseract via rusty-tesseract
Local database	SQLite via SQLx
Auth	Supabase
Payments	Stripe (via Supabase Edge Functions)

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Getting Started

Prerequisites

• Rust (stable): https://rustup.rs
• Node.js 18+: https://nodejs.org
• Tauri CLI: included in devDependencies, installed via npm install
• Tesseract (macOS):

brew install tesseract

Install & Run

# Clone the repo
git clone https://github.com/your-username/codewhisper.git
cd CodeWhisper

# Install JS dependencies
npm install

# Copy and fill in environment variables
cp .env.example .env
# Edit .env with your Supabase credentials

# Run in development mode (opens the desktop overlay)
npm run tauri:dev

# Build for production
npm run tauri:build

Environment Variables

VITE_SUPABASE_URL=your_supabase_project_url
VITE_SUPABASE_ANON_KEY=your_supabase_anon_key

Your Anthropic API key is entered directly in the app's Settings panel and stored locally — it is never sent to any backend other than the Claude API itself.

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First Use

1. Launch the app — it appears as a floating overlay on your screen
2. Click the hexagon icon to expand the panel
3. Open Settings and paste your Anthropic API key
4. Open a LeetCode problem in your browser
5. In the Problem tab, click Capture Screen to auto-read the problem via OCR
6. Switch to the Coach tab and start the conversation — or step through the Hints tab for structured guidance

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Hint Ladder

The hint system is designed to give you the minimum help you actually need.

Level	Name	What it gives you
1	Nudge	A Socratic question about constraints or edge cases
2	Pattern Hint	Hints at the algorithm category without naming it
3	Approach Hint	Names the pattern and asks how you'd apply it
4	Pseudocode	Gives structural scaffolding — never actual code

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How It Works

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                    Your Screen                              │
│  ┌──────────────────────┐    ┌──────────────────────────┐  │
│  │  LeetCode / Browser  │    │   CodeWhisper Overlay    │  │
│  │                      │    │  ┌────────────────────┐  │  │
│  │  Two Sum             │───▶│  │  Problem (OCR'd)   │  │  │
│  │  Given an array...   │    │  │  Coach / Hints     │  │  │
│  │                      │    │  │  Pattern Library   │  │  │
│  └──────────────────────┘    │  └────────────────────┘  │  │
│                              └──────────────────────────┘  │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
         Screenshot ──▶ Tesseract OCR ──▶ Claude API

1. You open a coding problem in your browser
2. CodeWhisper takes a screenshot and extracts the text via Tesseract OCR (local, no cloud)
3. The problem text is sent to Claude with a Socratic coaching system prompt
4. Claude responds with questions, not answers — and escalates only when you ask for a hint
5. Your conversation and session are saved locally to SQLite

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Architecture

CodeWhisper/
├── src/                         # React + TypeScript frontend
│   ├── components/
│   │   ├── Overlay/             # Window shell (TitleBar, TabBar, CollapsedBubble)
│   │   ├── ChatPanel/           # AI coach conversation UI
│   │   ├── ProblemPanel/        # Problem input + OCR trigger + AI analysis
│   │   ├── HintPanel/           # 4-level hint ladder
│   │   ├── PatternLibrary/      # 10 built-in algorithm patterns
│   │   ├── Session/             # Session history viewer
│   │   ├── Auth/                # Settings modal (API key, license key)
│   │   └── Subscription/        # Upgrade prompt / paywall UI
│   └── stores/                  # Zustand state (appStore, sessionStore)
├── src-tauri/                   # Rust backend (Tauri 2.0)
│   └── src/commands/
│       ├── screen.rs            # Screenshot capture + OCR via Tesseract
│       ├── claude.rs            # Claude API streaming integration
│       └── database.rs          # SQLite session/message CRUD via SQLx
└── supabase/
    └── functions/               # Supabase Edge Functions
        ├── create-checkout/     # Stripe checkout session creation
        ├── stripe-webhook/      # Stripe webhook handler + license activation
        └── get-license/         # License key validation

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Pricing

Plan	Price	Sessions
Free	$0	3 sessions
Pro	$9 / month	Unlimited
Lifetime	$79 one-time	Unlimited, forever

After purchase, enter your license key in Settings → License to unlock unlimited sessions.

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Roadmap

• Audio capture — listen to verbal problem descriptions (system audio loopback via cpal)
• Whisper transcription — convert audio to text locally via whisper-rs
• Auto-update — in-app updates via Tauri's updater plugin
• Windows support — currently macOS only
• Mock interview mode — timed sessions with performance feedback

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Contributing

Pull requests are welcome. For major changes, open an issue first to discuss what you'd like to change.

# Run frontend only (no Rust build needed)
npm run dev

# Run full app with Rust backend
npm run tauri:dev

# Type-check frontend
npx tsc --noEmit

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License

MIT — see LICENSE for details.