OpenHelm

A local-first macOS desktop app that turns high-level goals into scheduled, self-correcting Claude Code jobs.

Download

Don't want to build from source? Download the latest release directly:

→ Download OpenHelm at openhelm.ai

Pre-built, signed, and notarized DMGs for Apple Silicon are available there — no Rust toolchain required.

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Prerequisites

Tool	Version
Node.js	20+
Rust	1.77+
Xcode CLT	Latest
Claude Code	2.0+ (subscription required)

No Anthropic API key needed. All AI operations (planning, assessment, summarisation) route through your existing Claude Code subscription via the CLI.

Setup

npm install
cd agent && npm run build && cd ..
cd agent && npx drizzle-kit generate && cd ..
chmod +x src-tauri/binaries/agent-aarch64-apple-darwin

Development

npx tauri dev

This starts the Vite dev server (port 1420), compiles the Rust shell, and launches the agent sidecar.

Testing

npm test              # Run all tests (agent + UI)
npm run test:agent    # Run agent tests only
npm run test:ui       # Run frontend tests only

Agent tests use real SQLite databases in temporary directories. Frontend tests use jsdom with mocked Tauri APIs.

Architecture

• src/ — React frontend (Vite + Tailwind CSS 4 + shadcn/ui)
  • src/components/layout/ — AppShell, Sidebar with project selector
  • src/components/onboarding/ — 4-step onboarding wizard (Welcome → Claude Code detection → First project → Complete)
  • src/components/goals/ — Goals screen, goal cards, goal creation sheet
  • src/components/jobs/ — Jobs table with detail panel, manual job creation
  • src/components/runs/ — Runs table, run detail panel, virtualized log viewer
  • src/components/settings/ — Settings screen (Claude Code path, execution, app, license)
  • src/components/shared/ — Status badges, empty states, skeletons, error banner
  • src/stores/ — Zustand stores (app, project, goal, job, run)
  • src/hooks/ — useAgentEvent, useRunLogs
  • src/lib/api.ts — Typed wrapper over all IPC calls
• src-tauri/ — Tauri Rust shell (thin wrapper, macOS plugins: autostart, notification, dialog, updater)
• agent/ — Node.js background agent (sidecar)
  • agent/src/db/ — Drizzle schema, migrations, query layer
  • agent/src/ipc/ — IPC server, domain handlers, typed error mapping
  • agent/src/claude-code/ — ClaudeCodeRunner, detector, stream parser, print-mode wrapper
  • agent/src/scheduler/ — 1-minute tick scheduler, priority queue
  • agent/src/executor/ — Worker pool, process lifecycle, preflight checks
  • agent/src/planner/ — Goal assessment, plan generation, plan commit, prompt assessment
• shared/ — IPC type contract shared between frontend and agent
• .github/workflows/ — CI (lint, test, build check) and Release (sign, notarize, DMG)
• docs/ — PRD, implementation plan, competitor research

See docs/prd.md for the full product requirements.

License

OpenHelm is licensed under the Business Source License 1.1 (BSL 1.1).

Free for:

• Individual personal use
• Students and educational institutions
• Non-profit organisations
• Companies with total annual gross revenue under USD $1,000,000

Commercial license required for production use by businesses above that revenue threshold. Contact ahoy@openhelm.ai.

Conversion: On January 1, 2029, this license automatically converts to the Apache License 2.0, making the code fully open source.

See the LICENSE file for full terms.