Waku is a free, open-source native desktop app for working with AI coding agents within a single project workspace. You can keep Claude Code on a refactor, open Codex for a second task, and return to either session without losing its transcript or provider context.
The app drives coding agents that are already installed and authenticated on your device. It supports most major CLI coding agents like Amp, Claude Code, Codex CLI, Cursor CLI, Grok Build, OpenCode, and Pi.
Each agent keeps its own structured protocol and session continuity, while Waku organizes projects, sessions, tool activity, and checkpoints in one native desktop app.
How Waku Organizes Multiple Coding Agents
A Waku project can hold several independent agent sessions. One session can stay with a Claude Code refactor while another uses Codex to investigate a test failure. OpenCode, Cursor, Grok Build, Amp, or Pi can take on other tasks without sharing the same conversation.
Waku connects to each agent via its native structured protocol while preserving the provider’s session behavior. The desktop then presents those sessions under the same project, along with transcripts, tool activity, model controls, reasoning settings, and access modes where the provider exposes them.
Rewind Code and Conversation to the Same Point
Git-aware rewind is the feature that changes how Waku handles longer agent tasks.
Every prompt creates a checkpoint for the working tree under a hidden Git ref. If an agent takes a refactor, dependency upgrade, or implementation in the wrong direction, Waku can restore the code and the corresponding provider conversation together.
That avoids a common mismatch in agent workflows. Reverting only the files leaves the conversation several steps ahead of the repository. Restarting only the conversation loses the state that produced the current code. Waku keeps those two histories aligned.
Queue or Redirect Work While an Agent Is Busy
An agent does not need to finish its current turn before you prepare the next instruction.
Waku can queue follow-up messages and can steer an active turn when new information changes the task. On macOS, Command + N starts a session, Return queues a follow-up, Command + Return steers the running agent, and Escape stops the current work.
This is useful during tasks that reveal information as they progress. If a test fails midway through a refactor, the next message can address that failure without opening another conversation or waiting to rebuild the context later.
What Waku Stores Locally
Waku keeps its project state on the machine running the Waku daemon. Projects, sessions, transcripts, provider session IDs, task data, attachments, workspace files, and Git operations belong to that local environment.
The connected coding agent has its own data boundary. Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, Grok Build, Amp, OpenCode, and Pi continue to use their existing authentication and provider services. Waku does not turn a cloud-backed coding agent into a local model.
How to Start Using Waku
- Install and authenticate at least one coding agent CLI, such as Claude Code, Codex CLI, Cursor CLI, OpenCode, Amp, Grok Build, or Pi.
- Download Waku on an Apple Silicon Mac. Linux users need to build Waku from source.
- Open an existing repository or create a projectless task.
- Start a session and select the agent you want to use.
- Send a concrete repository task.
- Open another session when a second task or agent needs its own history.
- Queue another instruction, steer the active turn, or rewind to an earlier checkpoint as the work develops.
Pros
- Works with existing coding-agent CLIs.
- Keeps multiple independent sessions under the same project.
- Restores Git state and provider conversation together.
- Supports queued follow-ups and mid-turn steering.
- Keeps Waku’s project and session state on the daemon host.
- Native Rust and GPUI desktop.
Cons
- The prebuilt download currently targets Apple Silicon Macs.
- Linux requires a source build.
- Windows does not have a public build yet.
Alternatives & Related Resources
- bb: Free Open-Source Agentic IDE for AI Coding Agents
- Wayland: Local-First AI Agent Command Center for Claude Code & Codex
- OpenMausBot: Claude, Codex as Persistent AI Bots
- 10 Best CLI AI Coding Agents
FAQs
Q: Does Waku replace Claude Code, Codex, or their subscriptions?
A: No. Waku drives the agent CLIs already installed on your machine. Their existing logins, plans, API access, and rate limits continue to apply.
Q: What changes when Waku connects to a daemon on another machine?
A: The daemon host owns the workspace paths and Git operations. Files, diffs, task state, attachments, skills, and usage information already work through RPC, but the local folder picker and PTY are unavailable for externally managed daemons.
Q: Do I need to authenticate each agent inside Waku?
A: No. Install and authenticate each supported agent CLI separately using its normal setup path. Waku detects the available CLIs automatically.
Q: Does Waku send my code or prompts to a Waku cloud?
A: No. Waku has no account or cloud layer. Projects, sessions, transcripts, and provider IDs stay on disk, and the daemon connection is loopback-only by default. The agent CLIs you connect make their own network calls to their providers and use their own credentials.
