Crest

Agent-native development workspace, without losing control.

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Crest is an agent-native development workspace that combines a code editor, terminal, browser, source control, and AI agent into a single desktop application. The agent can read, edit, and run code across your project while you maintain full visibility and control over what changes.

• Local-first & private — Bring your own API key. No accounts, no cloud sync, no telemetry. Sessions and credentials stay on your machine.
• Project-scoped — Each workspace is anchored to a directory. Files, terminals, git state, and agent sessions are all scoped to that project.
• Persistent sessions — Agent conversations survive restarts. Resume any session and pick up exactly where you left off.
• In-tree agent runtime — Built on Pi adapted in-tree (earendil-works/pi v0.75.5), providing stateful turn loops, tool execution, queues, and compaction.

Important

Crest is an unreleased POC/MVP. APIs and product behavior are still evolving.

Screenshots

File explorer and code editor	AI code review and diffs
Embedded browser preview	Git graph and source control
Agent sessions and AI chat	Resume previous agent sessions

Features

Agent Sessions

• Persistent, resumable agent conversations scoped to each project
• Built-in tools: read, write, edit, ls, bash, find, grep, web_fetch
• Slash commands for session management (/new, /fork, /clone, /tree, /model)
• Model selection supporting OpenAI, Anthropic, Google Gemini, MiniMax, and OpenRouter
• Live streaming of agent thoughts, text output, and tool calls

Code Editor & File Explorer

• Project file tree with directory navigation
• Syntax-highlighted code editor
• Multi-tab interface for switching between files
• File operations (create, rename, delete) integrated with the workspace

Terminal

• Built-in terminal emulator with PTY support
• Multi-tab terminal sessions
• Command output visible and inspectable at all times
• Shell integration for working directory tracking

AI Code Review

• Side-by-side diff view of agent-proposed changes
• Changed files list with add/delete line counts
• Review changes before accepting them into your project

Source Control

• Commit graph visualization
• Branch and commit history
• Uncommitted changes panel
• Author, date, and change stats per commit

Embedded Browser

• Built-in browser for web research and documentation
• Preview local dev servers without leaving the workspace
• Multi-tab browsing with standard navigation controls

Quick Start

Prerequisites

• Node.js >= 22.12
• npm 10.9.2
• Go 1.25.6
• Task

Run from Source

git clone https://github.com/Jason-Shen2/crest.git
cd crest
npm install
task dev

task dev is the preferred entry point — it builds the Go backend and scaffolds before starting Electron/Vite.

Configure an AI Provider

Crest uses a bring-your-own-key model. On first run, create ~/.config/crest-dev/ai.json (packaged release uses ~/.config/crest/ai.json):

{
    "providers": {
        "openai": {
            "token": "YOUR_API_KEY"
        }
    },
    "default": {
        "provider": "openai",
        "model": "gpt-4.1"
    }
}

Supported providers: OpenAI, Anthropic, Google Gemini, MiniMax, MiniMax-CN, OpenRouter.

Agent Harness Architecture

Crest runs the agent loop in Electron main so credentials, tool execution, and session ownership stay outside the renderer while the UI remains a live, inspectable mirror.

Pi supplies the stateful AgentHarness: AI provider abstractions, typed event streams, steering queues, hooks, tool-loop mechanics, compaction, and session primitives. Crest supplies the desktop integration: assistant-ui bridge, structured preload/IPC APIs, project context assembly, Crest-specific tools, and SQLite-backed session persistence.

For deeper details see the Agent User Guide and Agent architecture docs.

Tech Stack

Layer	Technology
Frontend	React, TypeScript, Tailwind CSS, assistant-ui, Jotai
Desktop	Electron (main process + renderer)
Backend	Go (wavesrv), SQLite, WPS events, wsh RPC
Agent Runtime	Pi v0.75.5 (adapted in-tree)
Build	Vite, Task, esbuild

Development

Command	Purpose
task dev	Full development workflow: Go build + Electron/Vite
npm run dev	Start Electron/Vite only (backend must already be built)
npm run build:dev	Build Electron app in development mode
npm run build:prod	Build Electron app in production mode
npm run test	Run Vitest test suite

Roadmap

• MCP (Model Context Protocol) tool support
• Browser automation for agent workflows
• Interactive per-tool approval UI
• Remote development via wsh
• Richer agent session organization and search
• Keychain-backed credential storage

Origin & Acknowledgements

Crest began as a fork of Wave Terminal and draws inspiration from:

• TRAE — AI-assisted engineering workflow exploration
• Warp — AI-native terminal interaction and inspectable tool execution
• Terax — Agent-first interface patterns and review workflows
• Pi — In-tree adapted agent runtime

See NOTICES.md for third-party attributions.

License

Apache License 2.0