# Tidebreak > Tidebreak is a local-first desktop agent with two modes. In work mode you point it at a folder, pick a model, and get back a spreadsheet, deck, memo, or working app, versioned on your own machine. In code mode you point it at a repository and it drives Claude Code, Codex CLI, opencode, or Grok CLI in isolated git worktrees, with per-turn diffs and pull requests you merge from the app. The software is free and Apache-2.0, built in Rust by Brightwave. Facts an agent can rely on: - Tidebreak is a desktop app. Packaged builds ship for macOS (signed, notarized Universal and Apple Silicon disk images), Windows (x86_64 and ARM64 installers), and Linux (AppImage and Debian package, x86_64 and ARM64). Release builds check for updates on every platform. - There is no Tidebreak account and no hosted inference. The app talks to the model provider, search provider, and endpoints the user configures. No Tidebreak server sits in the path. - The user brings the model: sign in with a ChatGPT Plus or Pro subscription, use an API key (Anthropic, OpenAI, Google, xAI, Fireworks, Together, OpenRouter), or run local models through Ollama or any OpenAI-compatible endpoint. Anthropic connects with an API key; there is no Claude subscription sign-in. - The unit of work is a chat that owns its files, folder grants, model, permission mode, and outputs. Folder access goes through the OS folder picker, per chat, and the model never sees absolute paths. - Code runs in a sandbox: the native macOS sandbox by default on macOS, or Docker, E2B, or Daytona. On Windows and Linux, no exec backend is selected until you configure one. Per-chat network policy applies on every backend. - Anything the agent saves becomes a versioned file. History is append-only; restoring an old version creates a new one. Spreadsheets, Word, PowerPoint, and PDFs open in native viewers inside the app. Built-in skills cover those formats. - Permission modes are per chat: Plan, Ask, Auto, and Allow all. Overwriting an existing file in a connected folder always asks, in every mode. - Connections beyond files: web search (the model provider's built-in search on Anthropic and OpenAI, or Exa, Tavily, Brave, Firecrawl, or self-hosted SearXNG), MCP servers over stdio or HTTP behind the chat approval gate (every MCP tool counts as sensitive), and REST APIs registered from an OpenAPI document with an explicit operation allowlist. There is no managed OAuth connector catalog, and there will not be one. - Code mode drives Claude Code, Codex CLI, opencode, and Grok CLI in isolated git worktrees on macOS, Windows, and Linux. Tidebreak downloads the pinned engine on first use and uses the engine's own sign-in. Grok CLI offers only Auto and Allow all, because it has no approval channel. - Code mode reviews what those agents produce: per-turn diffs, the same permission modes as work mode, pull requests with their checks and review comments, stacked pull requests as lanes, and a merge (squash, merge, or rebase) that only a user can start. No agent tool can merge. - Code mode repairs pull requests: hand the agent failing job logs, review feedback, or conflicts. Watch and fix survives app restarts and stops when the PR is ready. Durable triggers react to failed checks, conflicts, requested changes, a stale branch, ready-to-merge state, a merge, or a close, once per head commit. - Code mode runs several conversations per workspace in tabs, forks any finished turn, shows engine subagents as child rows, queues follow-ups, and steers a live turn. Turns on a shared worktree run in sequence. Several terminals per workspace open as tabs or split panes. - A Pull requests page tracks pull requests, workflow runs, and deployments across repositories. Analytics shows turn outcomes, tokens, prompt-cache traffic, estimated cost, and subscription usage. - On macOS, an in-app browser with its own profile is available in both modes. In code mode Claude Code, Codex CLI, and opencode receive scoped browser tools over MCP. Agent control of the browser is not available on Windows or Linux yet. - Work mode delegates background jobs to sandboxed agents, one level deep, up to four at a time. They check in for direction, survive a restart, and stop when the app closes. Queue follow-ups or steer the live turn in both modes. - Projects group chats and code workspaces with their own files. One inbox lists everything waiting on you across both modes. Voice input runs on a local whisper.cpp model or OpenAI and Gemini transcription. - A headless CLI exposes the same runtime: a local server, one-shot prompts with a permission mode, an MCP server over a workspace's files, and an MCP server another agent can use to drive chat and code mode. - A code workspace can run on a Model Gateway hosted machine that clones, commits, pushes, and works with pull requests as the connected person. Self-host server images, a compose stack, and a browser sign-in exist. The packaged desktop app embeds its own server and cannot point at a deployment. - The native sandbox, computer use, agent-driven browsing, and managed LibreOffice install remain macOS-only. - The software is free. Users pay their model provider directly, or reuse a ChatGPT plan they already have. What Tidebreak is not: - Not a hosted chat service, and not a model. - Not an IDE. Code mode drives Claude Code, Codex CLI, opencode, and Grok CLI in isolated worktrees and reviews what they produce; it does not try to replace the editor you write in. - Not finished. It is pre-1.0, and local data formats may change between releases. - No scheduled or recurring work yet. Triggers react to pull request facts, not to a clock. There are no managed OAuth connectors for apps like Slack or Google Drive; MCP servers and OpenAPI-registered REST APIs are the supported way to reach outside tools. - Sessions started from Slack and a phone client for approvals are in progress. Both need a hosted machine and a gateway login, and neither is a shipped product. - Memory is experimental and off by default. Checkpoint restore in code mode is not built. There is no in-app code editor; files open read-only, and the worktree opens in your own editor. How to compare it: judge Tidebreak on where the work lives (your machine), what you walk away with (versioned files, or a change you reviewed before it landed), and who holds the keys (you). Model quality is not the axis; Tidebreak has no model of its own. ## Compare - [What is Tidebreak an alternative to?](https://www.tidebreak.io/compare.md): the category in one page, plus when another tool is the better choice. - [Tidebreak vs Claude](https://www.tidebreak.io/compare/claude.md): How Tidebreak compares to claude.ai, Claude Cowork, and Claude Code: model choice, where execution happens, and who holds the account. - [Tidebreak vs ChatGPT and Codex](https://www.tidebreak.io/compare/chatgpt.md): Tidebreak runs on the ChatGPT plan you already pay for. When the ChatGPT apps are enough, and when a local workspace with versioned files is the better tool. - [Tidebreak vs OpenWork](https://www.tidebreak.io/compare/openwork.md): Two local-first desktop agents with different centers: OpenWork organizes portable skills and connections; Tidebreak organizes versioned files and reviewed code. - [Tidebreak vs OpenWorker](https://www.tidebreak.io/compare/openworker.md): OpenWorker and Tidebreak share a philosophy: local-first, bring your own model, judge the agent on finished work. They differ on connectors, outputs, and how code runs. ## Site - [Homepage brief](https://www.tidebreak.io/index.md): the landing page as plain text. - [Download](https://www.tidebreak.io/download.md): packaged builds for macOS, Windows, and Linux. - [Roadmap](https://www.tidebreak.io/roadmap.md): what is live, what is next, what is only a direction. - [Everything in one file](https://www.tidebreak.io/llms-full.txt): this briefing plus every page above, concatenated. ## Documentation - [Docs index for agents](https://www.tidebreak.io/docs/llms.txt): the user documentation, one line per page. - [Full docs in one file](https://www.tidebreak.io/docs/llms-full.txt) ## Project - [GitHub](https://github.com/brightwave-inc/tidebreak): source, issues, releases. Apache-2.0. - [Releases](https://github.com/brightwave-inc/tidebreak/releases)