Ares

An AI-powered coding assistant desktop app. Connect to any OpenAI-compatible API and get a full coding agent with a file editor, terminal, git panel, slash commands, MCP server support, and a plugin/skills ecosystem.

Built on Pi Agent with Electron + React.

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Features

• AI chat — streaming responses with live thinking traces, tool-call visibility, and persistent session history across restarts
• File editor — Monaco-based editor with full read/write access to your workspace; file tree updates automatically after AI operations
• Terminal — integrated shell via xterm.js
• Git panel — stage, commit, push, branch checkout, and diff viewer
• Skills & plugins — auto-discovers skills and slash commands from ~/.pi, ~/.claude, and ~/.omp on boot
• MCP servers — configure Model Context Protocol servers through the UI; they're spawned on demand per session
• Slash commands — built-in commands plus any discovered from installed plugins, all accessible with / in the chat input
• Workspace context — @file mentions expand file contents inline before the AI sees them
• Checkpoints / Undo (inspired by Claude Code Desktop) — git stash-backed snapshots created before AI tool operations; view, diff, restore, or delete from the Checkpoints panel
• Language Server Protocol (LSP) integration (inspired by OpenCode + Claude Code) — automatic TypeScript/ESLint diagnostics fed to the AI for context-aware code changes
• Lifecycle hooks (inspired by Claude Code Desktop) — run scripts, send webhooks, or inject prompt context on agent lifecycle events (pre/post tool, pre/post send, on error)
• Session export/import (inspired by OpenCode) — share conversations as standalone JSON files; import sessions from the sidebar
• Zen mode (inspired by OpenCode) — distraction-free full-width coding with Cmd+Shift+Z
• Custom keyboard shortcuts — Zen mode toggle, easy to extend

Tech stack

Layer	Technology
Shell	Electron 33 + electron-vite
UI	React 19 + TypeScript + Tailwind v4 + shadcn/ui
AI backend	Pi Agent (@earendil-works/pi-coding-agent)
API protocol	OpenAI-compatible (OpenAI, Ollama, LM Studio, Groq, Together AI, …)
Persistence	JSON file store (userData/ares-db.json)
Editor	Monaco Editor
Terminal	xterm.js + node-pty

Prerequisites

• Node.js 20+
• npm 10+ (or bun)
• macOS — primary development target. Linux should work; Windows may need adjustments for node-pty.

Getting started

git clone https://github.com/Qyrhal/Ares.git
cd Ares
npm install

# If Electron's binary is missing after install, re-download it:
node node_modules/electron/install.js

npm run dev

Configuration

Open Settings (gear icon in the sidebar) and enter your API base URL and key:

Provider	Base URL
OpenAI	https://api.openai.com/v1
Ollama (local)	http://localhost:11434/v1
LM Studio	http://localhost:1234/v1
Groq	https://api.groq.com/openai/v1
Together AI	https://api.together.xyz/v1

Your key and settings are stored locally in your OS user-data directory — never sent anywhere except the endpoint you configure.

Building

npm run build      # compile (Electron main + renderer)
npm run package    # compile + electron-builder (creates a distributable in release/)

Project structure

src/
  main/
    db.ts          JSON persistence (sessions, messages, settings, agent config)
    index.ts       Electron main process + all IPC handlers
    pi.ts          Pi Agent session lifecycle and file-based history persistence
    scanner.ts     Background plugin/skill/MCP scanner (runs after boot)
    git.ts         Git operations (simple-git wrapper)
  preload/
    index.ts       Context bridge — exposes window.electron to the renderer
  renderer/src/
    App.tsx        Root layout, tab management, session/file state
    hooks/
      useAI.ts     OpenAI-compatible streaming client (delegates to Pi Agent via IPC)
    components/    All React UI components
    store/         Zustand app store
    types/         Shared TypeScript types

Contributing

See AGENTS.md for branch naming conventions, commit message format, and code style guidelines.

License

MIT