Conch

The AI assistant that just works. Let it solve your problems.

Every model you pay for, in one calm app on your own computer.
It sets itself up, fixes what breaks, and asks you only when it matters.

Install  ·  Why Conch  ·  What it does  ·  Docs  ·  Contributing

Download it, open it, sign in with a plan you already pay for or paste a key. That is
the setup. There is no account to make, no terminal to learn and no telemetry. Your
chats, memories and settings live in ~/.conch on your computer, and one assistant
reaches you on the web, your phone, your desktop and the chat apps you already use.

Conch is for anyone. If you have never opened a terminal, it still works for you. If
you live in one, it brings every coding agent you have into one place.

Install

The app. Download it for macOS, Windows or Linux from the
newest release and open it. If your computer asks first, the guide
says which button to press.

One line. On macOS and Linux:

curl -fsSL https://conchagent.com/install.sh | sh

On Windows, in PowerShell:

irm https://conchagent.com/install.ps1 | iex

It installs the newest release: stable once there is one, before that the newest beta,
then the newest alpha. It fetches Node.js and Git if they are missing, keeps Conch
running and opens it. Run the same line again to update. Add --server on a computer with no screen, or
--uninstall to remove it. Afterwards, conch help lists what the command line can do.

From a checkout, with Node 24 or newer:

corepack enable
pnpm install
pnpm start        # builds and opens http://localhost:4317

Three things it does differently

It knows what it can do. Just ask.

Ask about Friday before your calendar is connected, and Conch does not guess. The
card that connects it is right under the reply. Press it, and the chat carries on by
itself with the day as it is. Every app, skill and setting works this way: nothing to
configure first, no file to edit, and nothing is turned on until you say so. That is
how someone who has never opened a terminal gets the same assistant as someone who
lives in one.

Ask for an app. It builds one.

When nothing you have does what you need, say so in your own words. Conch writes a
Conch app, checks it, tries every part of it and shows it to you as a card. Its tools
work with every model, its pages look like Conch, and it runs sealed off from your
files. Nothing is added until you press the button, and you can share it on GitHub in
one press. The same goes for a provider or a chat app Conch does not list yet: name
it, and Conch reads the docs and makes it.

Something broke? It is already fixed.

Conch keeps an eye on every part of itself and mends what it can before you notice: a
program that is missing, a process left behind by a crash, an app whose sign-in needed
refreshing. What it fixed while you were away is a quiet list, not an alarm. When
something needs you, like signing in again, you get one plain sentence and the button
that does it. Daily backups and signed updates that roll back on failure come with it.

What it does

How it works

A small Node gateway on your machine drives every provider you connected and streams
the conversation to a React app built on Nacre, Conch's own
design system. Apps and skills belong to Conch, not to a provider, so they work with
every model. Conch keeps no copy of anything anywhere else.

Good to know

• It runs as you. Conch can read your files and run commands. Treat it like an SSH
  server and read docs/SECURITY.md before you put it on a
  network. Out of the box, only this computer can open it.
• Local models are smaller. A model on your computer is free and private, but
  slower and less capable than the cloud ones.
• Conch is free. The models cost what your plan or key costs, and each reply says
  what it cost. What it costs

Documentation and development

conchagent.com/docs covers every provider, chat app
and feature, with a reference read from the code. Development docs
follow main, and release notes list every
version. How it is built: ARCHITECTURE.md ·
decisions · AGENTS.md, the manual for people and coding
agents alike.

pnpm dev          # web app on :5173 (hot reload) + gateway on :4317
pnpm dev:mock     # the same with a scripted provider: no model usage
pnpm storybook    # the Nacre design system on :6006
pnpm docs:dev     # the documentation on :4400
pnpm check        # format, lint, types and tests: must pass before every commit
pnpm e2e          # Playwright journeys
pnpm desktop:dev  # the desktop app, with hot reload

Configuration comes from the environment: apps/server/.env.example.

Contributing, security, license

Issues and pull requests are welcome: start with CONTRIBUTING.md
and the code of conduct. Report a vulnerability through
SECURITY.md, not an issue. MIT licensed; third-party
notices in NOTICE.md.

_{In the old story, whoever holds the conch gets to speak.}