LiquidCoder

LiquidCoder is a native macOS 26+ SwiftUI conductor for local Codex work: user-added projects in the sidebar, repeatable Codex sessions inside each project, chat on the main surface, and git/project actions close at hand.

The target borrows the useful Codex desktop app structure without copying it outright: project navigation, a chat/composer workspace, project context controls, commit controls, and quick access to the project root in Finder, Cursor, VS Code, or Ghostty. The strategic difference is orchestration: LiquidCoder should become the place where one user conducts multiple project-scoped Codex sessions without losing track of context, branches, or commits.

Current State

• Native SwiftUI macOS app targeting macOS 26.2.
• Starts with no built-in projects.
• Users add local project folders through a directory picker.
• Project sidebar with recent sessions under each project.
• Liquid Glass chat workspace and composer.
• Commit / Commit & Push controls plus Finder, Cursor, VS Code, and Ghostty launch buttons.
• Product docs and agent instructions are in place.

This is not yet a functioning Codex process manager. The UI is the first vertical slice; the real value arrives when the app can launch a real codex process for the selected project, stream the transcript, and commit reviewed changes.

Product Direction

LiquidCoder should become a local desktop control plane for Codex sessions:

• Let users add, select, and persist local project roots.
• Run multiple Codex sessions against separate projects or worktrees.
• Keep sessions grouped under their project in the sidebar.
• Show live transcripts, plans, command output, context usage, branch, and git state.
• Keep all project data local unless the user explicitly opts into external services.
• Provide review surfaces before changes are committed or pushed.
• Support future agent backends through a narrow adapter protocol rather than UI-specific integrations.

Architecture Plan

1. App Shell

   • ContentView.swift owns state, project selection, and the native NavigationSplitView.
   • SideView.swift owns the native SwiftUI sidebar.
   • ProjectChatView.swift owns the project chat/detail surface.
   • LiquidGlassComponents.swift contains reusable Codex-style controls.
   • WorkspaceModels.swift holds temporary project/session data and the first domain vocabulary.

2. Codex Runtime

   • Add a CodexProcessRunner responsible for launching codex with a working directory, environment, approval policy, and model selection.
   • Stream stdout/stderr into a transcript model.
   • Record process lifecycle events separately from rendered UI text.

3. Persistence

   • Store workspaces, agents, transcripts, and settings locally.
   • Keep secrets out of project files.
   • Prefer simple file-backed JSON or SQLite before inventing a sync layer.

4. Git Awareness

   • Track branch, dirty files, staged files, commits, and diffs per agent.
   • Require explicit user action for destructive git operations.

5. Backend Adapters

   • Start with Codex.
   • Later add adapters for Claude Code or other CLIs only after Codex session management is stable.

Development

Open the project in Xcode:

open LiquidCoder.xcodeproj

Build from the command line:

xcodebuild -scheme LiquidCoder -project LiquidCoder.xcodeproj build

Immediate Next Work

1. Implement a real CodexProcessRunner.
2. Wire the composer to create a new session under the selected project.
3. Replace mocked session rows with streamed process output and persisted transcripts.
4. Replace plain path persistence with security-scoped bookmarks if sandboxing stays enabled.
5. Make the Commit control open a diff/review flow before writing git history.

Hard Constraints

• Do not make this Electron.
• Do not hand-build a fake sidebar. Use the native SwiftUI sidebar/list APIs.
• Do not store user code or transcripts on a hosted service by default.
• Do not fake agent state in production UI.
• Do not couple the UI directly to one CLI command format.
• Do not drift back into a card dashboard; this is a project/session conductor.
• Do not add Claude Code support until Codex is boringly reliable.