Codync
Turn the coding agents on your own computer into named bots you can message from your phone, desktop or terminal.
- Source repo
- leepokai/Codync
- Stars
- ★ 915
- Last updated
- today
- License
- Apache-2.0
- Primary language
- Rust
- FA score
- 51/100 · Major gaps
At a glance
- How it runs
- Works with
- Universal · cross-platformChatGPT · Codex · Claude Code · Claude.ai
- Cost
- Free, no paid service needed
- Setup effort
- Medium · a few setup steps
- You'll need
- Typical use
- You leave Claude Code running on your home Mac and want to keep directing it and approving edits from an iPhone
- Not a fit if
- Users without an always-on Mac, Windows PC or Linux machine who want a purely cloud-hosted setup
- Teams needing remote screen or on-device speech on Windows, which the docs say is not there yet
- People who do not want to install and sign in to third-party coding agents themselves
- Source review
- 51/100 · Major gaps
What does this agent do, and when should you use it?
Codync is an open-source, self-hosted way to treat the coding agents already installed on your machine — Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, Gemini CLI, Copilot, OpenCode, Pi and roughly 40 ACP-registry agents — as persistent named bots with a project folder and an approval policy. A single Rust daemon, codync-host, speaks the Agent Client Protocol to each agent, stores transcripts in SQLite and serves clients over HTTP/SSE. Clients are a native SwiftUI iPhone app, one Electron desktop app for macOS, Windows and Linux, and a codync-host tui terminal UI that works over SSH. The phone reaches the computer directly on the same network or through a free, end-to-end encrypted Cloudflare relay; push text is sealed to the phone's key. It is Apache-2.0 licensed with no paid tier, and agents run on the subscription you already signed in with, so Codync never calls a provider API with your login.
Once codync-host runs, it hydrates PATH from your login shell, detects installed agents and prefers their native ACP mode; anything else in the ACP registry is fetched on first use via npx, uvx or a checksummed binary. You create a bot with an agent backend, project folder, standing instructions and permission policy; each bot has one persistent chat whose underlying agent sessions are resumed with session/load. Several bots plus you can share a group chat, where @-mentioned bots reply in turn for up to 3 rounds, and a built-in team MCP server lets one bot discover and message another, with the reply returning as a new turn. The chat surface shows your messages, each turn's final reply, approval cards and notices, with tool calls, diffs and plans behind a “Full conversation” view. Usage limits come from local sources such as claude -p /usage and ~/.codex/sessions, and notifications travel through an APNs relay using encrypted per-device tickets.
- You leave Claude Code running on your home Mac and want to keep directing it and approving edits from an iPhone
- You run both Claude Code and Codex and want one bot to ask the other for a review instead of pasting results back and forth
- You want a headless Linux server or cloud VM running
codync-host, reachable from the terminal UI over SSH or from the phone - You like the Grok Bot / Muse / Dots bot-plus-group-chat workflow but want it on your own subscriptions instead of one vendor's model
- You need each computer to approve each device separately rather than letting one account unlock every machine
- You want a bot to operate your computer's screen while you watch or take over remotely from the iPhone
How do you install or deploy this agent?
One-line install for macOS and Linux (on a Mac it installs the app; on Linux it installs the host plus the desktop app when a display is present):
curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/leepokai/Codync/main/packaging/install.sh | shFor servers and headless Macs, add the host-only flag:
curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/leepokai/Codync/main/packaging/install.sh | sh -s -- --host-onlymacOS also offers a DMG download or Homebrew cask; Windows uses the codync-windows-x64.exe installer (not code-signed yet, so SmartScreen asks for confirmation once). On Linux you can install the host via Homebrew and register the user service:
brew install leepokai/codync/codync-host
codync-host install
codync-host pairInstall the iPhone app from the App Store (iOS 26+) and scan the QR code shown by “Pair iPhone…” or codync-host pair. Claude Code, Codex and Pi run through ACP adapters fetched with npx, so they need Node.js; every other agent must be installed and signed in first.
How do you use this agent?
The desktop app sets up the host on first launch. After pairing and picking a bot, type the intent in its chat; you get a push notification when it finishes or needs approval, and approval cards appear in the same thread. You can also talk to local bots from a terminal:
codync-host tuiOther host commands worth knowing:
codync-host status
codync-host serve --port 19222
codync-host devices
codync-host network status
codync-host cloud --assistants onState lives in ~/.codync. The local loopback bearer token can be rotated with codync-host reset-token, but a lost remote device should be revoked through device management instead. To build the desktop app yourself:
cd apps/desktop && npm ci && npm run devWhat are this agent's strengths and limitations?
- Agent-agnostic by design: installed agents are auto-detected, the rest come from the ACP registry, each bot picks its own backend, and a Claude bot can ask a Codex bot for a review
- Runs the agents already signed in under your own subscription; Codync does not call provider APIs with your login, and the code is Apache-2.0 with no paid tier
- The host is one Rust binary for macOS, Windows and Linux, static on Linux so it runs on any distro and on headless servers
- Remote access is included free through an end-to-end encrypted Cloudflare relay, switching to a direct connection on the same network or over Tailscale, with push text sealed to the phone's key
- Device access is granted per computer with a 6-digit confirmation, so an account alone never unlocks a machine and a lost device can be revoked individually
- Windows lacks remote screen, on-device speech and the Claude Code status line hook, and its installer is not code-signed
- The iPhone app needs iOS 26+ and can lag the host and desktop releases while waiting on App Review, which delays updates that depend on it
- Claude Code, Codex and Pi require Node.js for their npx-fetched ACP adapters, and every other agent must be installed and signed in by you
- Behaviour and usage limits depend on third-party agents' own sign-in state; some limit data is parsed from local commands or files and could break if those formats change
- Version 2.7.0 replaced the native SwiftUI/AppKit Mac app with a single Electron desktop app; the native implementation only survives in Git history
How does this agent compare with similar options?
The README positions Codync explicitly as an open-source alternative to Grok Bot, Muse and Dots: those products offer a similar bot-based workflow (named bots, group chats, quote replies, approval cards, memory) but tie you to one model or subscription, whereas Codync runs on your own computer with any coding agent you are already signed in to, for free.
Key facts side by side with the most closely related agents.
| Agent | Source review | Form / cost | Stars | Updated | Language | Full support on |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Codync This agent | 51 · Major gaps | Desktop appFree | ★ 915 | today | Rust | ChatGPT · Codex · Claude Code · Claude.ai |
| Rovai AI | 49 · Major gaps | — | ★ 212 | today | Rust | Codex · Claude Code |
| Aster | 77 · Good | CLIFree + model costs | ★ 132 | today | Rust | OpenAI API |
| Open Interpreter | 45 · Major gaps | CLIFree + model costs | ★ 69k | 15d ago | Rust | Codex |
How does FollowAgents rate this agent?
Why each dimension lost points
SECURITY.md explicitly states a paired device is trusted like the owner and can run shell, change configs, and control the screen, with agents executing commands by default without asking; this is by design but caps least_privilege at 1. Pairing requires a one-time QR/6-digit confirmation, devices are revocable, and access requests enforce commit/nonce/reveal ordering with SAS checks, so user_confirmation is 2. Data-flow transparency: README describes local SQLite, E2E-encrypted relay, and push content sealed to the device key (2). Sensitive data: tokens, device keys, and revocation paths are described but only as static text (2). Dependency security: ACP agents fetched via npx/uvx/checksummed binaries and a curl|sh installer widen the surface with no lockfile evidence (1). External effects: remote screen control and command execution with no sandbox/rollback described (1). Rollback: only a failed-update reinstall guide, no transactional rollback (1). Source attribution: Apache-2.0 with NOTICE/TRADEMARK, but publisher identity is unverified (1).
Self-consistency: README, SECURITY, and test files agree on the trust model and pairing flow (2). Dependency availability: relies on Node, npx, uvx, Cloudflare, APNs, Clerk and other external services not guaranteed in-repo (1). Failure messages: cloud tests assert errors carry code and requestId; README has update-failure guidance (2).
Audience and scenarios: multi-device users across iPhone/Mac/Win/Linux/terminal, clearly framed (2). Capability boundaries: SECURITY.md defines in/out of scope; README lists per-platform gaps (2). Trigger precision: auto-discovery, group-chat @-mention, 3-round cap described, but detailed trigger rules live in external docs (1). Environment fit: broad platform matrix and headless server notes (2).
Information architecture: README has a repo structure table and docs index (2). Install notes: detailed multi-platform install commands (2). Naming stability: 2.7.0 Electron migration and MIT-to-Apache change at 2.11.0 show churn (1). Examples and FAQ: FAQ plus screenshots (2). Known limitations: Windows missing remote screen etc. are listed (2). License: full Apache-2.0 text with NOTICE/TRADEMARK notes (3). Versioning/changelog: only points to GitHub Releases, no in-repo CHANGELOG (1). Maintenance responsibility: SECURITY.md says maintained by one person; publisher unverified (1).
Output usability: chat, approval cards, and notifications are well described (2). Marginal value: clear differentiation as an open-source multi-agent mobile front end (2). Cost-benefit: free but requires own subscriptions and several external services; costs not quantified (1).
Claim traceability: most claims point to docs/ and external sites; only some are checkable in-repo (1). Cross-source corroboration: README, SECURITY, and tests mutually corroborate the trust model and API behavior (1). Fact/inference separation: README includes marketing comparisons (Grok Bot/Muse/Dots alternatives) without evidence grading (1).
- SECURITY.md states a paired device is trusted like the owner and can run shell, change configs, and control the screen, with agents executing commands by default without asking — pair only on controlled machines.
- The installer is curl|sh and ACP agents are fetched on demand via npx/uvx/checksummed binaries, widening the supply-chain surface; review the script and pin versions.
- Publisher identity is unverified by FollowAgents and the project is maintained by one person; security fixes cover only the latest release.
- The Windows installer is not code-signed (SmartScreen prompt), and remote screen is unavailable on Windows.
- This is a static source review; no build or test was executed, so runtime behavior and security are unverified.
FAQ
Do I need a paid Codync plan?
Do my conversations and code pass through Codync's servers?
~/.codync on your computer. The phone connects directly on the same network or over Tailscale; through the Cloudflare relay the channel is end-to-end encrypted so the relay only forwards ciphertext, and push text is sealed to your phone's key.Is an account required?
Can multiple agents work together?
team MCP server lets one bot discover and message another visible bot, and the reply arrives as a new turn; in a group chat each bot keeps its own agent, folder and approvals.What if an update fails?
~/.codync and the settings folders — do not use Reset all data or Homebrew --zap.