Collaborator
Arrange agent terminals, code, notes, and images together on an infinite development canvas.
The README states that the app primarily handles local files, requires no account, stores state under ~/.collaborator/, and sends anonymous, non-identifying analytics to PostHog. Workspace selection is user initiated, removing a workspace does not delete files, and file deletion goes to trash, providing some evidence for confirmation, visible effects, and limited recovery. Deductions apply because terminals and absolute-path file access create broad local capabilities with no documented sandbox, privilege tiers, or per-command confirmation. Analytics fields, destination details, retention, and opt-out controls are not documented, nor is protection for secrets or other sensitive files. Installation includes a curl-to-shell path whose script is not supplied here; dependency-security evidence is otherwise limited to a commit-pinned CLA action. The license and copyright identify an origin, but the relationship among the repository name, download organization, and copyright holder is unexplained.
The overview, feature specification, shortcuts, and persistence model are generally internally consistent, and prerequisites such as Node.js 22+, Bun, and WSL2 are identified. Deductions apply because no application code, dependency manifest, or release metadata is supplied to substantiate dependency and platform availability, while offline behavior, missing-dependency handling, error states, and user-facing failure messages are undocumented. No deduction was imported from criteria requiring execution.
The material identifies desktop developers working with local workspaces, terminals, and agents, and covers macOS, Windows, Linux, PowerShell, and WSL2 scenarios. File-type behavior, read-only image handling, terminal creation, and interaction triggers are reasonably specific. Deductions apply because headless use, remote workspaces, accessibility, enterprise constraints, and alternative agent runtimes are not covered, and the procedure and supported boundaries for starting an agent remain undefined.
The README is well organized from installation and quickstart through detailed UI and persistence specifications. Development prerequisites plus install, test, and build commands are present. LICENSE.md thoroughly states FSL-1.1-ALv2 terms and the future Apache-2.0 grant, justifying full credit for the repository's license documentation despite NOASSERTION in external metadata. Deductions apply because the quickstart is brief, with no FAQ, troubleshooting guide, or complete worked example; known limitations are mostly reduced to an early-stage warning; and no versioning policy or changelog is present. Responsibility and update paths are unclear across Softspace Inc., collaborator-ai, and collabs-inc.
The combination of a spatial canvas, persistent terminals, file navigation, and inline editing presents a comprehensible workflow, and the specification explains where files and application state are retained. This supports practical usability and some integration value over separate tools. Deductions apply because the supplied material contains only product claims and static specifications, with no worked agent workflow, efficiency evidence, resource-cost discussion, analytics tradeoff analysis, compatibility evidence, or comparison supporting a strong cost-benefit claim.
Concrete claims can be traced to documented shortcuts, state schemas, platform prerequisites, and feature descriptions, while LICENSE.md separately supports the licensing claim. The prose generally distinguishes the current feature description from the explicit early-stage qualification. Deductions apply because implementation code, tests, configuration, dependency manifests, release history, and a privacy document are absent, leaving major behavior and data-flow claims without cross-source corroboration. The CLA workflow supports contribution-process facts but does not substantiate most application claims.
- Terminal sessions run inside user-selected local workspaces and may inherit broad file and command-execution authority; verify OS permissions and isolation before exposing them to untrusted agent instructions.
- The README discloses PostHog analytics but does not specify event fields, retention, transport details, or an opt-out mechanism; do not infer suitability for sensitive workspaces solely from the anonymous, non-identifying characterization.
- The command-line installer pipes a remote script into a shell, while install.sh is absent from the supplied evidence; pin a revision and review the script independently before installation.
- FSL-1.1-ALv2 restricts competing commercial use, and the Apache-2.0 transition depends on the two-year anniversary of each version's availability; verify the applicable version date before use.
- This assessment is limited to the supplied static documentation and CLA workflow; the application, tests, and installer were not executed.
What does this agent do, and when should you use it?
Collaborator is a local desktop environment for agentic development, with native targets for macOS, Windows, and Linux. Its single-window interface combines a workspace file navigator, a file viewer, and an infinite pan-and-zoom canvas. Users can create independent persistent terminal sessions and place live views of Markdown, code, and image files beside them as tiles. The application is built with Electron 40, React 19, xterm.js, Monaco Editor, BlockNote/TipTap, D3, and a node-pty sidecar. Files, canvas layout, and application configuration remain on local disk; no account is required, although anonymous non-identifying analytics are collected through PostHog. It is explicitly early-stage and under active development, making it most suitable for developers who accept product churn in exchange for a spatial workspace centered on terminal-driven agents.
After a user adds a local folder as a workspace, the Navigator reads its file tree and supports search, sorting, multi-selection, renaming, moving, note and folder creation, and deletion to trash. Double-clicking the canvas creates a Terminal tile whose working directory is the active workspace; each tile controls an independent PTY session backed by a persistent node-pty sidecar, where the user can launch an agent or any other command-line program. Dragging files from the Navigator creates Note, Code, or Image tiles: BlockNote/TipTap handles Markdown editing, Monaco Editor handles other text files, and supported images are displayed read-only. File tiles bind to absolute paths and respond to renames, deletion, and external content changes. The canvas supplies grid snapping, panning, zooming, layering, and resizing, then writes tile and viewport state to ~/.collaborator/canvas-state.json; workspace and window configuration goes to ~/.collaborator/config.json.
- A developer running several command-line agents can give each task an independent terminal tile and pin its code or Markdown files next to it.
- An engineer working across large repositories can switch among local workspaces while organizing active tasks spatially on one shared canvas.
- A user reviewing files produced or modified by an agent can keep those files open as tiles and see externally written changes reload.
- A Windows developer who uses both PowerShell and WSL2 can target terminal sessions at the appropriate shell environment.
- An individual developer who prefers local-file workflows can edit code and notes and preserve the canvas layout without creating an application account.
What are this agent's strengths and limitations?
- The infinite canvas places multiple independent terminals, code files, notes, and images into one movable spatial layout.
- File tiles bind directly to absolute paths and track renames, deletion, and external modifications, keeping views aligned with disk state.
- A persistent node-pty sidecar gives every terminal tile an independent session whose existence is not limited to the tile lifecycle.
- The project targets macOS, Windows, and Linux and explicitly accommodates both PowerShell and WSL2 terminals on Windows.
- Application state and working files remain on local disk, and using the application does not require an account.
- The application is explicitly early-stage and actively developed, so interfaces, behavior, or persisted formats may change.
- The repository license is recorded as NOASSERTION, leaving source reuse, modification, and redistribution rights unclear from the supplied material.
- Collaborator is an environment for running agents rather than a complete bundled agent; no specific agent CLI installation or authentication workflow is documented.
- Image tiles are read-only and cannot edit image content inside the application.
- PostHog collects anonymous non-identifying usage analytics, and the supplied material does not document an opt-out mechanism.
- Source development requires Node.js 22+, Bun, and the Electron stack; WSL2 support additionally depends on an installed WSL2 distribution.
How do you install or deploy this agent?
For normal use, download the latest macOS, Windows, or Linux release from https://github.com/collaborator-ai/collab-public/releases/latest. On macOS or Linux, installation is also available with curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/collaborator-ai/collab-public/main/install.sh | bash. On Windows, use the .exe installer from the releases page. For source development, install Node.js 22+ and Bun, then run git clone https://github.com/collaborator-ai/collab-public.git, change into collab-public/collab-electron, and run bun install. Start development mode with bun run dev, run tests with bun test, and build with bun run build. PowerShell 7 is recommended on Windows; WSL2 terminal support requires at least one installed WSL2 distribution. The application itself requires no account or API credentials.
How do you use this agent?
Launch Collaborator, open the workspace dropdown in the Navigator, choose “Add workspace,” and select a local folder; Cmd+Shift+O provides the same action. Double-click empty canvas space to create a terminal whose working directory is the active workspace, then enter the command for your chosen agent CLI or another shell program. Drag Markdown, code, or image files from the Navigator onto the canvas to place them beside the terminal, or select a file to open it in the Viewer. Pan with the scroll wheel, Space-drag, or middle-button drag; use Cmd+=, Cmd+-, and Cmd+0 for zoom controls. The README does not provide installation, authentication, or configuration instructions for a particular model service or agent CLI, so those tools must be prepared separately.
FAQ
Does Collaborator require an account or API key?
Where does it store data?
~/.collaborator/canvas-state.json, while workspace, window, and UI configuration are stored in ~/.collaborator/config.json.Does closing a terminal tile terminate its session?
Does it have native Codex or Claude Code integration?
codex-cli and claude-code, but the README documents no dedicated adapter, authentication flow, or native integration. The verified interface is a general-purpose terminal; users must install and configure their chosen CLI separately.