Overview

bb is a local-first, open-source IDE that can control, customize, and automate itself through natural language prompts, laying the groundwork for a personal software factory. Multiple AI agents — Claude, OpenAI, Cursor, Pi, Opencode, Grok, Hermes Agent, and others — work in individual threads using your existing provider subscriptions rather than a separate bb bill. Nearly every part of the app is a customizable plugin, including GitHub integration, agent memory, scheduled jobs, and remote access, and users can build new plugins from a single prompt. A sidebar task panel tracks work spawned from the CLI (`bb tasks`) or from external programs — shell scripts, cron jobs, or chat bots on Telegram, Signal, and Slack. The desktop app runs natively on Apple Silicon; Intel Macs, Windows (via WSL), and Linux run it through `npx bb-app@latest` in the browser instead.

Pricing: Free and open source (MIT)

Architecture: Apple Silicon, Intel

Key Features

Self-modifying IDE — customize or automate the app itself from a single prompt
Multi-agent support: Claude, OpenAI, Cursor, Pi, Opencode, Grok, Hermes Agent, and more
Uses your existing provider subscriptions instead of billing through bb
Plugin architecture covering GitHub integration, agent memory, scheduled jobs, and remote access
Sidebar task panel with CLI (`bb tasks`) and agent-accessible task skills
External work spawning from shell scripts, cron jobs, or Telegram/Signal/Slack bots
Local-first: runs on your own machine, MIT-licensed end to end
Native desktop app for Apple Silicon; `npx bb-app@latest` for Intel, Windows (WSL), and Linux