Local and web versions

Basehalf is available in two forms: a local, open-source desktop app and a hosted web app. They share the same goal of making project context visible and reusable, but they are separate products with different workflows.

Local, open-source desktop app

The local version is a desktop workspace built on a VS Code substrate. It opens a normal folder on your computer and keeps the files in that folder as the source of truth.

• Your files stay in a local folder and remain usable with Git, editors, and command-line tools.
• A local .bh/ layer stores Basehalf context such as canvas positions, references, focus, and reading state.
• Files, Git, Search, and the Agent Area bring local project work and terminal-based agents into one workspace.
• The source code is licensed under Apache 2.0. Official downloads and source builds are published through GitHub.
• The current official desktop release targets macOS on Apple Silicon. Check the latest release for current platform support.

View the source on GitHub or download the latest desktop release.

Hosted web app

The web version runs at basehalf.com. It is the browser-based product described by the rest of these docs.

• Maps keep the shape of a project visible.
• Points give ideas, files, decisions, and tasks durable pages.
• References connect related context without copying the same background into every prompt.
• Basehalf's hosted AI workflow can create and work with these objects inside the browser.
• There is no desktop installation or local source build to manage.

Open the Basehalf web app.

What they share

Both versions are designed around compound work. Context should remain inspectable, reusable, and connected instead of disappearing into one long chat thread.

The local app expresses that model through folders, files, Git, .bh/, and external agents. The web app expresses it through hosted Maps, Points, References, and Basehalf's integrated AI workflow.

What is different today

The local and web versions are not feature-for-feature copies of each other. They use different storage models and different application foundations. A workspace created in one version does not automatically appear in the other.

Unless a page says otherwise, the workflow docs in this section describe the hosted web app.

Which version should I use?

Choose the local desktop app when your work already lives in folders, local files, and Git, or when you want to work with terminal-based agents directly beside those files.

Choose the web app when you want to start in a browser, use hosted Maps and Points, and work without installing or building a desktop application.

You can also use both for different projects. Treat them as related Basehalf workspaces, not as an automatic sync pair.