Nimbalyst
Nimbalyst is an open-source desktop workspace that wraps Claude Code and Codex in visual editors for markdown, mockups, diagrams and code. Run parallel agent sessions, review every AI change as a diff, and track tasks. Free for individuals.
What is Nimbalyst?
Nimbalyst is a desktop application that gives AI coding agents a visual home. Instead of driving Claude Code or Codex from a terminal, you open a local project in Nimbalyst and work in editors the agent understands: a WYSIWYG markdown editor, a mockup and wireframe canvas, Excalidraw drawings, Mermaid diagrams, visual data models that export to Prisma, a CSV and spreadsheet view, calc sheets, mind maps, an embedded Chromium browser, a PDF viewer and a Monaco code editor. Every change an agent makes surfaces as a red and green diff you accept, reject or edit before it touches the file.
The other half of the product is agent management. Sessions run in parallel, each one optionally isolated in its own git worktree with a single click, and they sit on a kanban board organised by phase: backlog, planning, implementing, complete. A sidebar lists every file a session has read or written. Task tracking lives in the same workspace, stored as markdown frontmatter, so agents pick up the backlog while they work and the board reflects what has actually happened. Nimbalyst calls the result a context graph, where sessions, plans, specs, diagrams, mockups, diffs, files and decisions are nodes connected by typed edges that people and agents traverse the same way.
Nimbalyst ships no model of its own. It connects to AI access you already hold: a Claude Code or Codex subscription, an Anthropic or OpenAI API key, or a local model served through LM Studio. Claude Code and Codex are the supported agents, with OpenCode, GitHub Copilot and Codex over ACP in alpha, and an extension can register an additional agent provider. MCP servers, slash commands, skills and CLAUDE.md or Agents.md instruction files are supported throughout.
The architecture is local-first. Files stay in your own file system in open formats, and servers come into play only when you opt into link sharing, mobile session sync or Teams. The desktop and iOS apps are MIT licensed with the source published on GitHub, and the extension system uses the same contract for built-in and third-party editors, so you or your agent can build one for any file type. Nimbalyst, Inc. was founded by Karl Wirth and Greg Hinkle, previously the founders of Evergage.
What it does
- Run several Claude Code or Codex sessions in parallel and follow them on a kanban board
- Review every file change an agent makes as a red and green diff, then accept, reject or edit it
- Edit markdown, mockups, Excalidraw drawings, Mermaid diagrams and data models while the agent reads the same project
- Track tasks, bugs, decisions and ideas in a tracker that agents read and update as they work
- Edit CSV files and calc sheets, and ask the agent to filter, reshape or enrich the data in place
- Review pull requests, stage changes, manage branches and worktrees, and let the agent draft the commit message
- Ask the agent to build and install a new editor extension for a file type Nimbalyst does not cover yet
When to use Nimbalyst / When not to
A quick filter to help you decide if Nimbalyst is the right fit.
When to use Nimbalyst
- Developers already paying for Claude Code or Codex who want to leave the terminal behind without losing any agent capability
- Engineers running several agent sessions at once, who need worktree isolation and a board showing what each session is doing
- Product managers and technical writers who draft specs, PRDs and documentation in markdown next to the code they describe
- Teams that insist on local-first tooling and open file formats, with source code they can read, audit or fork
- Anyone who wants to inspect and approve every single change an AI agent makes before it lands in a file
When not to use Nimbalyst
- Users looking for a standalone AI: Nimbalyst ships no model and does nothing without a Claude Code, Codex or API subscription of your own
- People who need a browser-based tool, since the product is a desktop application to install on macOS, Windows or Linux
- Android users, as the companion mobile app is published for iOS only
- Teams that need shared, real-time collaboration today, because the Teams tier is still a waiting list with no announced price
- Developers looking for a public API to drive Nimbalyst from another system, as none is documented
How to use Nimbalyst
A typical end-to-end flow, from setup to results.
- Download the build for your platform from the site or from the GitHub releases: Apple Silicon Mac, Intel Mac, Windows or Linux AppImage
- Connect your AI access: an existing Claude Code or Codex subscription, an Anthropic or OpenAI API key, or a local model through LM Studio
- Open a local project folder; your files stay in your own file system
- Start an agent session and, if you want isolation, put it in its own git worktree with one click
- Work in the visual editor that matches the file type while the agent operates on the same project
- Review the red and green diffs the agent produces, then accept, reject or edit each change
- Follow progress on the session kanban board and the file edits sidebar
- Capture tasks, bugs, ideas and decisions in the tracker so the agent can read and update them
- Install the iOS companion app and pair it with your desktop to follow sessions and review diffs on the move
- Optionally enable cloud features such as link sharing, mobile sync or Teams, or install the Chrome Web Clipper extension
Pros & Cons
Pros
- Genuinely free for individual use, with no feature limits and no time-limited trial
- Open source under the MIT licence for the desktop and iOS apps, so the code can be read, audited, extended or forked
- Local-first design with open file formats: your work stays on your machine unless you opt into a cloud feature
- Every agent change is shown as a diff you approve, which keeps a human in the loop across markdown, mockups, diagrams and code
- A serious compliance posture for such a young product: SOC 2 Type II audit, published DPA, sub-processor list and named EU representative
- Nimbalyst states it never uses documents, prompts or AI conversations to train or fine-tune models
- Several agents in one workspace, so switching between Claude Code and Codex does not mean switching tools
Cons
- Useless on its own: the product depends entirely on a third-party subscription or API key, and the real AI bill stays with that provider
- Desktop only, with no web version, so it cannot be used from a borrowed machine or a browser
- The mobile companion exists for iOS only, with no Android app anywhere on the site
- The Teams tier is not shipped: pricing is listed as TBD, access is a waiting list, and no date is announced
- A very young offering, with the domain registered in October 2025 and the first web archive capture in November 2025
- Several capabilities are explicitly labelled alpha, including OpenCode, GitHub Copilot and Codex over ACP
- No public API is documented, and no head office address is published anywhere on the site
Pricing & Plans
A permanent free plan is available. The Individual plan costs USD 0, requires no credit card, and the site states it carries no feature limits and no trial period. The Teams plan, which adds real-time collaboration, is not yet released: its price is displayed only as TBD per user per month and access goes through a waiting list. There is therefore no published paid entry price at present. Note that an indirect cost remains unavoidable, since the application requires an active AI provider subscription or API key, billed separately by Anthropic, OpenAI or the provider of your choice.
- the full Nimbalyst visual editor and workspace
- Claude Code
- Codex
- OpenCode and Copilot agents
- WYSIWYG markdown editing with AI change approval
- mockups
- diagrams
- Excalidraw and CSV editors
- everything in Individual plus multiplayer collaboration on markdown documents
- mockups
- Excalidraw
- diagrams and every extension
- promotion of any local file to a shared document with full change history
- and collaborative trackers and kanban boards worked by your agents
Data, GDPR & hosting
A consolidated view of how Nimbalyst handles your data.
GDPR overview
The GDPR framework is explicitly claimed and unusually well documented for a young product. A dedicated page states that Nimbalyst, Inc. applies GDPR-aligned practices, and sets out its roles: the customer is controller of workspace content, Nimbalyst is processor, and Nimbalyst is controller for account, billing and analytics data. An Article 27 representative is named for the EU, the UK and Switzerland, DataRep in Cork, Ireland, reachable at datarequest@datarep.com, and DataRep also acts as the Digital Services Act representative. Karl Wirth is named as Data Protection Officer. Transfers to the United States rely on the 2021 Standard Contractual Clauses, the UK addendum and Data Privacy Framework certification. A public Data Processing Agreement and a sub-processor list with 30 days' notice complete the set. One inconsistency remains: the GDPR page still says the EU representative is to be appointed.
Who owns the data?
The terms of service state that you keep all right, title and interest in the content, code and data you put into or create with the application, and that nothing in the agreement transfers ownership to Nimbalyst. The company only receives a limited, non-exclusive licence to process that content as far as needed to run the optional cloud features: link sharing, mobile sync and Teams. Two carve-outs deserve attention. Feedback you send and usage data collected from the application are covered by a far broader worldwide, perpetual, royalty-free and sub-licensable licence. And ownership of AI outputs also depends on the terms of the AI provider you connect.
Reuse rights
Your files remain yours to use, publish, sell or delete without asking Nimbalyst for anything: the terms grant the company no rights over your content beyond running the features you switch on, and the local-first architecture means most of that content never leaves your machine. The reverse direction is where the licence widens. Product analytics are collected by default, covering usage, performance, device information and crash reports, though never document contents, file names or paths; you can switch them off in Settings, Privacy. Feedback and usage data, once collected, may be reused, modified, aggregated and redistributed by Nimbalyst indefinitely, including after you stop using the product. When you use AI features, your prompts and the file context you select go straight to the AI provider you configured, under your own contract with that provider, and Nimbalyst states it neither stores nor receives them.
Data retention & training
Hosting summary
Most data is never hosted at all. Nimbalyst is a local-first desktop application: documents, workspace settings, session history, prompts and AI responses are stored on your own device and in your own file system, and the vendor states it has no access to them. Servers only come into play for opt-in features, namely link sharing, mobile session sync and Teams collaboration, all of which run on Cloudflare infrastructure and are encrypted in transit and at rest. The published sub-processor list, dated June 2026, places every provider in the United States: Cloudflare for hosting, delivery, sync and storage, Stytch for authentication, Stripe for payments, Google for support email and analytics, PostHog for product analytics and Customer.io for lifecycle email. Nimbalyst, Inc. is a United States company, and transfers of European, British or Swiss personal data are covered by the Standard Contractual Clauses, the UK addendum and Data Privacy Framework certification. AI providers are not counted as Nimbalyst sub-processors, since you contract with them directly.
Things to keep in mind
Risks and trade-offs to weigh before adopting Nimbalyst.
- The tool is only a shell around someone else's AI. Your prompts and the file context you attach are sent to the provider you configured, under that provider's retention and training policy, entirely outside Nimbalyst's control.
- Product analytics are switched on by default. Turning them off is a manual step in Settings, Privacy, and previously collected data is kept in aggregate form.
- The terms grant Nimbalyst a worldwide, perpetual, royalty-free and sub-licensable licence over feedback and usage data, which survives the end of your account.
- Cloud features move your content to Cloudflare infrastructure in the United States, and shared links and synced sessions expire after a period the site describes only as a limited number of days, never in figures.
- Handing whole files to an agent makes it tempting to approve diffs by reflex. The review flow only protects you if you actually read what you accept, and the terms make you solely responsible for validating every AI output.
- The terms impose individual arbitration, a class action waiver and the courts of Middlesex County, Massachusetts, with a thirty-day window to opt out of arbitration by post.
- The company is very young, publishes no head office address, and its own GDPR page still contradicts its privacy policy about whether an EU representative has been appointed.
Setup & Integrations
Technical difficulty
Moderate, and squarely aimed at technical users. Installation itself is trivial: download the build for macOS, Windows or Linux and open it, with no server to deploy. The real prerequisite is upstream, since you must already hold a Claude Code or Codex subscription, an API key or a local model through LM Studio before anything works. Getting full value also assumes a local project and a working knowledge of git, because worktrees, diff review and pull request handling are central to the workflow. A quickstart guide is published in the documentation.
Deployment
Apps stores
Integrations
Behind Nimbalyst
Social
Resources
All the official URLs gathered for verification and reference.
Alternatives
Tools that compete with or complement Nimbalyst.
Frequently asked questions
Does Nimbalyst include its own AI?
Is Nimbalyst really free?
Which platforms does it run on?
Do my files go to the cloud?
Is my data used to train AI models?
Which coding agents are supported?
Is the source code open?
What is the minimum age to use it?
Should you pick Nimbalyst?
Nimbalyst answers a very concrete frustration: coding agents are powerful in a terminal, but the terminal shows almost nothing of what they are doing. Wrapping Claude Code and Codex in visual editors, a session board, a diff review flow and a task tracker is a coherent answer, and the execution is unusually complete for a product whose domain was registered in October 2025. The desktop and iOS apps are MIT licensed, the documentation is substantial, and the compliance material, with a SOC 2 Type II audit, a public data processing agreement, a listed set of sub-processors and a named Article 27 representative, goes well beyond what young tools usually publish.
The trade-off is stated plainly by the vendor rather than hidden. Nimbalyst supplies no model: without a Claude Code or Codex subscription, an API key or a local model, the workspace has nothing to drive, and the real cost of the AI stays on the provider's invoice. What is free here is the environment around the agent, which is a fair deal but not the same as a free AI tool.
Two reservations are worth keeping in mind. The Teams tier, which carries the whole collaboration story, is still a waiting list with no price and no date, so a team evaluating Nimbalyst today is evaluating a single-user product. And the company publishes no head office address: the only postal address on the site is a care-of address at a law firm, given for arbitration opt-out notices. For a solo developer or a small engineering group already committed to Claude Code or Codex, the tool is an easy and low-risk thing to try.
- Choosing a selection results in a full page refresh.
- Opens in a new window.