Vis

Vis is a coding agent you can adapt to your tools and workflow. Ask it to explore a project, make a change or investigate a failure. Follow the work from your terminal, desktop or phone, with the same sessions on each.

Why Vis

A capable model can write code, but it does not know how your team works: which tests matter, how changes get reviewed or what must be checked before a release. You do. Vis lets you put that knowledge into tools the agent can use, instead of relying on a growing list of reminders.

For example, a function can select and run the right tests for a change. A hook can check the code after an edit and report problems. You define the operations and checks; the model decides how to combine them. Your instructions explain the process, while your code carries out its repeatable parts.

Python connects those steps. Models already use it to work with code and data; Vis lets them use the same language to compose your tools, inspect results and reuse useful helper functions. You can start with the built-in tools and add extensions as you need them.

You can also see how the answer was reached. Activities show actions, results and failures in the conversation. Your extensions choose what to show, so you can read a test result or build summary without deciphering a stream of shell commands. Switch devices to follow the same work, rather than start again.

Read Why I built Vis for the full motivation, or Getting started to try it.

Screenshot gallery

Install

Install Vis on the computer where your projects live. The default release includes the engine, Python and terminal client; it does not need Java or Git. Native packages support Apple silicon macOS and Linux (x64 or ARM64). See Runtime distributions for source builds and other installation options.

The installer writes to ~/.local/bin and can update your shell profile. You can read it first.

curl -fsSL https://github.com/Blockether/vis/releases/download/installer/install-vis-agent | bash

Quick start

Open a terminal in your project:

cd /path/to/project
vis-agent tui

Choose a provider, sign in and select a model. Your provider may charge for model usage; you can also use a supported local model. Try a read-only first task: “Explain how this project is organized. Don't change any files.”

Vis can edit files and run commands within its configured permissions. Review changes before using them. The first-session guide covers setup and what to expect.

Desktop app (Windows / macOS / Linux)

Download the installer for your computer from GitHub Releases: the Windows 10/11 x64 .msi, universal macOS .dmg, or Linux .AppImage matching your architecture.

     

Install the package, open Vis, and connect to your gateway. The gateway runs your sessions on the computer where your projects live. See Desktop setup for installation and launcher options.

Companion app (iPhone / Android)

Use your phone to check progress or continue a conversation on the same gateway. Both stores offer public testing without an invitation.

  

Follow the phone pairing guide. Questions and beta feedback: contact@blockether.com.

Update

vis-agent update

This selects the latest stable release. Preview and source-build updates need an explicit track; see updates and release tracks.

Native vs JVM

Use the native release for everyday work, or the JVM source build when developing Vis. The runtime comparison covers requirements, startup time and memory use.

Use Vis from your code

Start with the Python SDK to run a task using Agent(project="."), continue the conversation or connect to a shared gateway. Browse the generated Python API reference for classes, methods, signatures and types. It follows main and can include unreleased APIs not yet available on PyPI. For JVM applications, follow the Java and Clojure guide. For a shared engine, run a gateway; no native build is needed.

Add your own tools and checks

Follow Extending Vis to add a tool for your workflow. For a working example of an automatic check, see Check code complexity after edits. Only when adding Java/Clojure capabilities inside Vis, follow Native builds for JVM extensions.

License

Apache License 2.0 — see LICENSE.

The speech service can install third-party models with separate license terms. THIRD_PARTY_MODELS.md lists their authors and licenses.