modus
Open source coding agent workspace, an agent-first desktop app that runs locally. alternative to Cursor and Codex.
Install / Use
npx skills add brandlll-lee/modusInstalls into whichever agent you are using.
Other
Other agent config
Quality Score
Category
AI & Machine LearningSupported Platforms
Tags
Our assessment of modus
modus scores 79/100 on our quality scale, 786th of 965 AI & Machine Learning skills we index.
Its Other is 3.4 KB long, well organised into 8 sections with 4 code examples: a solid amount of guidance for an agent.
It has 30 GitHub stars, so there is little community track record yet; judge it on its content.
Maintenance, license and trust
- The repository was last updated 32 days ago, so modus is actively maintained.
- Our last check on 2026-10-21 found the source still online.
- It is released under the Apache-2.0 license, a permissive license that allows use, modification and commercial use with attribution.
- Its trust signals score 97/100, with no cautions. These come from repository metadata, not a code audit โ read the skill file before letting an agent act on it.
Safety scan
No issues foundOur scan of the whole file found no instruction hijacking, hidden characters, credential access, data exfiltration or destructive commands. An AI review of the same text found nothing harmful.
AI review by kimi-k2.7-code on 2026-09-24. Automated pattern scan on 2026-09-24. It catches known dangerous patterns, not every risk โ read a skill before letting an agent act on it.
modus compared with similar skills
All 4 of these similar skills score higher than modus; compare them before choosing.
| Skill | Score | Stars | Updated | Format |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| modus (this skill)by brandlll-lee | 79 | 30 | 32d ago | Other |
| claude-memby thedotmack | 100 | 113.5k | today | CLAUDE.md |
| Agent-Reachby Panniantong | 100 | 109.2k | today | CLAUDE.md |
| Understand-Anythingby Egonex-AI | 100 | 90.9k | 10d ago | CLAUDE.md |
| headroomby headroomlabs-ai | 100 | 78.9k | today | CLAUDE.md |
Frequently asked questions
- How do I install modus?
- Run
npx skills add brandlll-lee/modus. The install tabs above show the steps for each supported agent. - Which AI agents does modus work with?
- It is written for Cursor and OpenAI Codex, as a Other file. Other agents that read the same format can often use it too.
- Is modus safe to use?
- Our scan of the whole file found no instruction hijacking, hidden characters, credential access, data exfiltration or destructive commands. An AI review of the same text found nothing harmful. It is Apache-2.0-licensed and scores 97/100 on trust signals. Skills are instructions an agent will follow, so read the file before installing it and do not approve commands you do not understand.
- Is modus still maintained?
- The repository was last updated 32 days ago, so modus is actively maintained.
Skill content
View source on GitHub
About
Modus is an open-source desktop app for running AI coding agents inside real local projects.
Open a workspace, connect your own model provider, plan or build, inspect changes, approve risky actions, and keep the full workflow in one window.
Modus is early and currently runs best from source.
Features
- Workspaces and sessions - Open local projects, switch recent workspaces, pin projects, and keep separate agent sessions per repo.
- Bring your own models - Configure built-in or custom PI-compatible providers, defaults, reasoning effort, thinking variants, and model limits.
- Git workflow - Review working tree changes, file diffs, branches, commit history, commits, pushes, and session change stats.
- Terminal, browser, and files - Use a real PTY terminal, an in-app browser with tabs and DevTools, and a workspace file explorer.
- Fast Codebase - Let the agent build a compact local code map before reading files, reducing broad grep/read exploration.
- Subagents - Create specialized subagents, track their activity, and apply or clean up their worktrees.
- Plan and build modes - Start with a reviewable plan, answer structured questions, then move into implementation.
- Context and images - Attach files, folders, docs, Git diffs, terminal output, browser state, selected page elements, rules, and images.
- MCP, skills, and rules - Load Modus MCP servers, invoke local skills with
/, and apply project rules from AGENTS/Claude/Cursor-style files. - Permissioned execution - Route shell, Git, browser, MCP, file, and external actions through one approval flow.
- Checkpoints and rollback - Snapshot the workspace before agent runs and restore from the timeline when needed.
Getting Started
Requirements for Windows and macOS:
- Node.js
>= 22.19.0 - npm
- Rust + Cargo
- Git
git clone https://github.com/brandlll-lee/modus.git
cd modus
npm install
npm run dev
Then open a workspace folder and configure a model provider in Settings.
Development
npm run dev
npm run check
npm run test
npm --workspace @modus/desktop run typecheck
npm --workspace @modus/desktop run build
Package locally:
npm --workspace @modus/desktop run package:win -- --publish never
npm --workspace @modus/desktop run package:mac -- --publish never
Run the Windows command on Windows and the macOS command on macOS.
MCP Config
Modus only auto-loads its own MCP config files:
~/.modus/mcp.json
<workspace>/.modus/mcp.json
It does not silently import Cursor, Claude, Warp, or other agent configs.
Tech Stack
Electron, React, TypeScript, Tailwind CSS, Base UI, Motion, Monaco, xterm.js, Streamdown, Node SQLite, Rust portable-pty, @earendil-works/pi-coding-agent, and the MCP SDK.
Contributing
Contributions are welcome. Keep PRs small, use Conventional Commits, and run npm run check plus npm run test before opening a PR.
License
Apache-2.0. See LICENSE.
Related Skills
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headroom
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Languages
Trust signals
From repository metadata: license, adoption, age and documentation. Not a code audit โ see the Safety scan above for what the skill file itself contains.