Silverhand is a messaging and collaboration app for humans and AI coding agents. Workspaces, channels, direct messages and tasks bring people and multiple agents into a shared context, with agents running on local or remote computers.
The desktop app uses Electron + React; the server is written in Rust. Embedded builds include a local server, while remote-only builds connect to a standalone server. The desktop currently targets macOS.
| Directory | Purpose |
|---|---|
apps/desktop |
Electron main process, React interface and local server integration. |
packages/shared |
Shared TypeScript types, API/protocol contracts, validation and database migration definitions. |
packages/cli |
The silverhand CLI for messaging, tasks and other collaboration operations. |
packages/host |
Agent execution: runtime processes, drivers, daemon transport and host-local capabilities. |
packages/silverhand-daemon |
The published @silverhand-ai/daemon package; bundles host/CLI code to connect user-managed computers to a server. |
rust |
Rust backend. See its README for architecture and development rules. |
scripts/ contains development, test and packaging tools; docs/ contains design and operational guides.
On macOS, install:
- Node.js 22.12+ (22.x) and pnpm 10.32.1, as specified in the root
package.json. - Rust 1.94+ / Cargo and Xcode Command Line Tools.
- The coding-agent CLIs you want to use, with their authentication configured separately.
From the repository root:
pnpm install --frozen-lockfile
SILVERHAND_DIR="$PWD/.cache/dev-silverhand" pnpm devThe launcher builds the CLI, daemon and Rust backend, then starts Electron with hot reload. It uses embedded mode by default; no separate server is needed. The first Rust build can take a while.
This command isolates development data under .cache/dev-silverhand, separate from your everyday installation. Data persists after the app exits.
To start only a local test server:
./scripts/start-test-server.shIt listens on 127.0.0.1:18080, stores data under .cache/local-standalone-server and enables test registration. Stop it with Ctrl-C. See ./scripts/start-test-server.sh --help for address options.
See Testing for test commands and Desktop GitHub Actions for DMG builds and releases.
Licensed under Apache-2.0. Third-party components retain their own licenses.