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Waku, a Rust and GPUI native app, unifies coding agent sessions and checkpoints on-device
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Illustration only Photo by Anton Savinov on Unsplash
Waku is a new native macOS app built with Rust and GPUI that manages coding agent sessions, transcripts, and checkpoints locally, without Electron.
For engineers who juggle multiple coding agents, Waku offers a single local interface that normalizes different agent protocols and checkpoints the working tree with each prompt. It avoids the overhead of Electron apps and keeps all data on the machine, but it is macOS-only and requires agents that expose the supported native interfaces.
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Waku connects to existing agent CLIs via stream-json, JSON-RPC, or live events and normalizes them into one provider-neutral model.
Every prompt creates a checkpoint under a hidden git ref, allowing rollback of both code and provider conversation together.
The app is local by architecture, with no account, telemetry, or cloud, and is signed, notarized, and auto-updated via Sparkle.
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Waku introduces a native desktop alternative to the typical Electron-based tools for managing coding agents. Built with Rust and GPUI, the GPU-accelerated framework behind Zed, it promises instant launch and smooth scrolling through long transcripts. This is a deliberate move away from web-tech wrappers toward a compiled, performance-focused application that runs entirely on the user's machine.
Adopting Waku carries specific costs. Users must already have agent CLIs that expose one of the supported native interfaces, stream-json, JSON-RPC, or live events, since Waku does not provide its own agents. The app is macOS-only, as indicated by the questions about Windows and Linux and the use of Sparkle for updates. There is no cloud component, so all data stays local, which may be a limitation for teams that need shared or remote access to sessions.
Waku's integration model stops working when agents do not offer the expected protocols. Agents that only provide a web interface or a proprietary API will not connect. The checkpoint mechanism relies on hidden git refs, so projects not under git version control will not get the rollback benefit. As a new project not backed by Y Combinator, its long-term maintenance and evolution remain uncertain.
The single feed is a Show HN, framing this as a personal project announcement rather than a commercial release. The extract emphasizes the local-first and native performance advantages, contrasting with Electron apps. The questions section highlights common concerns: whether it is another Electron app, whether new API keys are needed, where data lives, and platform support. The implied answers are no, no, local, and macOS only, respectively.
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