# Vixl

> Local-first BYOK AI coding agents. The open alternative to Cursor, VS Code agents, and Antigravity.

This file contains links to all documentation sections.

## Table of Contents

- [Local-first AI coding agent](https://vixl.app/index.md): Vixl is a local-first, bring-your-own-key AI coding agent for macOS, Windows, and Linux. Plan, code, edit, and run terminals with any model, local or cloud. No account, no subscription.
- [How Vixl works](https://vixl.app/concepts/index.md): Vixl is a local-first desktop LLM UI built with Vue, Tauri, and Rust, with no home server and no analytics.
- [Chat modes](https://vixl.app/concepts/chat-modes.md): Vixl chat modes are Agent, Ask, Orchestrator, and Plan, each with a built-in skill, a parent tool allowlist, and nested sub-agent tools.
- [Code graphs](https://vixl.app/concepts/code-graphs.md): Vixl indexes each project with CodeGraph via npx, stores graphs under personal .vixl, and exposes them as MCP tools.
- [Context](https://vixl.app/concepts/context.md): Each Vixl turn builds a small system prompt from catalogs and names, then loads full MCP schemas and skill bodies on demand.
- [Models and roles](https://vixl.app/concepts/models-and-roles.md): Vixl does not host models; you bring a BYOK provider and pick personal models per role such as Ask, Agent, and Subagent.
- [Permissions and approvals](https://vixl.app/concepts/permissions-and-approvals.md): The Vixl permission dial is Ask, Allowlist, or Bypass, and it decides which tools may run without asking you.
- [Projects and home chats](https://vixl.app/concepts/projects-and-home-chats.md): A Vixl project is a folder you register; home chats use your user home as the workspace and the personal ~/.vixl tree.
- [The .vixl directory](https://vixl.app/concepts/the-vixl-directory.md): Vixl keeps personal ~/.vixl and project .vixl trees for config, while API keys and MCP secrets stay in the OS keychain.
- [Appearance](https://vixl.app/customize/appearance.md): Set Vixl theme and window transparency from Settings > General.
- [Custom agents](https://vixl.app/customize/custom-agents.md): A custom agent is a markdown file that names a specialist sub-agent and becomes its system prompt when spawned.
- [Language servers](https://vixl.app/customize/language-servers.md): Language servers drive hover and completion in the Vixl workbench. Settings > LSP is personal and requires the desktop app.
- [MCP servers](https://vixl.app/customize/mcp-servers.md): Add MCP servers in Vixl over stdio, HTTP, or SSE. Config lives in mcp.json and secrets stay in the OS keychain.
- [Models](https://vixl.app/customize/models.md): Pick personal default and role models in Vixl Settings after you add a provider.
- [Permission settings](https://vixl.app/customize/permission-settings.md): Change the Vixl permission dial default, sandbox, auto-approve globs, and persisted allow or deny rows.
- [Providers](https://vixl.app/customize/providers.md): Add BYOK providers in Vixl Settings. API keys go in the OS keychain, never in settings.json.
- [Rules and AGENTS.md](https://vixl.app/customize/rules-and-agents-md.md): Rules and AGENTS.md are always-on prompt text; they are not a security override and have no per-rule glob gating.
- [Skills](https://vixl.app/customize/skills.md): A skill is a SKILL.md pack the agent can load on demand; create one in Settings or with /create-skill.
- [Overview](https://vixl.app/getting-started/index.md): Install Vixl, add a BYOK provider, optionally open a project, then send your first chat from the desktop app.
- [Adding a project](https://vixl.app/getting-started/add-a-project.md): Register a folder as a Vixl project so chats and the workbench use that directory as the workspace.
- [Creating a project group](https://vixl.app/getting-started/create-a-project-group.md): Select two or more registered projects in the home composer so one chat can span every member root.
- [Installation](https://vixl.app/getting-started/installation.md): Install the Vixl desktop app from GitHub Releases for macOS arm64, Linux x64, and Windows, or build from source.
- [Philosophy](https://vixl.app/getting-started/philosophy.md): Vixl is a local-first, BYOK desktop LLM harness with a short list of opinions and a finite roadmap.
- [Set up providers and models](https://vixl.app/getting-started/set-up-providers-and-models.md): Add a BYOK provider in Settings, test the connection, then set a default model so you can send a chat.
- [Your first chat](https://vixl.app/getting-started/your-first-chat.md): Send a first Vixl chat from the home screen after you pick a project, a mode, and a BYOK model.
- [Chat statuses](https://vixl.app/reference/chat-statuses.md): Sidebar and project table chat labels, what they mean, and what to do next.
- [Custom agent frontmatter](https://vixl.app/reference/custom-agent-frontmatter.md): YAML frontmatter fields for custom agents in .vixl/agents, plus file locations and name rules.
- [Keyboard shortcuts](https://vixl.app/reference/keyboard-shortcuts.md): App keyboard shortcuts on Mac and Windows/Linux, including the command palette.
- [Managed components](https://vixl.app/reference/managed-components.md): Language servers and CodeGraph that Vixl downloads or runs for you, including storage and how to turn them off.
- [mcp.json](https://vixl.app/reference/mcp-json.md): Personal and project mcp.json schema for stdio, HTTP, and SSE servers, including inputs and templates.
- [settings.json](https://vixl.app/reference/settings-json.md): Every settings.json key, type, default, and whether a project file can override it.
- [SKILL.md format](https://vixl.app/reference/skill-md-format.md): SKILL.md frontmatter, folder layout, and how Vixl resolves skill names.
- [.vixl layout](https://vixl.app/reference/vixl-layout.md): Every file and folder in personal and project .vixl trees, with paths and commit guidance.
- [Brand and press](https://vixl.app/resources/brand.md): Approved blurb, logos, and citation facts for writing about Vixl, the local-first BYOK desktop LLM UI.
- [Comparison](https://vixl.app/resources/comparison.md): Compare Vixl to VS Code Copilot, Cursor, and Antigravity on license, accounts, BYOK, local models, keys, MCP, and plans.
- [FAQ](https://vixl.app/resources/faq.md): Answers to common Vixl questions about the local-first BYOK desktop app, keys in the OS keychain, and the MIT license.
- [Privacy](https://vixl.app/resources/privacy.md): What Vixl sends over the network, what it stores locally, how deletion works, and that provider retention is the provider's business.
- [Roadmap](https://vixl.app/resources/roadmap.md): The remaining Vixl roadmap is image edit, deep themes, and SSH; after that the app gets only fixes and optimizations.
- [Troubleshooting](https://vixl.app/resources/troubleshooting.md): Fix common Vixl failures from the model picker, unsigned installers, keychain, MCP trust, CodeGraph, and update checks.
- [Best practices](https://vixl.app/using/best-practices.md): Illustrative example of planning once, reusing the chat, using a cheaper sub-agent, and switching hosts; about 70% less than one full-price chat.
- [Compact and hand off long chats](https://vixl.app/using/compact-and-hand-off-long-chats.md): Compact a long chat into a summary checkpoint, or hand off that summary to a new thread.
- [Export a transcript](https://vixl.app/using/export-a-transcript.md): Save a chat as a plain-text transcript from the thread menu; Copy ID copies the chat id, not the dump.
- [Manage chats](https://vixl.app/using/manage-chats.md): Rename, pin, fork, or delete chats from the sidebar, and copy an id or export a transcript from the thread.
- [Orchestrate sub-agents](https://vixl.app/using/orchestrate-sub-agents.md): Run work through Orchestrator mode and nested sub-agents, from a plan tab or by switching the chat to Orchestrator.
- [Queue and stop messages](https://vixl.app/using/queue-and-stop-messages.md): Queue a follow-up while a reply is running, or stop the run without sending the rest of the queue.
- [Review and restore changes](https://vixl.app/using/review-and-restore-changes.md): Restore files from a per-turn checkpoint on an agent message.
- [Shortcuts and the command palette](https://vixl.app/using/shortcuts-and-the-command-palette.md): Open the command palette to jump to chats, projects, and actions without clicking through the sidebar.
- [Use the workbench](https://vixl.app/using/use-the-workbench.md): The right-side workbench holds editor, terminal, plan, and agent-shell tabs.
- [Work with plans](https://vixl.app/using/work-with-plans.md): A Vixl plan is a durable PLAN.md. Plan mode researches and writes it, then Build or Orchestrate implements the todos.