FanBox: Local Cockpit for Claude Code and Codex

TL;DR

TL;DR: FanBox is an MIT-licensed, no-runtime-dependency macOS desktop cockpit for Claude Code and Codex, with a file browser on the left, an embedded real terminal on the right, and a live agent dashboard that highlights the file the agent is editing and the lines it just wrote.

Source and Accuracy Notes

• Project page: github.com/alchaincyf/fanbox/releases/latest
• Source repository: github.com/alchaincyf/fanbox
• License: MIT (verified via GitHub API license.spdx_id)
• Platform: macOS Apple Silicon
• Source last checked: 2026-06-16

What Is FanBox?

FanBox is positioned as a cockpit for coding agents, not an editor. The README opens with a one-sentence pitch: “AI helps you start ten projects in an afternoon — then they scatter everywhere, the names stop making sense, and you can’t see what got changed.” FanBox folds the daily “Finder → iTerm → browser” hop into one window: files on the left, terminal on the right or bottom, in-place preview in the middle.

The platform is local-first, zero-config, and runtime-zero-dependency. It does not compete with Finder on file operations or with VS Code on editing. It does one chain well: find, preview, light edit, and command the agent.

The UI is designed with huashu-design and ships three skins (Volt, Archive, Index), each of which changes palette, typography, icons, code highlighting, and terminal ANSI themes together rather than swapping theme colors.

Repo-Specific Setup Workflow

Step 1: Download the DMG

The latest release is published on the GitHub releases page. The README’s download link points to https://github.com/alchaincyf/fanbox/releases/latest and ships a macOS Apple Silicon DMG.

Step 2: Open the project and the agent

Open a project folder in FanBox. The file browser shows the tree, the preview pane renders Markdown, live HTML, syntax-highlighted code, inline images and videos (HEIC included), archive content listings, and a checkerboard backing for transparent images. Large folders scroll and click in under 100 ms.

Step 3: Launch an agent in the embedded terminal

The embedded terminal is a real terminal, not a wrapper. Run claude, codex, or any other CLI agent. The agent’s output goes to the terminal, the file view follows the file the agent is editing, and the live dashboard highlights the file and the lines that just changed.

Step 4: Resume a session

Click the ”▶ 续上” (resume) button on any project memory entry. FanBox runs claude --resume or codex resume in the embedded terminal and reconnects the conversation in the same window.

Deeper Analysis

The live dashboard

The most distinctive design choice is the live agent dashboard. Every file the agent writes makes its card ripple and glow by change frequency. The light follows wherever the agent goes. Follow mode locks the file view and the preview to the file the agent is editing, with code that scrolls as new lines are written and HTML that renders as a live web page while the agent is still writing (double-buffered, zero white flash). Manual browsing hands control back to you instantly.

Session replay and change inbox

Session replay lets you drag a timeline like scrubbing a video to replay which files the agent touched, step by step. The change inbox aggregates all files modified this session across multiple projects, so parallel agent runs are visible in one view. Together they are the answer to “what did the agent actually do while I was in another window?”

Project memory

Project memory is per-folder. Open any project and see what AI did there: past sessions (with the first message as the title), the files each session changed, and the skills it triggered. The ”▶ 续上” button is the one-click answer to “I started this session yesterday and I want to pick it up where it left off.”

Skills X-ray and agent usage

Skills X-ray shows every agent skill on the machine in one view, with trigger statistics, health checks (description truncation, missing frontmatter), context budget, and an enable/disable toggle that does not delete the file. Agent usage pulls Claude Code’s official 5h window and weekly quota (same source as /usage) plus local token statistics, and shows Codex window snapshots with reset detection.

AI organize and screenshot express

AI organize generates a cleanup plan from metadata only — it never reads content or touches the filesystem. Each suggestion has a reason. You approve each move. FanBox executes with a rollback log and a one-click undo. Screenshot express takes a system screenshot and surfaces a card to feed it to the terminal agent, file it in the project’s 素材/ (assets) folder, or annotate before sending.

Release wizard and disk usage lens

For Node projects, the release wizard composes version bump, CHANGELOG promotion, build, push, and GitHub Release into one command sequence that runs visibly in the embedded terminal. The disk usage lens shows real du-accurate bars per folder with drill-down, which is the answer to “my disk is full again.”

What FanBox does not do

The README is explicit that FanBox does not do cloud, remote, accounts, build dependencies, or runtime installs. The local-first and zero-dependency constraints are the point. It does not compete with Finder or VS Code; it sits in the loop between them.

Practical Evaluation Checklist

• [ ] Do you run Claude Code or Codex in a terminal and want a cockpit around them?
• [ ] Do you want the file browser to follow the file the agent is editing?
• [ ] Do you need session replay, project memory, and one-click resume?
• [ ] Do you want Skills X-ray, agent usage, and a release wizard for Node projects?
• [ ] Do you need AI organize with rollback and one-click undo?
• [ ] Do you prefer a local-first, zero-config, zero-runtime-dependency app?
• [ ] Is macOS Apple Silicon your primary platform?
• [ ] Do you want a UI that does not pretend to be a code editor?

Security Notes

FanBox is a local-first, zero-runtime-dependency macOS app. There is no cloud, no remote, no accounts, and no telemetry mentioned in the README. The embedded terminal is a real terminal, so anything you can do in iTerm you can do in FanBox. The agent has the same access to your filesystem and your credentials as your user account.

If you use the AI organize feature, the AI sees only metadata — it does not read file content and does not touch the filesystem directly. The plan is approved line by line, and FanBox executes with a rollback log and a one-click undo. Treat the rollback log as a real safety net, not as a substitute for reviewing the plan.

The release wizard runs the version-bump, CHANGELOG, build, push, and GitHub Release sequence in the embedded terminal. Review the command sequence before you run it, the way you would review any other command that touches your release pipeline.

FAQ

Q: Does FanBox replace my code editor? A: No. The README is explicit that FanBox does not compete with VS Code on editing. It is a cockpit around the agent, with file browser, preview, and embedded terminal.

Q: Does FanBox need an internet connection? A: No. FanBox is local-first, zero-config, and zero-runtime-dependency. The agent in the embedded terminal is what needs the model endpoint.

Q: Can I use FanBox on Windows or Linux? A: The README’s platform badge is macOS Apple Silicon. The release page is the source of truth for which platforms are currently shipped.

Q: How does session resume work? A: FanBox records the past sessions for each project, with the first message as the title. The ”▶ 续上” button runs claude --resume or codex resume in the embedded terminal and reconnects the conversation in the same window.

Q: Does AI organize read my files? A: No. The README is explicit: AI organize uses metadata only. The plan is approved line by line, and FanBox executes with a rollback log and a one-click undo.

Conclusion

FanBox is one of the more thoughtful local cockpits for coding agents. The live dashboard, the project memory, the session replay, the release wizard, and the AI organize with rollback are the features that make it a real productivity tool rather than another wrapper around a terminal. If you run Claude Code or Codex in iTerm and you are tired of the Finder-iTerm-browser hop, FanBox is worth a serious look. If you want a real code editor with an agent baked in, this is not the project.

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