OpenAxis doesn't rebuild three open-source apps and it doesn't ship a cloud. It runs them as native processes, routes their AI calls through one local proxy, and styles them with an injection layer that survives every upstream update.
secrets.enc → memory → env vars at spawn
(encrypted file, never plaintext on disk)Each decision exists to remove a specific kind of friction.
Each tool opens in its own isolated view. Switch from Code to Design and back, your session is exactly where you left it. The shell keeps tools alive in the background instead of restarting them every time you switch.
The three integrated tools all run on the same underlying engine (OpenCode). So one config file covers all of them. Configure once — Work, Code, Design all inherit it. Add a provider and every tool can reach it immediately.
A small server runs on 127.0.0.1:9999. It holds your
real API keys, reads from secrets.enc, and exposes a single
OpenAI-compatible endpoint. The tools get a fake local token,
never your real keys. The proxy routes each call to the right
provider. It also applies a Stable Prefix Strategy for DeepSeek
and Anthropic prompt caching — ~99% cache hit rate on DeepSeek
models across Chat, Code, Work, and Design, and ~80% on the
Orchestrator (being improved). Web search and context injection
happen here too.
OpenAxis never edits a tool's source. The unified theme, the hidden
native settings, the added features — all of it is CSS and JS
injected at runtime. The overrides target stable selectors and
re-apply themselves as the apps navigate. A
git pull upstream lands cleanly. No merge conflicts.
One proxy speaks to all of them. Use a frontier model for hard work and a local one for the rest, switched per request.
The tools need to read and write your real files — that's the whole point of a code agent and a design tool. So they run as native macOS processes, not inside containers. OpenAxis starts them, pins the right runtime for each, captures their ports, and shuts them down with the app.
No virtualization layer to install. No compose file to babysit.
You download one .dmg, drag it to Applications, and
the app manages everything it needs.
Chat, Orchestrator, Code, Design, Work, and Memory, each explained in depth.
The security model in plain language: keys, the proxy, sandboxing, and what leaves your Mac.
Costs, data location, macOS-only, and what to do after an upstream update.
Drag OpenAxis to your Applications folder, then add your API keys in the Config panel. Apple Silicon, macOS 14 and up.