Axon is a personal AI-powered code editor built with Electron, React, TypeScript, Monaco, and a Go backend. It is built for day-to-day coding first: files, panes, terminal, Git, search, settings, previews, and language-server support.
Quick look
Full demo
Screenshots
| Workspace and Navigation | ||
 Empty workspace |
 File tree and tabs |
 Command palette |
| Git and Review | ||
 Source control |
 Side-by-side diff |
 Language servers |
| Customization and Tools | ||
 Appearance settings |
 Spotify player |
 Terminal panel |
Editor
- Electron desktop shell
- React, TypeScript, Tailwind CSS
- Monaco Editor
- xterm.js terminal
Core
- Authenticated Go HTTP/WebSocket server bound to
127.0.0.1 - File system, workspace search, Git, terminal PTY, and local AI runtime routes
See architecture.md for the full repository architecture, ownership boundaries, and migration direction.
axon/
├── package.json # npm workspace root for editor and shared packages
├── build/ # repo-level build orchestration
├── tools/ # repo maintenance and guardrail scripts
├── services/
│ └── core/ # Go backend
│ ├── cmd/axon/ # backend entry point
│ ├── cmd/axon-agent/ # terminal agent command installed as axon
│ └── internal/
│ ├── fs/ # file tree, text reads, writes, search
│ ├── server/ # HTTP routes
│ ├── terminal/ # PTY + websocket bridge
│ └── ai/ # model discovery, project context, and streaming chat
├── packages/
│ ├── extension-api/ # manifest, registry, and runtime extension contracts
│ ├── protocol/ # shared wire protocol contracts
│ ├── ipc/ # shared IPC channel contracts
│ └── config/ # shared repository and extension path conventions
├── extensions/ # built-in and marketplace extension packages
│ ├── builtin/
│ └── marketplace/
├── apps/
│ └── editor/ # Electron + React app
│ └── src/
│ ├── main/ # Electron main process, IPC, updater, LSP
│ ├── platform/ # reusable renderer/client services
│ ├── preload/ # safe contextBridge API
│ ├── workbench/ # editor shell and built-in UI contributions
│ └── renderer/ # editor, sidebar, onboarding, and shared UI features
└── docs/ # release, update, and LSP notes
Prerequisites: Node.js 22, npm 10 or newer, Go 1.25.1 or newer, and Git.
npm install
npm run devIn development, npm run dev starts the Go core, Vite renderer, and Electron
shell together. Packaged builds include the Go core binary and start it
automatically.
npm run build
npm --workspace axon run packPlatform packages:
npm --workspace axon run dist:mac
npm --workspace axon run dist:win
npm --workspace axon run dist:linuxBuild output goes to apps/editor/release/.
Use the file that matches your platform and CPU:
- macOS Apple Silicon:
Axon-<version>-arm64.dmg - macOS Intel:
Axon-<version>.dmg - Windows:
Axon.Setup.<version>.exe - Linux AppImage:
Axon-<version>.AppImage - Linux Debian/Ubuntu:
axon_<version>_amd64.deb
If macOS says the app is not supported, the downloaded build probably does not match your CPU architecture.
Axon checks GitHub releases for newer versions. On unsigned personal macOS builds, fully automatic in-app replacement is not guaranteed because macOS Gatekeeper and Electron updater flows expect signed/notarized apps for the smoothest install-and-relaunch path. For that reason, the safest update path is:
- Open the update notice in Axon.
- Download the correct release artifact for your platform.
- Replace the old app manually if the in-app updater cannot relaunch.
Windows and Linux builds do not require Apple notarization, but releases still need to be tested on their target platform before being treated as stable.
More detail: docs/UPDATES.md.
- Real folder/workspace opening
- Lazy file tree with Git colors, ignored-path handling, and independent watcher ownership in every Axon window
- Split panes, draggable tabs, dirty indicators, and close prompts
- Shared Monaco models across panes
- Markdown preview and full-height HTML preview with browser logs in Output
- Live Markdown preview tabs that stay connected to dirty editor content
- Image/video preview through Axon protocols
- Workspace search with jump-to-line and binary/cache exclusions
- Cmd+P project file search with file-first results and
>command search - Source control, side-by-side diffs, live Git line paint, branch/stash workflows, conflict helpers, and worktree management
- Git Graph editor tab with commit details, changed-file tree, comparisons, and commit hover details
- Problems panel with project-aware LSP diagnostics and copy actions
- Problems as editor tabs opened from the status bar
- Test explorer with project-aware provider discovery, target runs, and inline output
- Integrated terminal with tabs, replay protection, and session health diagnostics
- Built-in terminal workbench contribution loaded from the extension-oriented architecture
- Interactive
axonterminal sessions with workspace context, saved conversations,axon resume, slash commands, model selection, animated CLI header, and streaming responses - Settings UI and settings JSON
- Extension-backed built-in themes, custom themes, and imported fonts
- Code Snapshot editor tool with theme-aware syntax colors, configurable presentation, watermarking, clipboard copy, and PNG export
- Extension-host activation, command runtime, contribution registry, and built-in workbench feature routing
- Splash screen and custom app icon/name
- Low-latency LSP completion, hover, diagnostics, navigation, rename, and formatting across bundled and install-on-demand language servers
- Tailwind CSS warnings, hover details, and variant-aware utility completions
- Rich syntax coloring through Monaco, TextMate/Shiki grammars, LSP semantic tokens, Axon decorations, and language-specific fallbacks
- Token inspector for debugging actual rendered syntax colors and semantic decoration output
- Workspace-aware Language Tools for detected languages, server installation, lifecycle controls, status, install progress, and logs
- Live LSP diagnostics routed into Problems
- Format-on-save support with bundled Prettier fallback for common web and document languages when a language server does not format the file
Axon does not reimplement language intelligence itself. Like Zed and VS Code, it acts as an LSP client and talks to language servers.
Currently targeted:
- TypeScript/JavaScript: bundled
typescript-language-server - Go: bundled managed
gopls - Python: bundled
pyright-langserver - PHP: bundled
intelephense - HTML, CSS, JSON, YAML, Docker, Bash, and web frameworks: bundled npm servers
- C/C++, Rust, Java, C#, Kotlin, Lua, XML, Protocol Buffers, Dart, SQL, TOML, Zig, Terraform, LaTeX, Clojure, Haskell, Erlang, and Assembly: installed on demand from Language Tools
- Swift, Ruby, Scala, R, PowerShell, and Makefile: detected automatically and installed or connected through their supported runtime toolchains
Release builds package npm-backed servers and Go. Other native servers, SDKs, and private runtimes are downloaded only when the user installs their language from Axon's Language Tools. Downloads are version-pinned, integrity-checked, staged outside the active installation, and cleaned up when cancelled or failed. This keeps the desktop installer smaller without removing syntax highlighting or workspace language detection.
More detail: docs/LANGUAGE_SERVERS.md.
See CHANGELOG.md for the full history and docs/releases/v1.3.2.md for the latest release notes.
Axon is available under the MIT License.
Copyright (c) 2026 GordenArcher and Axon Editor Group.
- Reviewed AI patch preview/apply workflow
- Complete multi-root behavior across Git, LSP, terminals, tests, and agent context
- Additional hosted/local AI providers with secure credential storage
- Complete extension contribution activation and replace the temporary asset mirror
- Test coverage, test debugging, advanced Git review, and deeper LSP features