Codebase Colony 0.3.0 integrates with tools already installed on the machine. It has no hosted service, account system, subscription, telemetry pipeline, OAuth application, or paid API dependency.
The desktop app detects Visual Studio Code, Cursor, and VSCodium from standard Windows installation locations and PATH. Renderer code sends only a fixed editor ID and a repository-relative path. Electron resolves the path inside the selected repository and constructs the editor argument array. Repository launches use a visible new window so an existing or hidden editor window cannot swallow the request; selected-file launches reuse the active editor window. Electron confirms process creation before returning success. Arbitrary executable paths and command strings are rejected.
The system fallback opens a file or folder through Windows. Reveal in Explorer, terminal launch, and path copying use the same repository boundary. Terminal launch is restricted to an existing directory inside the selected repository and uses Windows Terminal or PowerShell with the working directory supplied separately from command text.
Analysis uses bounded, read-only Git commands and never starts a workflow action. The Git workspace adds explicit actions:
| Action | Behavior |
|---|---|
| Stage / unstage | Operates only on validated selected paths and uses -- path separation. |
| Commit | Commits already-staged changes with a one-line message; hooks and signing are disabled. |
| Fetch | Fetches the configured origin; it never runs automatically. |
| Push | Pushes the current branch without force; first publication may set its origin upstream after confirmation. |
| Pull / resolve | Opens the repository in the preferred editor. Codebase Colony does not modify the worktree or resolve conflicts. |
No reset, discard, checkout, rebase, stash, force-push, automatic sync, or arbitrary Git command surface exists. Operations are serialized, time-bounded, use argument arrays without a shell, and disable terminal credential prompting. Existing Git credential helpers may satisfy remote authentication; otherwise the operation fails without affecting the rest of the app.
Repository hooks are disabled for app-initiated commit and push. Staging can still use filters already configured in the user’s local Git installation, which is standard Git behavior; staging is always explicit and separate from repository analysis.
Quick Diff runs local staged and worktree git diff commands for one validated file, disables external diff tools, and truncates large output for UI safety. Default-branch comparison reads locally available refs and reports changed files and line counts; it does not fetch first.
GitHub links are accepted only when Electron recognizes a GitHub HTTPS or SSH origin. Repository, Issues, Pull Requests, Actions, commit, file, and compare URLs are built in Electron from that remote and current Git state. Renderer code cannot supply an arbitrary external URL. No GitHub API calls or tokens are used.
Analysis remains capped at 6,000 files and SVG rendering at 1,200 buildings. Repositories under the render cap retain the existing deterministic layout. Larger repositories prioritize mission targets, higher-risk structures, dependency cycles, and central modules; every analyzed file remains searchable, inspectable, revealable, and openable in an editor even when it is summarized rather than drawn.
Mini Colony is a separate, optional renderer window for the repository already validated by Electron. It cannot choose another filesystem path or supply a command. The window runs the same bounded read-only analysis, refreshes local Git status every 15 seconds, and exposes only the existing safe editor, Explorer, rescan, and main-window focus actions. It is always on top by default, can be unpinned, and closes without affecting the full colony.
Local interface preferences are retained: recent repository path, preferred editor ID, navigator expansion/open state, panel state, tutorial state, live-refresh choice, and visual-effect settings. Codebase Colony also stores up to 40 derived scan snapshots per repository in Electron’s app-owned data directory. A snapshot contains health/risk/coverage counts and active mission IDs—not source text, diffs, commit messages, file contents, credentials, or tokens. History can be reset from the Colony inspector. Codebase Colony does not upload repository content or integration data.
Live refresh is opt-in. Electron watches the selected repository only while the colony is open, ignores VCS metadata, dependencies, generated output, coverage folders, and common editor-temporary files, and waits for changes to settle before rescanning. Large bursts are coalesced and reported. The rescan uses the same read-only analyzer as the manual Rescan button; it never stages, commits, fetches, pushes, installs, builds, or runs tests.