Collab Public
Collab Public is a place to create with agents.
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What is Collab Public?
Collab Public is an end-to-end environment for agentic development that replaces traditional tabbed IDE interfaces with an infinite pan-and-zoom canvas. It organizes terminals, context files, and running code as free-floating tiles in one unified space, eliminating context switching and tab hunting. The tool is specifically designed for developers working with AI coding agents like Claude Code and codex-cli who need to monitor multiple terminal processes and edit multiple files simultaneously.
Collab Public pricing
Pricing model: Freemium
Free and open-source under an open license. The application is available for free download for macOS, Windows, and Linux from the GitHub releases page. No paid tiers or subscription plans exist. Installation is free via command-line on macOS and Linux using install.sh, or via .exe installer on Windows. All features are included at no cost.
Collab Public pros
- Infinite pan-and-zoom canvas eliminates tab fatigue
- Persistent terminal sessions survive app restarts via tmux
- No account required - fully local-first architecture
- Automatic knowledge graph clusters related files using static analysis
- Supports multiple workspaces with independent file trees
- Four tile types: terminal, note, code, and image
- Windows supports both PowerShell and WSL2 distros
- Syntax highlighting with language detection via Monaco Editor
- Rich markdown editing with live rendering and wikilinks
- Files snap to dot grid for spatial organization
- Drag files from navigator onto canvas to create tiles
- Force-directed graph visualization of file dependencies
- All data stored locally as plain JSON files
- Fast performance with no cloud synchronization overhead
- Anonymous usage analytics via PostHog only
Collab Public cons
- Currently in early-stage active development
- Desktop app only - no web or mobile version
- No cloud sync - workspaces are machine-local only
- Image tiles are read-only with no editing capability
- Requires Node.js 22+ and Bun for development
- Zoom limited to 33%-100% range
- No collaborative multi-user editing feature
- Anonymous analytics collected via PostHog
Frequently asked questions about Collab Public
What is Collaborator?
Collaborator is an end-to-end environment for agentic development where terminals, context files, and running code are all arranged on an infinite canvas in one place. It replaces traditional tabbed IDE interfaces with a spatial pan-and-zoom surface, eliminating context switching and tab hunting for developers working with AI agents.
Does Collaborator require an account?
No, Collaborator requires no cloud accounts and forces no remote synchronization. It operates primarily on local files with a local-first architecture, storing all canvas state, graph data, and workspace configurations as plain JSON files in the ~/.collaborator directory on your machine.
What platforms does Collaborator support?
Collaborator is a native desktop app for macOS, Windows, and Linux. On Windows, terminal sessions can target both PowerShell and WSL2 distros. macOS and Linux also support command-line installation via install.sh script.
How are terminal sessions persisted?
Every terminal tile is backed by a local tmux session managed by the application's pty.ts and tmux.ts modules. This means you can close the window, restart the application, and re-open the canvas to find your agent exactly where you left it with full scrollback history rehydrated.
What tile types are available on the canvas?
There are four tile types: Terminal (interactive shell session), Note (rich markdown editor with live rendering), Code (syntax-highlighted code editor with language detection), and Image (read-only display for PNG, JPG, JPEG, GIF, SVG, WebP files).
How do I create tiles on the canvas?
Double-click empty canvas space to create a terminal tile at that position. Drag files from the navigator onto the canvas to create note, code, or image tiles depending on file type. Tiles can be resized using eight handles and dragged by their title bar.
What is the knowledge graph feature?
The integrated knowledge graph uses static analysis and wikilinks to automatically cluster related files and notes on the canvas. It reads actual code logic using dependency-cruiser and Python parsers to map how files import each other and tracks Obsidian-style wikilinks between markdown notes.
Where is my data stored?
All application state is stored locally in the ~/.collaborator/ directory as JSON files. This includes canvas-state.json for tile positions and viewport, and config.json for workspaces, active workspace, and window state. No data is sent to cloud servers unless explicitly routed by the user.
How do I install Collaborator?
Download the latest release from the GitHub releases page for your platform. On macOS and Linux, you can also use the command-line installer: curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/collaborator-ai/collab-public/main/install.sh | bash. Windows users should use the .exe installer.
What tech stack is Collaborator built on?
Collaborator is built with Electron 40 for the desktop shell, React 19 for the UI, Tailwind CSS 4 for styling, electron-vite for build tooling, xterm.js for terminal emulation backed by node-pty, Monaco Editor for code editing, BlockNote/TipTap for markdown, D3 for force-directed graphs, sharp for image processing, and KaTeX for math rendering.