Preview software: Development is moving fast, and things will break. Expect bugs, rough edges, and breaking changes between builds.
A native Mac client for Discobox. Work with your coding agents, see harness usage, and connect to several Discobox servers from one app.
- A native client experience. Work in embedded Ghostty terminals with Mac keyboard shortcuts and copy/paste. Keep your agent visible alongside shell tabs, open services and desktops, browse files and audit logs, and answer approval requests through the app or macOS notifications.
- Harness usage at a glance. See available Codex and Claude Code subscription quota readings, including usage percentages and reset times for supported windows such as five hours and weekly. Readings are shown per harness and computer, using data already observed by Discobox; they can be delayed or unavailable.
- Multiple servers, one window. Connect to your local computer and remote Discobox servers over Iroh at the same time. View all boxes together or filter by computer, then group by repository, harness, state, or tag. Each server keeps its own terminals, services, and credentials while you switch.
You must install and set up Discobox before using this app. Follow the official Discobox installation and getting-started instructions to install the CLI and complete its setup on the computer that will run your boxes. Make sure you can use Discobox from the terminal before continuing.
This app connects to an existing server. It does not install Discobox or start its server for you. Your boxes remain available through the Discobox CLI and keep running when you quit the Mac app.
Preview builds require Apple Silicon (M1 or newer) and macOS 14 or newer.
- Open Releases.
- Under a release’s Assets, download
Discobox-macos-arm64.zip. The Source code archives are not the app. - Unzip the download and drag Discobox.app into Applications.
If a release has no app ZIP attached yet, open Actions → Build preview, choose a successful run, and download its app ZIP from Artifacts. GitHub may require you to sign in to download an Actions artifact.
Preview builds are not signed with an Apple Developer ID and are not notarized. macOS may block the first launch. If you trust the downloaded build:
- Open Discobox from Applications once. If macOS blocks it, dismiss the alert.
- Open System Settings → Privacy & Security and scroll to Security.
- Find the message about Discobox and click Open Anyway.
- Confirm Open in the next prompt. Authenticate if macOS asks.
After that, open Discobox normally from Applications. See Apple’s instructions for opening an app from an unidentified developer for more detail.
On launch, the app tries the default local Discobox server. If the server is running, your boxes appear automatically. Otherwise, the app shows a connection screen; check that you have completed Discobox’s setup and started its server. Manage saved computers in Discobox → Settings → Connections.
- Press ⌘N to create a box or ⌘K to find and switch boxes.
- In New box → Credentials for this box, add a token, its environment
variable (for example
OBOT_MCP_TOKEN), and its destination host (for exampledemo.on-obot.ai). Reference${OBOT_MCP_TOKEN}in your repository’s MCP headers. The selected server stores the token and assigns it during creation; the shared harness stays unchanged. Discobox 0.18 may ask for approval on first use. Closing the window or changing computers clears unsaved token drafts. - Opening a stopped box offers Start & Open or View Saved. Saved terminal output also has a Start Box button, even when your sidebar filters hide it.
- Creating a box keeps your filters. A temporary New boxes row shows startup progress or errors; Reveal shows a running box hidden by your filters.
- Use the boxes menu to group and filter the list. All computers shows boxes from every connected server.
- Open the right-hand inspector for services, box details, and tags.
- Expand Harness usage in the sidebar for quota readings and reset times.
- Use Settings to choose System, Light, or Dark appearance, customize shortcuts, configure harnesses, manage credentials, and enable notifications.
Open a running box’s Files tab. It starts in the agent’s working directory; Source takes you back there. Drag files or folders from Finder into the list to upload, or drop onto a folder to copy into it. Select several items with Command or Shift, then drag them to Finder to download. Transfers also work with remote boxes over the existing connection.
Existing remote names prompt before replacement. Downloads never replace an existing local file. Upload… and the download button offer the same transfers without dragging. The box, pool, and server must support Discobox’s Files API. Discobox v0.18.0/v0.18.1 do not include it; updating only this Mac app is not enough.
Install and set up Discobox on the remote computer, then enable its Iroh listener.
In the Mac app, choose Settings → Connections → Add Connection, name the
computer, and enter its discobox://<server-peer-id> address. Use Authorize
this computer to copy an enrollment command and run it on the server computer.
Then save the connection and click Connect.
The remote connection guide walks through the server config, starting its listener, finding the correct peer ID, and enrolling the Mac app. Adding a remote server keeps your local connection open.
You do not need Xcode or the app’s source code to use a downloaded preview. To build or contribute, follow the development guide. See Architecture for implementation details.