cuckoo-code

Project Overview

Cuckoo Code is a zero-token-cost AI Agent desktop app. Using Electron, it embeds AI web UIs (DeepSeek, Claude, ChatGPT, and more) in a local window and injects a side overlay; a system prompt guides the AI to generate tool call code blocks, which run in a local sandbox after your confirmation and whose results are sent back to the AI. The whole process needs no API key and incurs no per-token API charges, since it uses your web account. It is more than chat: the AI can read and write files, search code, run commands, query databases, and call MCP tools, continuing based on results to form a full Agent loop.

Turn a web AI into a local Agent that can read and write your project and run commands, at zero API cost.

Key Features

• Zero token cost: calls no AI platform API and reuses the web chat capability directly
• Multiple providers: built-in DeepSeek, Claude, and ChatGPT, plus importable custom providers
• A real Agent loop: the AI reads and writes files, searches code, runs commands, queries databases, and calls MCP tools, continuing based on results
• Multi-window management: each window has an independent profile context and can be set to open on launch
• Project initialization: after choosing a project directory, the AI gets the directory tree and system prompt, working against real project context
• Skill support: project-level and user-level skill directories whose name, description, and path are injected at initialization, with full text read on demand
• Agent support: the main conversation can delegate to subagents with isolated context that return only summaries
• Rules support: rules can bind file paths and are injected only when the AI reads matching files
• Tool call system: supports file reading/writing, search, replacement, command execution, web fetching, and database queries
• MCP support: uses the Claude Desktop-compatible format with stdio and http server types
• Overlay panel: shows command previews, execution results, and history, switchable quickly
• Session and compaction: long sessions compact automatically, and login state and settings persist
• Auto retry: retries with backoff when replies are truncated and nudges silent streams with a watchdog
• Safety mechanisms: command and sandbox timeouts, an output buffer limit, and confirmation for dangerous commands

Target Audience

• Developers who want to drive local projects with a web AI
• Users who want to avoid API billing
• Advanced users who want to extend AI capabilities with Skills, Agents, and Rules

Quick Start

1. Download the latest installer from Releases, or run it from source
2. Launch the app and choose a platform (DeepSeek, Claude, or a custom provider)
3. Log in to the corresponding platform's web account as usual
4. Click "Initialize Project" and choose a project directory; the AI receives the directory tree and system prompt
5. Chat with the AI and ask it to modify files, run commands, or query code
6. Tool calls in the AI's replies are detected automatically, run in the sandbox after confirmation, and their results are sent back to continue

Core Advantages

• No API cost: reuses your web account, bound only by the web service's own limits with no per-token interface charges
• Actually does the work: upgrades from chat to an Agent that reads and writes files and runs commands for real development tasks
• Aligned mechanisms: Skill, Agent, and Rules follow Claude Code's directory conventions for low migration cost
• Controllable context: subagents isolate context and long sessions compact automatically, easing slowdowns in very long chats

System Requirements

Item	Requirement
OS	Windows, macOS
Runtime	Node.js 16.0.0+ (18+ recommended) and npm when running from source
Account	A working web account for the AI platform you use

Notes

• The app ships no AI of its own; you must log in to the corresponding platform's web account before use
• Tools execute inside your local project directory, so review each tool call carefully
• Dangerous commands require confirmation, but do not let the AI run destructive operations in important directories
• If electron and esbuild postinstall scripts are blocked during dependency install, approve them and reinstall
• This is a third-party tool and is not affiliated with any AI platform it connects to