Pick up where you are.
Your settings and keybindings come with you. Find your extensions on Open VSX and get straight back to building.
Make yourself at home ↗ Primal Code 1.135.7 Built for your flow Your next idea.
Your next idea.
Already in motion.
The editor you know. The agents you trust.
One beautifully focused place to build what comes next.
Free editor. Your API keys. No new subscription.
Made for the work only you can imagine.Step inside
Interactive preview Sample project
Primal Code
Local workspace
TS
1
// A little less friction. A lot more possibility.2
import { motion } from "motion/react";3
4
export default function YourNextIdea() {5
return (6
<main className="something-great">7
<motion.section initial={{ opacity: 0 }}8
animate={{ opacity: 1 }}>9
<h1>Make room for your next idea.</h1>10
<p>And see how far it takes you.</p>11
<Button href="/start">Let’s build</Button>12
</motion.section>13
</main>14
);15
}TerminalProblems 0Output
~/your-next-idea on main
❯ Ready when you are.
⑂ main ✓ 0 problemsInteractive illustration · no code is executedPrimal Code
Your code. Your agent. Side by side.
Choose a file, switch agents, or run the sample. This space is yours to explore.
Bring the intelligence you already trust.
✳ Claude◉ OpenAI✦ Gemini≈ deepseekKimi↗+ your endpoint
Your own keys. Provider usage billed separately.
Less between thinking and making
Familiar foundations.
A different kind of flow.
A full VS Code-OSS editor, thoughtfully reworked around how you build with agents. Your files, your shortcuts, your way of working.
Give your ideas an agent.
Claude and Codex read, write, and run code in your project. Keep sessions organised, with git worktrees when you need room to experiment.
Meet your agents ↗Set the feeling. Find the flow.
Six complete vibes and a gallery of 161 themes. From the tabs to the terminal, your whole workspace feels like yours.
Find your atmosphere ↗On your machine. On your terms.
Powerful connections.
Personal by design.
Your keys stay in your operating system’s keychain. Your requests go directly to your AI provider. There’s no Primal server sitting in the middle.
- ✓ No Primal account to create
- ✓ No telemetry sent to us
- ✓ Use your existing Claude Code login
Your machineKeys stored locally
✳Claude
◉OpenAI
✦Google
⌘Your endpoint
A direct connection. Always yours.
Good tools have nothing to hide.
Public releases. A public issue tracker. Built on the VS Code open-source core.
Shipping in v1.135.7. Signed installers, automatic updates and cloud sync are not available yet. Read the docs ↗
What does it cost?
The editor is free and there is nothing to subscribe to. Your only cost is what your AI provider bills your own key — Primal Code adds nothing on top. If you use your existing Claude Code login, you pay whatever you already pay for that.
Where do my API keys live?
In your operating system's keychain, on your machine. Requests go from your computer directly to the provider you chose — there is no Primal server in the middle to see your key or your code.
Do I need an account?
No. There is no sign-up, no sign-in, and no telemetry to us. The one optional network request the app makes on its own is a check for a newer build, which carries nothing about you.
Will my VS Code extensions work?
Most of them. Primal Code is a full build of the VS Code open-source core, so your keybindings and settings carry over as they are. Extensions install from the Open VSX registry rather than Microsoft's marketplace: anything published there installs as usual, while Microsoft's own extensions — Pylance, C/C++, Remote-SSH — are not on Open VSX and are the exception.
Why does my OS warn me on first launch?
The installers are not yet signed or notarised, so the OS shows its standard unsigned-app warning. On macOS, right-click the app, choose Open, then Open again. On Windows, click “More info”, then “Run anyway”.
Which AI models can I use?
Any model your keys unlock: Anthropic, OpenAI, Google, DeepSeek, Kimi, GLM and MiniMax today, plus any custom Anthropic-compatible endpoint. The agents are Claude (through the Claude Agent SDK) and Codex.
Does it update itself?
Not yet. The app checks a small manifest and shows a notice when a newer build exists; you download and run the new installer yourself. Auto-update needs signed installers, which are not there yet.
Your next chapter starts here
Make something
only you could.
Bring your ideas. Bring your keys.
We’ll make room for the rest.
Download for macOSApple silicon · .dmg
Download for Windowsx64 · user installer
Download for Linuxx64 · .deb for Ubuntu, Debian
Installers are currently unsigned. macOS and Windows show a warning on first launch. Read the installation guide.