StashBase is an open-source, local-first writing workspace where writers draft with Claude Code and Codex while drawing on their own sources and past work, built for people who want the editing loop of an IDE applied to prose instead of code.

What it is

StashBase is a TypeScript desktop application that turns a local folder of files into a writing project. It is distributed as Electron builds for macOS, Windows, and Linux, published under the Apache-2.0 licence, and developed in the open with 703 stars and 28 forks on GitHub. The project presents itself in one line as "Like an IDE, but for writing," and the comparison is deliberate: documents live in ordinary local project folders, browsing, editing, previews, and keyword search all work without an account, and removing a project from the application does not delete its files.

The concrete problem it solves is the mismatch between how version control presents changes and how writers read them. A code diff shows old and new lines side by side, which is the wrong shape for prose, so the project builds its own document diff: edits appear in the flow of the document rather than as a jump between removed and added lines. The second problem is context. Rather than pasting reference material into a chat window, StashBase indexes a writer's own sources with text extraction and semantic search so an agent can find relevant passages across a corpus. In that role it replaces the combination of a code editor, a manual paste buffer, and a cloud document service with a single local workspace.

Key capabilities

• Agent selection between Claude Code, Codex, and a built-in Default Agent that acts as a fallback and connects through StashBase's hosted model gateway.
• Semantic search over your own sources, enabled through Settings → Advanced → Search by Meaning with your own OpenAI or OpenRouter key.
• Local PDF text extraction and OCR, with required components downloaded on first use.
• Document diff that renders suggested revisions inline in the document rather than as old-and-new line pairs.
• Two working modes, Chat and Documents, switchable to suit the task.
• A Gallery of ready-made projects and prompts, such as How to Start a Startup, which combines Stanford CS183B lecture transcripts with a founder playbook.
• MCP server support, exposing the workspace to agents through the Model Context Protocol.

Who uses it and how

• Writers building long-form articles who want to be interviewed by an agent before drafting; the README suggests the prompt "I want to write a blog post about Humanizer. Interview me to understand what I think about it before drafting."
• Researchers and knowledge workers who assemble a project from primary sources, as in the How to Start a Startup gallery entry pairing lecture transcripts with a playbook.
• Writers concerned with voice, who use past writing and edits to guide new drafts.
• Teams on macOS 12+ with Apple Silicon or Intel, or Windows 10+ x64, as the primary supported platforms.
• Linux users on x86_64 Debian 12+ or Ubuntu 22.04+, where the platform is community-supported rather than primary.

Getting started

On macOS, install with brew install --cask liliu-z/stashbase/stashbase, or download the latest release for your platform: StashBase-*-mac-arm64.dmg, StashBase-*-mac-x64.dmg, StashBase-*-win-x64.exe, or StashBase-*-linux-amd64.deb and .AppImage. Then open or create a local folder, choose Claude Code, Codex, or the Default Agent, and sign in to StashBase if you want to use its free credits.

How it compares

This registry provides no list of paid products that StashBase replaces, and the topics it declares name no comparable writing applications. On the facts available, the project stands alone in this registry.

When to use it — and when not to

A user must supply a provider account for Claude Code or Codex, or fall back on the Default Agent and its hosted gateway, and semantic search additionally requires an OpenAI or OpenRouter key, since Default Agent credits do not cover that service. There is no server, database, or SMTP setup to operate, but the trade-off is a desktop-only, per-machine workspace, and on Intel Macs local search and PDF and image text extraction require macOS 15 or newer, with older supported systems limited to opening projects and editing files. Inline document revisions are described as coming soon in the product preview, so the headline diff experience is not yet fully shipped. Official builds also share basic usage statistics by default, excluding document and conversation content, and this must be turned off in Settings → General → Privacy by anyone who does not want that.

brew install --cask liliu-z/stashbase/stashbase

git clone https://github.com/liliu-z/stashbase
cd stashbase
pnpm install
pnpm setup:python

env -u ELECTRON_RUN_AS_NODE pnpm dev