Getting Started
Introduction
OPIDE is a ground-up AI-native IDE built entirely in Rust. Not a fork. Not a wrapper. A new class of development environment built for the agent era from day one.
What makes it different#
Every AI IDE on the market today is one of two things: a VS Code fork with a chat panel bolted on, or a cloud editor that sends your code to a server and relies on the LLM context window as memory. When the session ends, everything is forgotten.
OPIDE is built differently across three areas that matter:
It remembers#
The Engram memory system gives the agent persistent memory across sessions. A three-tier architecture — sensory buffer, working memory with purposeful decay, and a long-term knowledge graph — means the agent knows your codebase, your decisions, and your context without you pasting it back in every time.
It understands structure#
Tree-sitter AST indexing runs across 13 languages the moment you open a project. The agent queries a live index of every function, call site, type hierarchy, and dependency. Before touching any file it knows the impact radius of the change — which callers break, which tests are affected, which dependents need updating.
It is secure by default#
PII detection, AES-256-GCM field-level encryption, a QuickJS sandbox that controls exactly what the agent can access, OS keychain integration, and a full audit trail — not optional plugins, part of the core architecture.
The stack#
| Layer | Technology | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Editor surface | Monaco + TypeScript | The editor you type in — same core as VS Code |
| Desktop shell | Tauri 2.x | Native window, OS integrations, plugin stack |
| Agent engine | Rust (opide-engine) | Agent loop, orchestration, provider routing |
| Memory | Rust (engram) | Three-tier memory with consolidation and decay |
| Code intelligence | Rust + tree-sitter | AST indexing, call graph, impact analysis |
| Sandbox | QuickJS (rquickjs) | Controlled execution environment for agent ops |
| Storage | SQLite (encrypted) | Memory graph, index, audit trail |
Where to go next#
- ◆Follow the Installation guide to get OPIDE running from source.
- ◆Read Configure a Provider to connect your first AI model.
- ◆Go deep on Engram Memory to understand how the agent remembers.
- ◆Read Trust Modes to understand how much autonomy to give the agent.