Codetta — the lightweight code editor with first-class AI
A ~30 MB native desktop editor that ships BYOK AI as a first-class panel — not a plugin. Bring your own Anthropic, OpenAI, or Ollama key, or sign in with the Claude Code CLI to use your existing Claude Pro/Max subscription with no extra API key.
What it is
Codetta is a deliberately small, opinionated code editor designed for people who work with AI every day but resent the bloat that has crept into modern dev tooling.
Most "AI-first" editors today are either a 600 MB Electron fork of an existing editor, or a thin chat sidebar bolted onto VS Code. Codetta takes a different bet: a native shell (Tauri 2 + Rust) using your system's WebView, a Monaco-powered editor surface for the parts engineers already trust, and an AI panel that treats multiple model providers as equal citizens — including using your existing Claude subscription with zero extra API spend.
It's source-available under FSL-1.1-ALv2, free for personal and non-commercial use, and ships with no telemetry of any kind. Settings and history live on disk, in your app data folder.
Why it exists
- Memory matters again. Open five projects in most editors and you spawn five Chromium processes and watch your laptop fan kick on. Codetta runs every workspace inside one Tauri process — one window, one footprint.
- BYOK shouldn't be an afterthought. If you're paying for Claude Pro or Max, you shouldn't pay again to use Claude in your editor. Codetta routes its AI through the Claude Code CLI auth, so the same login that powers your terminal works inside the editor.
- Telemetry is a tax on trust. No phone-home, no anonymized "usage signals," no opt-out flags hidden in settings. The editor has nothing to send because it's not built to send anything.
- Native is faster. Cold starts feel instant; the binary is ~30 MB instead of ~200 MB+; resident memory stays low even with several workspaces open.
What's inside
A small, intentional stack — easy to reason about, fast to build from source.
BYOK AI panel
Anthropic API, OpenAI, local Ollama — or sign in with Claude Code CLI to use your existing Claude Pro/Max plan with no extra API key.
Multi-workspace, single window
Open every project in one app, one process. Each workspace keeps its own files, terminals, layout, and chat history.
Pop-out terminals
Drag a terminal into its own OS window for the second monitor. Re-dock with one click. xterm.js under the hood.
Zero telemetry
Your code, your keys, your machine. Settings and history stay on disk in your app data folder.
~30 MB native
Tauri 2 + Rust backend. Doesn't ship a browser; uses your system WebView2. Cold starts feel instant.
Built-in source control
Stage, diff, and commit without leaving the editor. Lean Git surface — the things you do every day, none you don't.
Stack
Get Codetta
Native builds for Windows, macOS, and Linux. Or install the CLI helper from npm and build it yourself.
CLI helper from npm
npm i -g codettaBuild from source
git clone https://github.com/getcodetta/codetta.git
cd codetta
npm install
npm run tauri dev