Labonair Code Editor

The Zen-Mode First Editor for the AI Era.
High-performance. Privacy-focused. Native AI Orchestration.
Highly Customizable

Features • Visuals • Shortcuts • Download • Config • Roadmap • Contributing

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⚡ What is Labonair?

Labonair is a hard-fork of VS Code engineered for Focus and Autonomy.

We stripped away the clutter, redesigned the UI for a "Zen" experience, and rebuilt the AI architecture from scratch. Labonair is not just a skin; it's a completely new way to interact with code, featuring a unified dock, keyboard-centric navigation ("The Shelf"), and a native Dual-Engine AI system that supports both APIs and Autonomous Agents via ACP.

🏆 Why Labonair?

Feature	VS Code (Standard)	Labonair
Interface	Cluttered, 3 separate bars	Unified Dock & Zen Header
Navigation	Tabs & Sidebar	The Shelf (Harpoon-style)
AI	GitHub Copilot (Subscription)	BYOK (OpenAI, Anthropic, Ollama)
Agents	Limited	Native ACP Support (Claude Code)
Privacy	Telemetry Enabled	Telemetry Removed
Extensions	MS Marketplace	OpenVSX Registry

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⌨️ Labonair Cheatsheet

New workflows require new muscle memory. Here are the essentials:

Action	Shortcut (Mac)	Shortcut (Win/Lin)
Pin to Shelf	Cmd + Shift + 1-9	Alt + Shift + 1-9
Jump to Shelf	Cmd + 1-9	Alt + 1-9
Toggle Zen Mode	Command Palette	Command Palette
New Chat	Cmd + Shift + N	Ctrl + Shift + N
Instant Preview	Up/Down in QuickOpen	Up/Down in QuickOpen
Reveal in Sidebar	Cmd + E (in QuickOpen)	Ctrl + E (in QuickOpen)

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✨ Key Features

🧘 Zen UI Architecture

• Unified Dock: We removed the Activity Bar and merged it into a 32px Status Bar at the bottom. More screen space for your code.
• Fluid Explorer: A redesigned file tree with deep indentation, "phantom arrows", and floating selection pills for reduced visual noise.
• Minimalist Header: The title bar is cleaned up, featuring a right-aligned control cluster for Branch, Project, and Profile.

📚 The Shelf

Stop drowning in tabs. The Shelf allows you to pin up to 9 files for instant access.

• Pin: Alt + Shift + 1-9
• Jump: Alt + 1-9
• Smart: Indicators show if a pinned file has unsaved changes or errors.
• Fluid: Drag & drop files from the explorer directly into the dock.

🤖 Dual-Engine AI Core

Labonair features a completely custom AI architecture that runs locally or via your own keys.

1. Direct API Mode: Chat with GPT-4o, Claude 3.5, Gemini, or DeepSeek. Supports images (multimodal) and context via @file.
2. Agent Client Protocol (ACP): Connects to autonomous agents like Claude Code. These agents can run terminal commands, create files, and refactor entire directories autonomously.
   • Security: Includes a "Human-in-the-Loop" permission system to approve agent actions.

🚀 Developer Experience

• Native Inline Blame: Lightning-fast git blame ghost text (no extensions required).
• Typewriter Mode: Keeps your cursor vertically centered while typing.
• Instant Preview: Navigate Cmd+P results and see the file open instantly in the background.
• Terminal Tabs: Terminals now look and behave exactly like editor tabs (horizontal layout).

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📥 Installation

Labonair is available for macOS, Linux, and Windows.

Download the latest Beta Release

• macOS: Download .zip, extract, move Labonair.app to Applications.
• Windows: Download the Setup .exe.
• Linux: .deb and .rpm packages available.

Note: Updates are handled via a lightweight notification system. When a new version is available, Labonair will notify you to download it.

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🔒 Privacy Promise

Labonair removes the tracking code found in standard VS Code.

• No Telemetry: The telemetry.enableTelemetry setting is forced to false and reporting endpoints are stripped.
• No Microsoft Accounts: Settings Sync and other features requiring Microsoft logins are disabled by default.
• Local AI: You choose your AI provider. Use Ollama for 100% offline privacy, or your own API keys for cloud models.

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❓ FAQ

Can I use standard VS Code extensions?

Yes! Labonair uses OpenVSX, an open-source registry. Most extensions (Python, Rust, Vue, etc.) are available there. Note: Proprietary Microsoft extensions (like original GitHub Copilot or Live Share) that rely on hardcoded Microsoft APIs will not work. Use our native AI alternatives instead!

How do I sync my settings?

Standard "Settings Sync" sends data to Microsoft servers, which is disabled in Labonair for privacy. We recommend using extensions like "Settings Sync" (Shan Khan) or simply versioning your .labonair user folder with Git.

Where is the Activity Bar?

We killed it. 💀 But don't worry! All your views (Explorer, Search, Source Control) are available in the Dock (Status Bar) at the bottom left. Just click the icons there.

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⚙️ Configuration

Labonair works out of the box, but it's fully configurable via settings.json. Or via the Settings: Click The Profile Icon at the top right of your Labonair Instance -> Settings

AI Providers: Go to the Chat Panel > Settings Tab to configure your API keys (stored securely in your OS keychain).

The Shelf:

"labonair.shelf.enabled": true,
"labonair.shelf.limit": 5,
"labonair.shelf.showInStatusBar": true

Inline Blame:

"labonair.versionControl.inlineBlame.enabled": true,
"labonair.versionControl.inlineBlame.color": "#6C7380"

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🤝 Contributing

We welcome contributions! Whether it's fixing bugs, improving the "Zen" design, or adding new AI providers.

Please read our CONTRIBUTING.md for a quick start guide. We have a streamlined setup that gets you running in 5 minutes.

1. Fork & Clone
2. npm install
3. F5 to Debug

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❤️ Credits & Legal

• Based on Microsoft VS Code (MIT License).
• Inspired by the design of Zed.
• Extensions provided via OpenVSX.

License: MIT