Building ADDOM got me excited about coding again

JosPMSilva — Fri, 04 Sep 2026 14:38:30 +0000

Six months ago, I was using Codex in VS Code and started wondering what my own AI coding app would look like.

There were already good tools around. I wasn't trying to outbuild the teams behind them. I wanted something I could shape myself, and making it sounded fun.

That became ADDOM. What started with basic tool calling and streaming gradually grew into a desktop app with an editor, project memory, and agents. I kept adding things, testing them, and coming back to polish the parts that bothered me. Somewhere along the way, it got me excited about coding again.

The part I keep coming back to

My favourite part isn't asking an AI to write more code. It's being able to look at what changed and decide that I liked an earlier version better.

I wanted local file artifacts I could compare and restore without having to reconstruct an experiment from a conversation. I also wanted to open and edit the project files directly, and revisit past prompts and changes when I came back to a project.

That's the experience I'd most like people to try in ADDOM: make a small change, review the file versions, and restore an earlier one if you prefer it. The editor and conversation are in the same app, so you can keep working on the result yourself.

This doesn't replace Git or backups. It's another way to review an experiment while you're working.

What “no telemetry” means here

ADDOM doesn't collect app analytics or send telemetry to me. You connect your own AI provider; if you choose a cloud provider, your prompts and the context sent with them go to that provider. Local-first does not mean that cloud AI runs offline.

The app is free and MIT-licensed. Provider usage can still cost money, depending on the service you connect.

A small invitation

I've released 0.1.0-alpha. The Windows installer has been tested locally, but it's unsigned, and there will be rough edges. macOS and Linux need broader testing. Please read the release notes and start with a throwaway project, not your only copy of important work.

If you feel like trying it, I'd love feedback on one small exercise:

Open a disposable project and connect a provider you already use.
Ask for a small, easy-to-review file change.
Compare the artifact versions and try restoring the earlier one.

Was it clear which version you were looking at and what restoring it would do? If something was confusing before you even got that far, that's useful feedback too.

I'm not expecting ADDOM to replace everyone's favourite tool. I had a lot of fun making it, and I hope some of you enjoy using it or find something worth improving. I don't lack ideas, but I do lack time; contributions and thoughtful bug reports are welcome.

See the app and screenshots · Source and issue tracker · Alpha downloads and release notes

Thanks for reading. Happy coding!

Writing disclosure: This article was drafted with AI assistance using my own account of building ADDOM.

DEV Community: JosPMSilva

Building ADDOM got me excited about coding again

The part I keep coming back to

What “no telemetry” means here

A small invitation