Your local AI assistant. Right-click any folder to code. Write emails in plain language. No subscription. No cloud. No limits.
I was fed up with AI subscriptions and hitting limits constantly. So I built my own offline AI assistant that lives on my machine, knows my files, writes my emails, and costs nothing to run.
This is Coda — a coding assistant and email agent that sits quietly in your system tray (Linux) or menu bar (macOS) until you need it.
| Feature | Description |
|---|---|
| System tray | C icon lives in your taskbar (Linux) or menu bar (macOS), always one click away |
| Right-click → Call Coda | Opens a coding session in any folder from the file manager |
| Launch Coda | Folder picker from the tray to start a coding session anywhere |
| Startup splash | Pixel-art "CODA" fades in and out when Coda starts |
| Terminal fill level | C icon fills green → yellow → red as coding sessions open (up to 10) |
| Email Agent | Reads inbox, writes replies, saves to Drafts or sends — all from one window |
| Model switcher | Switch AI provider instantly from the tray, no need to open Preferences |
| Separate AI per task | Use local Ollama for coding and Gemini free for email, or any combination |
| Preferences window | Configure everything from a clean UI — no config files to edit |
| Single-instance windows | Email Agent and Preferences hide when you close them, reopen instantly from tray |
| Privacy first | Cloud providers shown a warning before processing your emails |
| Aider-powered coding | Git commit on every change, /undo, /diff, full file editing |
Start a coding session in three ways:
- C → Launch Coda in the tray → pick a folder from the dialog
- Right-click any folder → Call Coda in your file manager (Linux only — see note below)
- From the terminal:
cd ~/my-project
codaA terminal opens with your AI ready to work on your files:
> create a weather app with vanilla HTML CSS and JS
> fix the temperature conversion bug in app.js
> add a dark mode toggle to index.html
> explain what this function does
Every change Coda makes is automatically committed to git with a description.
Type /undo to roll back the last change instantly.
macOS note: The right-click "Call Coda" option in Finder is not available on macOS. macOS does not allow third-party apps to add custom right-click actions to Finder without a signed App Extension. Use C → Launch Coda from the menu bar or the
codaterminal command instead.
/add . add all project files to the session
/add index.html add a specific file
/undo roll back the last change
/diff see exactly what changed
/ask ask a question without editing any files
/git show git log of Coda's commits
/exit quit
C → Email Agent in your system tray opens the email window.
- Four tabs — Unread, Read, Drafts, New Email
- Select any email — Coda reads it for context
- Describe your reply in plain language — "tell him Tuesday works, ask about the budget"
- Coda writes the full professional email
- Save to Drafts — appears in Gmail ready to review and send
- Send Now — sends directly without leaving Coda
- New Email tab — write brand new emails the same way
- Auto-refresh — inbox updates automatically every 5 minutes
- All panels resizable — drag dividers to adjust any section to your preference
Closing the email window with X does not quit it — it stays alive in the background. Click C → Email Agent again and it reappears instantly, with your inbox already loaded.
It only fully closes when you choose Quit from the tray.
Coda connects directly to your email account over IMAP/SMTP using an App Password. Your emails never touch a third-party server unless you choose a cloud AI provider for email — in which case Coda shows a privacy warning before proceeding.
C → Switch Model in the tray lets you change your AI provider instantly — no need to open Preferences.
C
├── Launch Coda
├── Email Agent
├── ──────────
├── Model: Ollama (local) ← shows active provider
├── Switch Model ▶
│ ├── 🏠 Ollama (local) ✓
│ ├── 🔵 Gemini
│ ├── 🟢 OpenAI
│ └── 🟠 Claude
├── ──────────
├── Preferences
└── Quit
If you switch to a cloud provider and haven't added an API key yet, Coda reminds you to open Preferences first.
In Preferences → Email tab you can choose a different AI provider for the Email Agent than the one used for coding.
For example:
- Coding — Ollama local model (private, no cost, always available)
- Email — Gemini free tier (more capable for writing, processes email content externally)
Or keep both on local Ollama for complete privacy.
| Provider | Free tier | Works for |
|---|---|---|
| Ollama (local) | ✓ free forever | Coding + Email |
| Gemini | ✓ free tier | Coding + Email |
| Claude API | paid | Coding + Email |
| OpenAI | paid | Coding + Email |
Get a free Gemini API key at aistudio.google.com.
- Linux — Debian/Ubuntu based (tested on Zorin OS and Ubuntu)
- macOS — Ventura or later
- Python 3
- For local models: Ollama (installed automatically by the installer)
- For email: Gmail App Password, or any IMAP/SMTP provider
- Linux only: Nautilus file manager (GNOME) for the right-click extension
bash <(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/sebamuhr/Coda/main/install.sh)The installer detects your platform and walks you through everything interactively:
- Choose your AI provider (Ollama, Gemini, Claude, OpenAI)
- Enter your server IP or API key
- Pick your model
- Set up the Email Agent (optional)
- Everything is configured and running
macOS notes:
- Requires Homebrew — the installer will check for it
- Ollama is downloaded and runs as a hidden background service — no icon, no app to open
- The alias is written to
~/.zshrc - Coda starts on login via a LaunchAgent — click the Coda icon in the menu bar to reopen it after quitting
Coda.appis created in~/Applications— search Coda in Spotlight to relaunch it anytime- Right-click "Call Coda" in Finder is not available on macOS — use C → Launch Coda or the
codaterminal command
Linux — click to expand
1. Install system dependencies
sudo apt install python3 python3-pip python3-tk python3-venv \
python3-nautilus gir1.2-ayatanaappindicator3-0.1 \
python3-gi python3-gi-cairo gir1.2-gtk-3.0 \
wmctrl libnotify-bin
python3 -m pip install pystray pillow2. Install Aider
python3 -m venv ~/aider-env
source ~/aider-env/bin/activate
pip install aider-chat3. Download Coda
git clone https://github.com/sebamuhr/Coda.git ~/coda-project4. Install the right-click extension
sudo mkdir -p /usr/share/nautilus-python/extensions/
sudo curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/sebamuhr/Coda/main/coda_extension.py \
-o /usr/share/nautilus-python/extensions/coda_extension.py
nautilus -q5. Create desktop entry and autostart
mkdir -p ~/.local/share/applications ~/.config/autostart
cat > ~/.local/share/applications/coda.desktop << EOF
[Desktop Entry]
Type=Application
Name=Coda
Exec=/usr/bin/python3 $HOME/coda-project/coda-tray.py
Icon=$HOME/.local/share/icons/coda.png
Terminal=false
Categories=Development;Utility;
EOF
cp ~/.local/share/applications/coda.desktop ~/.config/autostart/coda.desktop6. Launch and configure
/usr/bin/python3 ~/coda-project/coda-tray.py &Click C → Preferences and fill in your AI provider and email settings.
macOS — click to expand
1. Install dependencies
brew install python-tk
python3 -m pip install pystray pillow2. Install Aider
python3 -m venv ~/aider-env
source ~/aider-env/bin/activate
pip install aider-chat3. Download Coda
git clone https://github.com/sebamuhr/Coda.git ~/coda-project4. Create a LaunchAgent for autostart
mkdir -p ~/Library/LaunchAgents
cat > ~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.coda.plist << EOF
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<!DOCTYPE plist PUBLIC "-//Apple//DTD PLIST 1.0//EN" "http://www.apple.com/DTDs/PropertyList-1.0.dtd">
<plist version="1.0">
<dict>
<key>Label</key><string>com.coda.tray</string>
<key>ProgramArguments</key>
<array>
<string>$(which python3)</string>
<string>$HOME/coda-project/coda-tray.py</string>
</array>
<key>RunAtLoad</key><true/>
<key>KeepAlive</key><false/>
</dict>
</plist>
EOF
launchctl load ~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.coda.plist5. Launch and configure
python3 ~/coda-project/coda-tray.py &Click C → Preferences and fill in your AI provider and email settings.
Your desktop
│
├── System tray (C icon)
│ ├── Launch Coda ──────────────► folder picker → coding terminal
│ ├── Email Agent ──────────────► email window (hides on X, stays alive)
│ ├── Switch Model ─────────────► change AI provider instantly
│ ├── Preferences ──────────────► configure everything
│ └── Quit ─────────────────────► closes everything cleanly
│
├── File manager right-click (Linux only)
│ └── Call Coda ────────────────► coding terminal in that folder
│
└── Terminal
└── coda (or your alias) ────► coding session in current folder
- The Call Coda right-click option (Linux only) only appears when Coda is running — quit from the tray and it disappears automatically
- The fill level on the C icon shows how many coding sessions are open — green for few, yellow for several, red when busy (max 10)
- Save to Drafts is safer for email — review in Gmail before sending
- Use
/add .in a coding session to let Coda see all your project files - Keep coding instructions focused — one task at a time works best with local models
- Every coding change is a git commit — you always have a full history to roll back
I'm a no-code developer. I started with Cursor AI and loved it — but the monthly subscription adds up fast, especially when you hit the limits. I wanted something I owned, something offline, something that didn't send my code to servers I don't control.
Coda is what I built. It's Aider + Ollama + Python glue that integrates the whole thing into your desktop. A coding assistant, an email agent, a model switcher, a preferences window — all in one system tray icon that starts with your computer.
Nothing fancy. Just works.
Pull requests welcome! Ideas for improvement:
- Support for other file managers (Dolphin, Thunar)
- Windows support
- More email providers and OAuth support
- Calendar integration
- Multiple Ollama server profiles
MIT — do whatever you want with it.
Built with frustration, coffee, and a lot of help from Claude ☕