Subshell is an open-source, self-hosted dashboard for interactive coding agents. Run Claude Code, Codex, and other agent CLIs on your own machines, then access them from a browser or desktop app.
- Your machines, your data. Host the server yourself and run agents on its machine or enrolled nodes. You don't need a hosted Subshell account.
- Your choice of agents. Built-in plugins support Claude Code, Codex, OpenCode, Hermes, pi, and a plain terminal. Add more through the plugin API.
- Work across devices. Reconnect from a browser or desktop app, arrange sessions in workspaces, and share view or edit access with other users.
- Keep work together. Browse workspace members and other subshells in one sidebar. Drag sessions in or out without stopping them, and follow subagents beneath their parent.
- Let agents coordinate. The built-in MCP server supports cross-agent communication, encrypted channels, and helper sessions.
- Visit Subshell downloads and install Subshell Server on the machine that will host your instance.
- Open the app and follow the setup steps to install the server and create your administrator account.
- Launch an agent from the dashboard. To run agents on another machine, install Subshell Client there and enroll it as a node.
See Install Subshell Server for desktop setup, or Installation for CLI, Docker, and Proxmox LXC options. You can access the dashboard from a browser or Subshell Client.
The complete guides and references are at docs.subshell.sh.
- What is Subshell?: capabilities and reasons to use it.
- Get started: installation and access from other devices and machines.
- Use Subshell: sessions, workspaces, and sharing.
- Server administration: configuration, users, backups, and updates.
- MCP and agent communication: tools, channels, and coordination.
- Security model: protections, trust boundaries, and limitations.
- Developer guides: plugins, API integrations, and contributing.
Start with Contribute to Subshell for development setup and verification. Contributions require the one-time Contributor License Agreement.
For work in this repository, AGENTS.md contains development instructions and links to notes for each app. The engineering documentation index covers security rationale, release mechanics, the design system, and historical decisions.
Subshell is free to self-host and uses two open-source licenses:
| Code | License |
|---|---|
apps/server/**: the API, web dashboard, and server desktop app |
AGPL-3.0-only |
| Everything else: the node, client apps, plugins, and shared packages | Apache-2.0 |
The server license includes an API Type Surface exception, allowing its TypeScript API declarations to be used under Apache-2.0. The exception covers types, not server implementation. See the license text for its scope and terms.
Subshell is copyright Disaresta, LLC. Commercial licenses for the control plane are available to organizations that cannot use AGPL-licensed software; contact Theo Gravity.