SwarmUI

A ViCE (Vibe Coding Environment) for AI-assisted development. SwarmUI is a modern alternative to traditional IDEs that embraces natural, conversational coding through Claude integration.

What is a ViCE?

A Vibe Coding Environment is purpose-built for developers who have embraced AI-powered, conversational development. While traditional IDEs may add AI features as an afterthought, SwarmUI is designed from the ground up for vibe coding mastery. It provides just the right tools - nothing more, nothing less - allowing you to express creative intent through natural language without the bloat of traditional development environments.

Perfect for developers who want to master vibe coding or have already transcended tool-based workflows, SwarmUI offers a distraction-free environment where you can truly flow with your AI pair programmer.

SwarmUI provides an intuitive browser-based interface to create, view, and manage AI-assisted development sessions powered by Claude.

Features

• 🚀 Session Management: Create and manage multiple swarm sessions
• 📁 Filesystem Browser: Interactive file browser for project selection
• 🎨 Dark Mode Support: Seamless dark/light theme switching
• 📱 Responsive Design: Works on desktop and mobile devices
• 🔄 Real-time Updates: Live session status tracking
• 📊 Version Tracking: Automatic update notifications
• 🖥️ Terminal Integration: Direct terminal access via ttyd

Requirements

Core Dependencies

• Ruby >= 3.4 (required - must be installed before running the installer)
• Bundler (Ruby's package manager)

System Dependencies

The following will be installed automatically by the installation script:

• ttyd - Terminal emulator for web access
• tmux - Terminal multiplexer for session management
• gh CLI - GitHub command line interface
• gh webhook extension - For GitHub webhook integration
• Redis - For pub/sub and webhook notifications (must be available as redis-server in your PATH)

Database

• SQLite - Embedded database (no separate server required)

Installation

Prerequisites

Ensure Ruby 3.4 or higher is installed:

ruby --version  # Should show 3.4.0 or higher

If Ruby is not installed or needs upgrading:

• macOS: brew install ruby
• Ubuntu/Debian: sudo apt-get install ruby-full
• Other platforms: See Ruby installation guide

Quick Setup

1. Clone the repository:

git clone https://github.com/parruda/swarm-ui.git
cd swarm-ui

2. Run the installer script:

bin/install

This will:

• Install all required system dependencies (ttyd, tmux, gh CLI, and Redis)
• Install Ruby dependencies (bundle install)
• Create and migrate the database

3. Start the application:

bin/start

This starts all services:

• Rails app runs on port 4269
• ttyd terminal runs on port 4268
• Redis runs on a Unix socket

The application will be available at http://localhost:4269

Development

Initial Setup

bin/setup

This will:

• Install Ruby dependencies
• Create and migrate the SQLite database
• Start the development server

Running Development Mode

bin/dev

This starts all services including Redis, Rails server, Tailwind CSS watcher, and ttyd.

The application will be available at:

• http://localhost:3000 when using bin/dev

Running Tests

bin/rails test

Code Quality

bin/rubocop -A  # Run linter with auto-fix
bin/brakeman    # Run security scan

Database Commands

bin/rails db:migrate  # Run migrations
bin/rails db:seed     # Seed database
bin/rails console     # Rails console

Architecture

SwarmUI is built with:

• Rails 8.0.2: Modern web framework
• Hotwire: Turbo + Stimulus for reactive UI
• Tailwind CSS 4: Utility-first CSS framework
• SQLite: Embedded database
• Redis: Pub/sub for webhook notifications
• Solid Queue: Background job processing (in-memory for development)
• Solid Cable: WebSocket support
• Import Maps: No-build JavaScript

Configuration

The application uses standard Rails configuration. Key files:

• config/database.yml: Database configuration
• config/application.rb: Application settings
• config/environments/: Environment-specific settings
• config/credentials.yml.enc & config/master.key: Rails encrypted credentials

Credentials Setup

Each installation generates its own unique credentials during setup. The bin/setup script automatically:

• Creates a secure master key (config/master.key)
• Generates encrypted credentials (config/credentials.yml.enc) with required keys:
  • secret_key_base: For Rails session security
  • active_record_encryption: Keys for database encryption

Important: Never commit your master.key file. Both files are gitignored for security.

Contributing

1. Fork the repository
2. Create your feature branch (git checkout -b feature/amazing-feature)
3. Commit your changes (git commit -m 'Add amazing feature')
4. Push to the branch (git push origin feature/amazing-feature)
5. Open a Pull Request

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.