# AI Junction: Muse Code desktop app for Windows and macOS

> Download Conductor, the local-first coding workspace for ChatGPT Pro, Muse Code Pro, Google AI Pro, OpenRouter and AI Junction Credits.

Bring your subscriptions, your own key, or managed credits.

Source: https://aijunction.dev

## Key facts

- Current version: see the latest GitHub release
- License: MIT, free, no paid tier
- Platforms: Windows (signed installer, WSL2), macOS (universal DMG, Apple Silicon and Intel), Linux (from source)
- Requirements: the muse CLI, logged in. Node.js ships inside the desktop app.
- Billing: uses your existing Muse Code subscription through the muse CLI; no separate API key
- Status: unofficial community project; not made, sponsored or endorsed by Meta
- Source: https://github.com/whitecliffs/conductor
- Downloads: https://github.com/whitecliffs/conductor/releases/latest
- Author: AI Junction (https://aijunction.dev)

## Features

### Every project, grouped

Threads grouped by working folder, git worktrees included. Resume any session in one click, including sessions started in the terminal TUI.

### Inline diffs

Every edit lands in the thread as a diff, right where it happened, so there is no scrollback digging.

### Approvals stay approvals

Every agent approval is surfaced the moment it arrives. None are batched away or bypassed.

### Cost, in the open

What each thread would cost at API rates, by day, by model and by thread, so you can see what your subscription is doing.

### Keyboard first

Command palette, slash commands, and a model and reasoning-effort picker. Every thread is reachable by keyboard.

### One UI, two shells

The same React interface ships as a Tauri desktop app and as a web app pointed at a remote daemon.

## How it works

- A local daemon spawns one `muse serve` host per workspace and speaks the Muse Code Session Protocol through the official MIT `@muse-code/sdk`.
- Authentication is your own `muse login`. Helicon never stores credentials.
- All state is local SQLite.
- Muse Code runs natively on Windows, and Helicon drives it directly; Muse Code inside WSL2 works too, with path translation both ways.

## Where Helicon fits

Helicon is one of several ways to run Muse Code. It is not the only GUI, and it is not official.

| | Helicon | Editor extension | Switch harness |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Runs on Windows | Signed installer, WSL2 routed | Via your editor's WSL setup | Varies |
| Billing | Your Muse Code subscription | Your Muse Code subscription | Usually its own API billing |
| Lives where | Standalone app or web | Inside the editor | Its own harness |
| Several repos at once | Sidebar, grouped by directory | One window per project | Varies |
| Approvals | Surfaced, never bypassed | Editor-dependent | Harness-dependent |

## Install

### Windows

Signed installer with auto-update. Muse Code runs natively on Windows; WSL2 still works, with path translation both ways.

1. Install the muse CLI inside WSL2 Ubuntu.
2. Sign in from the WSL2 shell.
   ```sh
   muse login
   ```
3. Run the Windows installer from the latest GitHub release.

### macOS

One universal DMG for Apple Silicon and Intel, with auto-update.

1. Sign in with the muse CLI.
   ```sh
   muse login
   ```
2. Open the macOS DMG from the latest GitHub release.
3. Drag Helicon into Applications.

Note: Builds are not Apple-notarized yet. On first launch, right-click the app and choose Open.

### Linux

Run from source for now. There is no packaged build yet.

1. Clone the repository.
   ```sh
   git clone https://github.com/whitecliffs/conductor
   ```
2. Install dependencies.
   ```sh
   cd helicon && npm install
   ```
3. Start the app.
   ```sh
   npm run dev
   ```

Note: Linux is source-only; there is no packaged build yet.

## Frequently asked questions

### Is this official?

No. Helicon is an unofficial community project, MIT licensed. It is not made, sponsored or endorsed by Meta. It is a client for the Muse Code CLI, and has nothing to do with the Muse assistant app for Mac. "Muse" and "Muse Code" are trademarks of Meta, used here only to say what Helicon works with.

### Do I need a separate API key?

No. Helicon uses your existing Muse Code subscription through the muse CLI. There is no second bill.

### Where do my credentials live?

With the muse CLI, from your own muse login. Helicon never stores or handles them.

### Does it see sessions I started in the terminal?

Yes. Sessions started in the terminal TUI show up in the sidebar with full history, and you can resume them.

### Why does macOS warn me on first launch?

The macOS builds are not Apple-notarized yet. Right-click the app and choose Open the first time.

### Can I run it against a remote machine?

Yes. The same UI ships as a web app that can point at a daemon running elsewhere.

### How does it work on Windows?

Muse Code runs natively on Windows now, and Helicon runs it directly: your own Windows paths, PowerShell for shell commands, no WSL. Muse Code inside WSL2 still works, and Helicon uses it when native Muse Code is not installed.

### What does the cost view actually show?

What each thread would have cost at Meta's published per-token rates. It is not a bill, just the meter reading, so you can see what your subscription did.

### Can I drive it without a mouse?

Yes. Command palette, slash commands, and a model and reasoning-effort picker cover everything, with full keyboard operation throughout.

### What do I need installed?

Just the muse CLI, logged in with your own muse login. The desktop app ships its own Node.js. Running from source or hosting the web app needs Node 22+ yourself.

### Does Helicon phone home?

Only to check for updates. The desktop app asks helicon.sh whether a newer version exists, and that request tells us an install is alive: the platform, the version, and a weekly hash of the IP it came from. Nothing about your code, prompts, threads or files ever leaves your machine, and there is no account.

### Is it really free?

Yes. MIT licensed, no paid tier, source on GitHub. It uses your existing Muse Code subscription, so there is no second bill.