Desktop app

The desktop app is a thin local wrapper around the web app with access to your machine. It can host or connect to the local backend, open your configured terminal, and show the same mission and delivery record as the web surface.

Use the CLI when you need repeatable setup or automation.

What it adds

The desktop app provides local capabilities a browser cannot:

• a direct connection to your local terminal
• linking Overlord projects to repository folders on your machine
• launching agents into those repositories
• embedded terminal sessions with configurable tmux profiles
• AI-assisted Git commit messages and push from the Current Changes view
• per-user agent configuration synced through Overlord
• local notifications

Bundled agent connectors

The desktop app packages the Overlord-managed connectors so agents such as Claude and Codex can work on missions from their native surfaces. Install them from Settings → CLI & Local Agents, or use the CLI equivalents:

ovld agent-setup claude
ovld agent-setup codex

Rerun the prepare step (or ovld agent-setup <agent>) after an Overlord update to keep the local connector files in sync. See Agents and connectors for the full connector list and slash commands.

Change viewer

The desktop app includes a built-in diff browser for linked repositories. Open a project’s Current Changes view to:

• inspect uncommitted files and their status
• view the unified diff for any file
• read the rationale attached to changed hunks

That rationale comes from agent deliveries and explains why a change was made, which makes review far faster than reading raw terminal output.

Related: Web app · Review deliveries · Data boundaries