Getting started with Argus

01 / GETTING STARTED

Your first conversation

Argus is a desktop client for coding agents. You bring a local project and your existing agent account; Argus keeps conversations, tasks, and project context together.

1. Install Argus. Download the DMG, open it, and move Argus into Applications. The current installer supports Apple Silicon and macOS 13 or later.
2. Check Git. Git is needed for repository features. If it is missing, run xcode-select --install in Terminal to install Apple’s Command Line Tools.
3. Connect an agent. Open Settings → Agents and choose your provider. Claude Code and Codex runtimes are included with Argus; sign in with your account.
4. Link a workspace. Choose your local repository folder in Argus. It becomes a shared home for your project’s board and conversations.
5. Start a chat. Create a conversation in that workspace, pick your agent, and ask something specific: “Explain how this project is structured.”

02 / AGENTS

Bring the agent you use

Argus connects to coding agents through the Agent Client Protocol (ACP). Each supported agent has a built-in setup; other agents need changes in Argus before they can be used.

Agent	What you need
Claude Code	The runtime and ACP connector are bundled. Sign in through Settings → Agents.
Codex	The runtime and ACP connector are bundled. Existing Codex sign-in can be reused, or sign in through Settings → Agents.
Cursor	Install Cursor’s agent command and use the Cursor preset. Sign in with your Cursor account.
Auggie	Install Augment’s auggie command and use the Auggie preset. Sign in with your Augment account.
OpenCode	Install the opencode command. Argus finds it in its usual install locations.
Antigravity	Argus downloads Google’s Antigravity agent for you from Settings → Agents. Sign in with your Google account.

Changing agents

Use the agent menu in your chat to choose an available agent. Argus carries the conversation transcript and attached project context into the next turn when switching an existing chat to Codex. Models and reasoning choices depend on your provider’s available catalog.

MCP tools

Argus includes a tool bridge for its workspace features. Configure additional MCP servers through Argus’s MCP settings. Codex also reads its native configuration and servers; Argus’s additional Codex servers do not overwrite config.toml.

03 / WORKSPACE

Keep work around a project

Link a local repository to give its chats and board a shared workspace. The sidebar groups conversations by workspace and puts Board, Diagrams, and Browser within reach.

Use chat tabs to move between tasks. Tool activity shows what your agent is doing, and permission prompts let you respond when the agent requests approval. Treat generated changes as work to inspect before you commit or ship them.

Settings includes theme, typography, density, and chat-width choices. Light and dark modes let you match the workspace to the way you prefer to read and work.

04 / PROJECT BOARDS

From an issue to a conversation

Open Board in the sidebar and pick your workspace. Use New issue to record a task, then organize work using the board columns or the list view.

• Use priorities and labels to make the next task easier to find.
• Filter issues by text, priority, labels, or agent activity.
• Open an issue to see its details and start work with an agent.
• Follow the activity strip on a card to see the agent working on that issue.

Keep issue descriptions concrete: include the desired behavior, relevant context, and what would count as done. That gives the agent a more useful starting point.

05 / DIAGRAMS

Diagrams

Map the architecture

Open Diagrams and choose New diagram. Mermaid lets you describe a flow in text and see it as a diagram. For example:

flowchart TD
  Request[Incoming request] --> Session{Valid session?}
  Session -->|Yes| API[API response]
  Session -->|No| SignIn[Sign in]

Start with a small flow and expand it as you understand the project. Keep diagrams close to the conversations that explain the decisions.

06 / DEVELOPMENT TOOLS

The implementation, within reach

Use the files panel to browse your linked repository, read and edit source files, and inspect changes. The integrated terminal lets you run commands in your project without moving to another application.

Comment on a line

Press + beside a line in the files panel, or select some lines, to ask about them. Choose Question to have the agent read the code and answer without changing files, or Change to have it make the change. The answer shows under those lines; Make it a chat moves the thread into a chat of its own.

Run the project’s own checks before committing changes. A passing command verifies only what that command covers; review the diff and the behavior you intended to change as well.

07 / REVIEWS

Review a change before you merge

Ask any agent in a chat to review a change, for example “Review this change before I merge it.” When its reply lists findings with a file and line, Argus turns them into a review findings card in the chat.

1. Read the card: each finding has a priority (Critical, High, Medium or Low), a short explanation, and the file and line it is about.
2. Choose a finding, or Open in Diff, to open the chat’s Diff panel with each finding pinned under its line.
3. Press + beside any changed line to comment on it. The comment goes to the agent in that chat, which answers there and makes the change if you ask for one.

08 / KEYBOARD

Keep your hands on the keys

09 / PRIVACY & DATA

Know where your work goes

Argus works with local repositories and stores app data on your Mac. Your coding agent may send prompts and project context to its provider according to that provider’s settings and policies.

Anonymous error reports and logs

Installed copies send anonymous error reports and scrubbed app logs to PostHog by default. You can turn this off in Settings → Privacy → Send anonymous error reports and logs. Turning it off stops sending, including reports already waiting to be sent.

Reports include the Argus version, macOS version, chip type, a random installation ID, and a new session ID for each launch. They help identify crashes, failed updates, and agent connection problems.

What Argus telemetry does not send

• Code, prompts, agent replies, terminal output, issues, or docs.
• File, folder, repository, workspace, or custom-agent names.
• Your name, email, account, or location.

Paths, email addresses, keys, and tokens are scrubbed before logs leave the Mac. Argus does not record your screen. The full local app log is still written on your Mac; find it under Help → Open Logs Folder.

10 / TROUBLESHOOTING

Find your way back to work

An agent command is missing

For Cursor or Augment, confirm the agent’s command is installed. Argus looks in ~/.local/bin, /opt/homebrew/bin, and /usr/local/bin. Claude Code and Codex runtimes ship with Argus and do not require a separate Node.js installation.

An agent asks you to sign in

Open Settings → Agents and complete sign-in with your provider. Check that the account has access to the requested model and enough available usage.

A repository is unavailable

Check that the folder still exists and is accessible, then link the correct local repository. If it is on an external drive, make sure the drive is connected.

Something else failed

Open Help → Open Logs Folder to inspect the local log. Help → Copy Session ID identifies the current launch when reporting a problem. Review logs before sharing them: local logs can contain more detail than the scrubbed telemetry.

See what changed in each version on the Releases page. Installer files for every version are also on GitHub.