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Getting started

Every OpenEng app is a small web UI backed by an engine that runs on your own machine. You install the engine once, start it, and the web app connects to it over a sealed local channel. Nothing about your models, code or data leaves your computer.

1. Pick an app

Each app is independent and ships its own engine and web UI. Start with whichever you need:

Chat · chat.openeng.app

Local AI chat + a cross-app agent. Engine: openeng-chat on 127.0.0.1:50056.

Kubernetes · k8s.openeng.app

Clusters, pods, logs, exec. Engine: openeng-kubernetes on 127.0.0.1:50054.

Git · git.openeng.app

Repositories and history. Engine: openeng-git on 127.0.0.1:50053.

Terminal · terminal.openeng.app

A real local shell. Engine: openeng-terminal on 127.0.0.1:50052.

Data · data.openeng.app

Query any database. Engine: openeng-data on 127.0.0.1:50057.

Board · board.openeng.app

Whiteboard canvas. Engine: openeng-board on 127.0.0.1:50055.

2. Install the engine

Install the engine for the app from the app's Connect screen — it gives you a one-line installer for macOS and Linux:

curl -fsSL https://openeng.ai/engine/<app>/install.sh | bash

The installer downloads a signed, checksum-verified binary and puts it on your PATH. Engines self-update at boot, so you stay current automatically.

Note Everything runs locally after install. The only network call at startup is a one-time sign-in that authenticates you and fetches a browser-trusted certificate for the loopback engine, so the https:// web app can talk to it with no manual trust step.

3. Start the engine & connect

Start the engine with the one-time key shown on the app's Connect screen:

openeng-chat serve --oauth=<one-time key>

You will see a few boot lines ending in:

openeng-chat: serving gRPC + gRPC-Web (sealed) on https://engine.openeng.app:50056

Leave it running and return to the web app — it detects the engine and connects automatically. Refreshing the page is safe; in-flight work re-attaches.

Tip The engine's terminal stays quiet after that line — all further logs go to ~/.openeng/<app>/runtime/engine.log, not your console.

4. Where to next

Chat →

Add a model, create a group, and connect your other apps to the agent.

Connectors →

Reach cloud clusters, databases and shells without handing over credentials.

Architecture →

Understand the sealed local model that makes this private by design.