We want to make it easy for you to contribute to OpenCode. Here are the most common type of changes that get merged:
However, any UI or core product feature must go through a design review with the core team before implementation.
If you are unsure if a PR would be accepted, feel free to ask a maintainer or look for issues with any of the following labels:
[!NOTE] PRs that ignore these guardrails will likely be closed.
Want to take on an issue? Leave a comment and a maintainer may assign it to you unless it is something we are already working on.
Install dependencies and start the dev server from the repo root:
bun install
bun dev
By default, bun dev runs OpenCode in the packages/opencode directory. To run it against a different directory or repository:
bun dev <directory>
To run OpenCode in the root of the opencode repo itself:
bun dev .
To compile a standalone executable:
./packages/opencode/script/build.ts --single
Then run it with:
./packages/opencode/dist/opencode-<platform>/bin/opencode
Replace <platform> with your platform (e.g., darwin-arm64, linux-x64).
packages/opencode: OpenCode core business logic & server.packages/opencode/src/cli/cmd/tui/: The TUI code, written in SolidJS with opentuipackages/app: The shared web UI components, written in SolidJSpackages/desktop: The native desktop app, built with Tauri (wraps packages/app)packages/plugin: Source for @opencode-ai/pluginDuring development, bun dev is the local equivalent of the built opencode command. Both run the same CLI interface:
# Development (from project root)
bun dev --help # Show all available commands
bun dev serve # Start headless API server
bun dev web # Start server + open web interface
bun dev <directory> # Start TUI in specific directory
# Production
opencode --help # Show all available commands
opencode serve # Start headless API server
opencode web # Start server + open web interface
opencode <directory> # Start TUI in specific directory
To start the OpenCode headless API server:
bun dev serve
This starts the headless server on port 4096 by default. You can specify a different port:
bun dev serve --port 8080
To test UI changes during development:
Then run the web app:
bun run --cwd packages/app dev
This starts a local dev server at http://localhost:5173 (or similar port shown in output). Most UI changes can be tested here, but the server must be running for full functionality.
The desktop app is a native Tauri application that wraps the web UI.
To run the native desktop app:
bun run --cwd packages/desktop tauri dev
This starts the web dev server on http://localhost:1420 and opens the native window.
If you only want the web dev server (no native shell):
bun run --cwd packages/desktop dev
To create a production dist/ and build the native app bundle:
bun run --cwd packages/desktop tauri build
This runs bun run --cwd packages/desktop build automatically via Tauri’s beforeBuildCommand.
[!NOTE] Running the desktop app requires additional Tauri dependencies (Rust toolchain, platform-specific libraries). See the Tauri prerequisites for setup instructions.
[!NOTE] If you make changes to the API or SDK (e.g.
packages/opencode/src/server/server.ts), run./script/generate.tsto regenerate the SDK and related files.
Please try to follow the style guide
Bun debugging is currently rough around the edges. We hope this guide helps you get set up and avoid some pain points.
The most reliable way to debug OpenCode is to run it manually in a terminal via bun run --inspect=<url> dev ... and attach
your debugger via that URL. Other methods can result in breakpoints being mapped incorrectly, at least in VSCode (YMMV).
Caveats:
bun dev spawn instead of
the usual bun dev. This is because bun dev runs the server in a worker thread and breakpoints might not work there.spawn does not work for you, you can debug the server separately:
bun run --inspect=ws://localhost:6499/ --cwd packages/opencode ./src/index.ts serve --port 4096,
then attach TUI with opencode attach http://localhost:4096bun run --inspect=ws://localhost:6499/ --cwd packages/opencode --conditions=browser ./src/index.tsOther tips and tricks:
--inspect-wait or --inspect-brk instead of --inspect, depending on your workflow--inspect=ws://localhost:6499/ on every invocation can be tiresome, you may want to export BUN_OPTIONS=--inspect=ws://localhost:6499/ insteadIf you use VSCode, you can use our example configurations .vscode/settings.example.json and .vscode/launch.example.json.
Some debug methods that can be problematic:
"request": "launch" can have breakpoints incorrectly mapped and thus unusableJavaScript Debug TerminalWith that said, you may want to try these methods, as they might work for you.
All PRs must reference an existing issue. Before opening a PR, open an issue describing the bug or feature. This helps maintainers triage and prevents duplicate work. PRs without a linked issue may be closed without review.
Fixes #123 or Closes #123 in your PR description to link the issueIf your PR includes UI changes, please include screenshots or videos showing the before and after. This helps maintainers review faster and gives you quicker feedback.
For non-UI changes (bug fixes, new features, refactors), explain how you verified it works:
Long, AI-generated PR descriptions and issues are not acceptable and may be ignored. Respect the maintainers' time:
PR titles should follow conventional commit standards:
feat: new feature or functionalityfix: bug fixdocs: documentation or README changeschore: maintenance tasks, dependency updates, etc.refactor: code refactoring without changing behaviortest: adding or updating testsYou can optionally include a scope to indicate which package is affected:
feat(app): feature in the app packagefix(desktop): bug fix in the desktop packagechore(opencode): maintenance in the opencode packageExamples:
docs: update contributing guidelinesfix: resolve crash on startupfeat: add dark mode supportfeat(app): add dark mode supportfix(desktop): resolve crash on startupchore: bump dependency versionsThese are not strictly enforced, they are just general guidelines:
else statements..catch(...) instead of try/catch when possible.any.let.Bun.file() when they fit the use case.For net-new functionality, start with a design conversation. Open an issue describing the problem, your proposed approach (optional), and why it belongs in OpenCode. The core team will help decide whether it should move forward; please wait for that approval instead of opening a feature PR directly.