Our take
Newless than six months old and changing fast- Activity
- 84
- Community
- 86
- Issues
- 68
- Pull requests
- 47
+247 stars in the last 29 days
- Releases more often than 84% of the projects we track
- Merges more pull requests than 79% of the projects we track
- More contributors than 78% of the projects we track
- Slower to merge pull requests than 83% of the projects we track
Maka is a fast-changing, newly incubating agent workspace with active releases and contributions, suited to teams willing to evaluate an evolving runtime.
Good fit if
- You need a traceable record of agent turns, tool use, and permission decisions.
- You want Desktop, terminal, and evaluation workflows to share one execution runtime.
- You can configure and manage your own cloud or local model connection.
Look elsewhere if
- You need a bundled model account or a ready-to-use model without configuring a connection.
- You require a stable, long-established release, since the project is new, under incubation, and explicitly warns that formats and capabilities may change.
- You need a fully supported Windows or Linux desktop today, since those platforms are described as previews.
All health signals
| Last commit | 2026-10-19 (today) |
|---|---|
| Commits, last 90 days | 100+ |
| Releases, last 12 months | 42 (latest v0.2.1-dev.91.20261018, 2026-10-18, pre-release) |
| Contributors | 100+ (top contributor: 36% of commits) |
| Issues closed, last 90 days | 13+ (typically closed in 2 days) |
| Pull requests merged, last 90 days | 64 (typically merged in 3 days) |
| Project age | 5 months |
Checked on 2026-10-19 with the GitHub API.
Project history
Daily GitHub snapshots since Oct 7, 2026. History covers stars and forks; health signals are not tracked historically.
Stars
5,938Forks
575Change since Nov 4, 2026: +5 stars·+2 forks
Overview
Apache Maka (Incubating) is a TypeScript agent workspace built around an append-only RuntimeEvent log. It records model messages, tool calls, permission decisions, and turn endings, so the interface, later prompts, and crash recovery can be reconstructed from the log rather than relying on a transient transcript. Maka aims to help users complete tasks while making each run and its costs inspectable.
The project offers an Electron desktop app for macOS, with Windows and Linux previews, as well as a TUI and CLI that use the same Runtime Host. Sessions and run records stay on the user's machine. Maka does not include a shared model account: users connect a cloud API, local model, or compatible gateway.
Key Features
- Records agent activity as append-only RuntimeEvents, including tool calls and permission decisions.
- Uses one Runtime Host for the desktop app, terminal interfaces, and evaluation runs.
- Keeps workspace sessions, settings, and run records locally.
- Lets users connect their own cloud API, local model, or compatible gateway.
- Provides Desktop, TUI, and non-interactive CLI entry points.
- Includes evaluation tooling and publishes per-task results in
docs/eval/. - Supports interrupted-turn resume in Desktop and through the CLI/TUI, with model calls when a continuation succeeds.
Use Cases
- Developers can run coding or research tasks in a desktop workspace and inspect the full sequence of model and tool actions.
- Teams evaluating agent harnesses can compare runs using Maka's experiment tooling and published per-task records.
- Users who want session data to remain on their own machine can use Maka with a model connection they configure themselves.
- Terminal-oriented users can run a task from the CLI or interact through the TUI while using the same runtime as Desktop.
What you need
Detected in the repository
- Node.js ^22.19.0 || >=24.0.0 (from package.json)
- Automated checks on GitHub Actions
License in plain words
Apache-2.0permissive
- Commercial use: yes
- Modify and redistribute: yes
- You must keep: the license, the NOTICE file and a note of your changes
- Share your changes: no
- Includes an explicit patent grant from the contributors:
A summary, not legal advice: the LICENSE file is what applies.
Getting Started
For a development build of Desktop:
git clone https://github.com/apache/maka.git
cd maka
npm ci
npm run dev
See the README for model setup, terminal usage, platform details, and build requirements.
Alternatives
- sandbase-harness: SandBase centers on a local agent runtime and MCP bridge with sandboxed tools, while Maka centers on a desktop workspace and append-only run records.
- deepchat: DeepChat is a cross-platform desktop client for chats, providers, and agent integrations, while Maka focuses on shared task execution and recording each run.
- synara: Synara organizes coding-agent sessions around project files, terminals, previews, and Git review, while Maka provides a broader task runtime with append-only run records.
- Kun: Kun shares an agent runtime between GUI and TUI for tasks and approvals, while Maka emphasizes a complete append-only record of agent runs.
| Project | Language | License | Stars | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| maka | TypeScript | Apache-2.0 | 5.8k | New |
| sandbase-harness | TypeScript | Apache-2.0 | 639 | New |
| deepchat | TypeScript | Apache-2.0 | 6.4k | Active |
| synara | TypeScript | MIT | 2k | Active |
| Kun | TypeScript | Other | 6.3k | New |
Considerations
Maka is under active development and incubation; its README warns that data formats, CLI commands, and experimental capabilities may change. Windows and Linux are preview platforms, while macOS is listed without that qualification. The app requires users to supply a model connection. API keys and similar secrets are stored in a local plaintext credential-vault.json file readable by the operating-system account, so teams should assess that storage model against their security requirements. The project is licensed under Apache-2.0; review its license and notices when distributing or incorporating it.
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