DevSpace

Give ChatGPT a secure connection to your own machine and Turn ChatGPT into Codex

DevSpace is a self-hosted MCP server that lets ChatGPT read, edit, search, and run code in your real local projects — your files, your tools, your terminal — without uploading anything to a third party. You run it on your machine, expose it through a tunnel you control, and approve the connection with a password only you have.

Sponsors and Special Thanks

Related MCP server: DevSpace

Installation

macOS App (recommended)

Download the latest DevSpace-macOS-*.dmg from the GitHub Releases page, drag DevSpace.app to Applications, and open it. The App bundles its own Node runtime and provides the full Control Center for workspace roots, managed Tunnel, Browser control, Computer Use permissions, login startup, service status, and diagnostics.

For a repeatable one-command install or update, use the release bootstrap. It installs into ~/Applications/DevSpace.app, verifies the published SHA-256 checksum, and delegates the actual replacement to DevSpace's transactional updater:

curl -fsSL https://github.com/arthurwangwsx-code/DevSpace/releases/latest/download/install.sh | bash

After installation, updates and rollback are also available through the App or CLI:

devspace update --check
devspace update
devspace rollback
devspace uninstall

Normal uninstall preserves ~/.devspace configuration and credentials; use --purge-config only when an explicit full reset is desired.

Development-signed releases may require Control-click → Open on first launch until the project has a Developer ID Application certificate and notarization configured. The Release notes state the trust status for each build.

CLI / source development

The CLI/source path requires Node >=22.19 <27.

See Distribution, Control Center, and Tunnel Architecture for the App/runtime/Tunnel architecture and release model.

Install the DevSpace CLI:

npm install -g @waishnav/devspace

Then initialize and start the server:

devspace init
devspace serve

Or run it without a global install:

npx @waishnav/devspace init
npx @waishnav/devspace serve

During setup, DevSpace asks for:

• the local project folders ChatGPT is allowed to open through DevSpace

• the local port, usually 7676

• your public HTTPS base URL from Cloudflare Tunnel, ngrok, Pinggy, Tailscale Funnel, or another reverse proxy

Use the public origin without /mcp during setup:

https://your-tunnel-host.example.com

You will configure your MCP client with the public /mcp URL after setup.

When the client connects, DevSpace opens an Owner password approval page. Enter the Owner password printed by devspace init. It is also stored in:

~/.devspace/auth.json

Keep that password private.

Connect Your MCP Client

The default local endpoint is:

http://127.0.0.1:7676/mcp

Most users should connect through a public HTTPS tunnel:

https://your-tunnel-host.example.com/mcp

What ChatGPT Can Do

Once connected, ChatGPT can open one of your approved project folders as a workspace. From there, it can inspect the repo, make scoped edits, run commands, and show you what changed.

DevSpace gives ChatGPT tools to:

• read, write, and edit files inside the opened workspace

• search code and inspect directories

• run shell commands for tests, builds, git, and package scripts

• use isolated Git worktrees for parallel coding sessions

• follow project instructions from AGENTS.md and CLAUDE.md

• discover local agent skills from your skill folders

• show tool cards and optional change summaries in ChatGPT Apps-compatible hosts

Capability gateway preview

DevSpace can also mount stdio or Streamable HTTP MCP servers as dynamic capabilities while keeping its public API fixed. Set DEVSPACE_CAPABILITIES=1, then connect an Agent to /capabilities/mcp or use /api/capabilities/v1 from CI. See Mount external MCP servers for the manifest format and CLI, and Dynamic Provider management for runtime install/load APIs. The current Chrome Provider reuses the official chrome-devtools daemon, so CLI, CI, and DevSpace share one current-profile debugging connection.

Mental Model

DevSpace is remote access to selected local folders.

You decide which roots are allowed. The MCP client still has powerful local capabilities inside an opened workspace, including shell execution. Treat a connected client like a trusted coding partner with access to your machine.

For a normal ChatGPT coding session:

1. Start your tunnel.

2. Run devspace serve.

3. Connect the MCP client to your public /mcp URL.

4. Approve the connection with the Owner password.

5. Ask ChatGPT to open a project inside one of your allowed roots.

Platform Support

DevSpace supports Linux, macOS, and Windows environments with a Bash-compatible shell.

Run this to inspect your local setup:

devspace doctor

Documentation

• Product Capability Map — start here for the complete product design, feature inventory, architecture boundaries, and documentation map

• Native macOS Onboarding — SwiftUI Control Center, Browser installation and permission-guided first run

• Distribution, Control Center, and Tunnel Architecture

• Setup Guide

• ChatGPT Coding Workflow

• Configuration Reference

• Security Model

• Troubleshooting Gotchas

• Capability API Architecture Principles

• Browser Extension Provider

• macOS Desktop Helper

• Running DevSpace in Lima (Chinese)

• MCP Resource Control and High-Concurrency Stability (Chinese)

• Universal Capability Runtime Implementation Plan (Chinese)

• Performance and Reliability Plan

• Stress and Soak Testing

• Capability Runtime Stress Testing

Workspace handles are persistent. Keep them available across later turns; call release_workspace only when the user requests resource release or a workspace is known to be unused for a long time. It evicts only reconstructable in-memory metadata, and later calls with the same workspaceId restore it automatically. Checkout-mode open_workspace also resumes the latest handle for the same path by default.

Philosophy

Every piece of software is becoming conversational. Natural language is redefining how we interact with tools, workflows, and systems.

My bet is that ChatGPT becomes the operating system for everything. Once we reach AGI, we will simply talk to ChatGPT, and it will prompt, coordinate, and orchestrate sub-agents that set up the right loops for us.

We are not there yet.

DevSpace is one attempt to fast-forward that future: a way for MCP-capable hosts like ChatGPT and Claude to work directly with local project files through explicit, inspectable tools.

Built by Waishnav

I'm Waishnav, I like building opinionated products and tools, and DevSpace is one example of that. This year, I started my journey to build a single-person and multiple-agents company doing multiple millions in revenue. If you want to watch the failures, wins, lessons, and everything in between, come hang out with me on X.

More from me

Local Development

For working on DevSpace itself:

npm install --include=dev
npm run dev
npm run typecheck
npm test
npm run build
npm run start