The AI that reads less but understands more.
Zaguán Blade builds a live symbol index of your codebase, so the AI investigates before it answers — navigating by structure (functions, references, impact) instead of dumping files into context. That evidence-first approach pays off everywhere: sharper answers, lower bills on hosted models, and the difference between "toy" and "usable" for local ones. Every change lands as a diff you accept or reject.
Stuck on a visual bug? Capture a window, annotate the screenshot, and show the AI instead of describing it.
Why Another Editor
Exists
Most AI editors are forks of the same heavyweight base, shipping your entire project as context and hoping the model guesses right. Blade was built from scratch to do the opposite — for work where a generic AI assistant isn't trustworthy enough.
The UI is separate from the AI daemon, so the editor stays fast. Context is evidence, not a dump: the AI gathers what's relevant, reasons from it, and shows its work — which means lower token costs and answers grounded in your actual code. Git is the source of truth, and every AI edit is a diff you approve. No telemetry. Run local models via Ollama and your code never leaves your machine.
Used daily to develop Blade and zcoderd. Tested on real production projects — not just demos.
The Lightweight Difference measured
Engineers trust metrics. Here is what idle resource usage looks like:
| Tool | Idle RAM |
|---|---|
| Zaguán Blade | ~320 MB |
| VSCode + AI | ~1.9 GB |
| Windsurf | ~2.8 GB |
Not for Everyone
- → If you want a VSCode clone, this isn't it.
- → If you need heavy UI plugins, this isn't it.
- → If you want lightweight, evidence-grounded AI workflows you control — this is for you.
What It's Actually
Good At
What It's Actually Good At
- + Refactoring across multiple files.
- + Showing the AI a screenshot instead of describing the bug.
- + Reviewing AI patches safely with diff control.
- + Getting sharp answers from local and hosted models with curated context.
Typical Flow in Blade
- Ask for a change.
- AI investigates: symbols, references, impact.
- A scoped diff appears.
- You review the change — and the evidence behind it.
- Accept or revert via Git.
No vibes-based edits. Evidence in, scoped change out — every step visible.
Zaguán Blade (UI)
ActiveTauri v2 + Vite + React · User interface only. · Lightning fast.
zcoderd (AI daemon)
ActiveGo server · State management · Tool execution & AI
Model Provider
ActiveZaguán AI: one subscription, every frontier model. Or bring your own Ollama / local endpoint.