KnightCode IDE
A desktop editor with KnightCode as its only agent, its only inference path and its only login. The same sign-in serves the agent panel, inline assist, commit messages and Tab.
These installers are not code-signed.
Windows SmartScreen and macOS Gatekeeper will both refuse the first launch and say so in language that reads like a malware warning. That is what an unsigned build looks like, not a verdict on the file. The first-launch steps below say exactly what you will see and what to click. Signing certificates cost money we have not spent yet; when that changes, these warnings go away.
First launch
Windows. Run the installer. Windows SmartScreen will say “Windows protected your PC”, because the installer is not signed with a Microsoft-recognised certificate. Choose More info, then Run anyway.
macOS. Open the .dmg and drag KnightCode to Applications. The first launch is refused: the app is not notarised. Open System Settings → Privacy & Security, find the blocked-app notice, and choose Open Anyway. Or run xattr -dr com.apple.quarantine /Applications/KnightCode.app once.
Linux. Extract the archive and run ./knightcode.app/bin/knightcode-ide, or install it for your user with ./knightcode.app/bin/knightcode-ide --install. No signature check is involved; verify the download against the .sig file if you want one.
After it starts
First run walks you through it: pick a theme and a keymap, sign in to the account you already have — Claude, ChatGPT, Copilot, or an API key — pick the model KnightCode should use, and open a folder. Nothing asks for a KnightCode account, because there is not one.
If you already use the KnightCode CLI on the same machine, first run skips the sign-in step: both read the same auth.json, so you are already signed in.
Updates
The IDE checks for a new version hourly and installs it in the background, verifying a signature made with a key held only by the release workflow. Turn it off with "auto_update": false in settings.
What it sends
One anonymous ping when it is installed or updated: version, operating system, architecture, and an approximate location from the connecting address. No account, no file, no project name, no identifier that follows you between versions. First run asks, and you can turn it off there or in Settings → AI at any time. Nothing else leaves the machine except your prompts, which go from your machine straight to the provider you signed in to.
Built on Zed
The editor is a fork of Zed, licensed GPL-3.0-or-later. KnightCode is not affiliated with or endorsed by Zed Industries, Inc. The editor reference — keybindings, settings, language support — is theirs and is linked from the Help menu. Extensions come from the Zed extension registry, which is the only third-party service an install contacts, and only once you open the Extensions page.