Rapunzel is a browser but for agents.

I built rapunzel because terminal tabs stop scaling once many agents are running across sessions and they become difficult to track. I built it because I love the Tree Style Tab Extension in Firefox. I built it because, it is the time for Chrome, but for agents. I made it, to make it as simple as possible and nothing more.

Install

Prerequisites:

• Python 3
• Node.js and npm

From a fresh clone on macOS or Linux:

git clone <repo-url>
cd rapunzel
./install.sh

From a fresh clone on Windows PowerShell:

git clone <repo-url>
cd rapunzel
.\install.ps1

The install script creates a local virtual environment, installs the Python dependencies, installs the frontend dependencies, and builds the embedded web UI.

Launch

For normal use:

On Windows PowerShell:

On macOS, you can also double-click Rapunzel.command in Finder.

For development:

source .venv/bin/activate
python3 app.py

Rapunzel.command prefers the repo-local virtual environment when it exists, so the launch path stays stable after install.

Why It Exists

• terminal tabs stop scaling once you have many long-running agent sessions
• hierarchical navigation is easier to reason about than a flat tab strip
• the goal is a simple desktop surface for agent work, not a giant IDE

What It Does

• tree-based shell sessions with root and child branches
• one active live terminal conversation surface
• rename, move, collapse, and close branch actions
• PTY-backed interactive shells
• workspace persistence to ~/.rapunzel/workspace.json
• restore of the saved workspace tree on launch

Build macOS App

If you want a clickable app bundle instead of running from source:

source .venv/bin/activate
pip install pyinstaller
bash build_macos_app.sh

Output:

• dist/Rapunzel.app

After the build finishes, open dist/Rapunzel.app from Finder or double-click it directly.

Notes

• the primary product path is the embedded pywebview desktop app
• shell sessions use the POSIX PTY backend on macOS/Linux and pywinpty on Windows
• the older Tk UI still exists as fallback code, but it is no longer the main architecture
• on Apple Silicon Macs, Rapunzel shell sessions wrap brew so Homebrew commands are forwarded through native arm64

Repo Layout

• app.py: entrypoint
• install.sh: first-run setup from source on macOS/Linux
• install.ps1: first-run setup from source on Windows
• Rapunzel.command: source launcher for normal desktop use on macOS/Linux
• Rapunzel.ps1: source launcher for normal desktop use on Windows
• rapunzel/: app state, PTY runtime, window host, and fallback UI
• webui/: embedded frontend assets for the tree and terminal
• PROJECT_STATUS.md: implementation status and next work
• ARCHITECTURE_AND_PROGRESS.md: architecture and debugging history
• FEATURE_TRACKER.md: running feature log