Show HN: Memex is a Claude Code alternative built on Rust+Tauri for vibe coding
84 comments
·April 29, 2025bionhoward
Damn this looks cool but it’s got a customer noncompete, “you will not (and will not enable others to) use the AI Features: (e) for the development of any service or other offering that competes with or replicates the Services.”
That’s real bad since they also write “ Memex may generate aggregate, deidentified data from your use of the Services and Subscriber Data ("Usage Data") and use it to operate, improve and support the Services”
AKA “we can learn from your codebase and you aren’t allowed to compete with us”
Basically, it’s a brain-rape machine for idiots who don’t read the fine print. Sad
davidvgilmore
HN Community: We had this clause in our Terms and Conditions: "you will not (and will not enable others to) use the AI Features: (e) for the development of any service or other offering that competes with or replicates the Services.”
That clause was boilerplate our lawyers included, and it doesn't reflect how we operate or what we intend to enforce. I should have caught it, but I missed it.
The terms and conditions are now updated to not include a anti-competition clause.
davidvgilmore
thanks for calling this out
To be 100% clear: we do not prevent anyone from using Memex to build a Memex competitor. That clause was boilerplate our lawyers included, and it doesn't reflect how we operate or what we intend to enforce. I should have caught it and we'll fix it.
On the Usage Data side, your code is never stored anywhere other than your machine when you use Memex. And you can enable "Privacy mode" to not have your prompts stored either.
tough
> On the Usage Data side, your code is never stored anywhere other than your machine when you use Memex. And you can enable "Privacy mode" to not have your prompts stored either.
It would be nice if there's some kind of auto-censoring of secrets if sharing code etc, cursor handling of this is very bad bc if I block .env files, then i can't never add them as context and it thinks they dont exist, instaed of knowing they're secrets and to be treated as such.
hoping a less binary solution for controlling what gets shared and not is possibe
davidvgilmore
That's a good feature idea and something we've considered but not gotten around to yet.
We do have a secrets mgmt feature that uses keyring, so you can store secrets through the app in your system keychain, which then requires your approval before Memex uses it.
We're hoping to make that feature easier to use with MCP
tough
> I should have caught it and we'll fix it.
That's a great reply and hoping for it to give memex a try, not that i want to give a competitor but I can use and give back to OpenAIs codex codebase because its MIT, it would suck to use an app you cannot modify for your own pleasure or build your own specific itching solving version of, most so as a tool for builders
davidvgilmore
That's fair. We do plan to open source components of Memex to allow for extensibility while also having a strong enough revenue model to build without being fully dependent on VCs
davidvgilmore
HN Community:
We had this clause in our Terms and Conditions: "you will not (and will not enable others to) use the AI Features: (e) for the development of any service or other offering that competes with or replicates the Services.”
That clause was boilerplate our lawyers included, and it doesn't reflect how we operate or what we intend to enforce. I should have caught it, but I missed it.
The terms and conditions are now updated to not include a anti-competition clause.
steveharman
There a quite a few "Memex is similar to" Cursor, Claude Code, Trae etc etc here. But I couldn't find "Memex is better than...because..."
What's the elevator pitch for why a vibe coder should use Memex rather than Roo, Cline, Trae, Cursor, Windsurf and the countless others that I've already forgotten about
Thanks
davidvgilmore
Memex makes it easy to ideate, research, and build projects without writing a line of code. It's a fully chat based interface (not an IDE). Its GUI allows you to visualize data inline, perform deep research-esque queries, and create + run programs. It supports any programming language / tech stack that LLMs "know". It also comes with pre-built templates that allow you go from 0-60 on your project quickly.
null
bevelwork
Initial impression is good.
Few feedback items:
1. Its hard to get a sense of what task is being worked if you migrate back to the main page then come back to a running task. You kind just have to figure it out and hope its still running.
2. I wish you could opt into a global `git diff` view. Saying here's what we modified in the last iteration.
3. Also for local runs I'd greater prefer if it'd prompt confirmation before executing something I haven't seen yet. Essentially on a real piece of code you'd have to make sure you're 100% in a sandbox so you don't bork things for other developers.
4. ctr+c killing the current operation definitely happened on accident trying to copy another prompt.
5. It'd be really nice if it was git-aware. E.g. when files are finalized they're committed to whichever branch and uncommitted files are considered work in progress.
davidvgilmore
thanks - great feedback
on (1) re: multi tasking ... that's a known UX limitation. You can "command+click" the logo in the top left to open a new window, then just keep the convos open. That's the way to multi-task with it today. We definitely want to clean this up in a future version.
(2) noted - yeah, a global git diff is a good feature request
on (3) in the settings (wrench icon) there's a toggle for "Manual" code execution. To be clear - you also want to be able to approve file edits, not just command execution?
(4) doh - that's a good point
(5) we actually run a shadow git repo that commits on every turn the agent takes. It's aware of your .gitignore too. We only expose checkpoints on user messages right now, but we're planning on doing more on this front.
Luc
Could you clarify the terms of service?
From https://memex.tech/termsandconditions : "use and access the Services for Subscriber's personal, non-commercial use."
So we can't use Memex for paid apps?
imdsm
That's vibe legalese probably
davidvgilmore
You can use it for paid apps, open source apps. Whatever you want. Everything you create with Memex is 100% yours.
That clause is only meant to keep people from reselling our app, Memex, itself. But I agree it's super confusingly written and we're going to fix that.
blackguardx
What does "not opinionated" mean in this context? It doesn't appear that I can give it my API key of the AI service and my choice.
davidvgilmore
in this context, not opionionated == you can use it to build with Rails, FastAPI, Firebase, python + modal ... whatever tech stack you want to use. Some will work better than others just due to the nature of the LLMs.
We've heard loud and clear from the HN community that bringing your own key is important, and we're going to fix that.
Regarding multiple models -- that's next up in the roadmap. We're a small team - we were three and just had two more join recently. So we decided to add checkpoints / shadow git repo before adding multiple model support.
(p.s. sorry this comment got buried!)
binary132
I thought vibe coding was a joke / meme now
pelagicAustral
I've been having a blast using Claude Code lately, I've spun about 3 fully functional mini apps I had in the backlog for ages and didnt wanted to touch because of boilerplate and really not feeling the love for the functionality.
I've installed this and will give it a try... these tools are so much fun to work with once you know how to build with them and you understand the limitations as well.
unshavedyak
What sort of cost have you experienced with Claude Code? Ie API usage costs.
Mind describing your workflow?
davidvgilmore
Thank you! Yes - there are definitely limitations. We are bullish on models getting better and we're hoping to add features that make it easier for folks to do more.
Looking forward to your feedback!
vunderba
Looks interesting but desperately needs out-of-the-box support for BYOK. Just being able to swap between models (Sonnet, Gemini 2.5 Pro, etc.) in agentic systems like Cline, Aider, etc. is a huge deal.
benzible
This looks interesting but I'm able to use Claude Code w/ Sonnet 3.7 via AWS credits. If that's only available in an enterprise plan here, I won't be trying this.
davidvgilmore
thanks - yeah, we've heard this feedback loud and clear from the HN community.
We're cooking
codyvoda
is this a Claude Code alternative? seems way more GUI-focused
Codex is OSS (and Aider of course) and serve as decent alternatives
davidvgilmore
It is an agentic coding tool at its core, so yes - I'd say it's fair to call it a Claude Code alternative.
Regarding the GUI focus: we did that so it's more approachable to both tech folks and people not as accustomed to using a terminal (e.g. PMs, sales engineers, etc.). But a lot of our beta users are devs.
Also, when using its agentic search and data viz capabilities, some users prefer to not do that in the terminal.
dcre
No comparative advantage against established players. I recommend hiring a designer as well. Sorry!
davidvgilmore
I suppose you copy and paste this for each startup launch you see?
Hi HN,
TL;DR Memex is a cross-platform desktop app for vibe coding. Think ChatGPT + Claude Code rolled into one.
Why we built it: We love chat tools like Perplexity and ChatGPT. We also love coding agents, like in Cursor and Windsurf. We don’t like that web-based app builders are opinionated about tech stack and we can’t run them locally. So, we built Memex to be a chat tool + coding agent that supports any tech stack.
What it can do today: Claude Code-like coding. Agentic web search / research. Pre-built templates (e.g. fullstack, iOS, python + modal, etc). Inline data analysis + viz. Checkpointing (shadow git repo). Privacy mode.
How it works: Written in TS+Rust+Python, using Tauri for the cross-platform build (macOS, Windows, Linux). It has a bundled python environment for data analysis. Agent uses a mix of Sonnet 3.7 + Haiku.
Status & roadmap: Free download with free tier and paid plan: https://memex.tech. Up next: [1] Additional model support (e.g. Gemini 2.5). [2] MCP support. [3] Computer use.
Ask: Kick the tires. Give us feedback on product + roadmap. If you love it – spread the word!
Thanks! David