v0.3.6 · Open Source · MIT · Local-first

Stop renting
your agents.
Start owning them.

Sparrow is a single-binary, Rust-native agent cockpit for builders who refuse to be locked in. One CLI. Git-backed checkpoints. Budget-aware routing. Every run is visible. Replayable. Yours.

⚓ Install Sparrow → View on GitHub ↗

~/projects/sparrow · sparrow run "ship the launch page"

❯ sparrow run "ship the launch page"

[routing] classifying task → build/web · low cost
[hop 1] ● local qwen2.5-coder:7b · $0.00 · 312ms ✓
[plan] 4 steps · est. $0.04
[checkpoint] abc123 snapshot saved (1.2 MB)
[step 1/4] writing index.html ok
[step 2/4] inlining assets ok
[step 3/4] ● cloud fallback → claude-sonnet-4.5 · $0.02 · for the headline copy
[step 4/4] ok

total: $0.02 · 4.1s · ● local-first
rewind available: sparrow rewind abc123

❯

// the problem

You shipped a prompt.
They shipped a leash.

Every agent framework out there is someone else's product strategy in disguise. Cloud-only. Closed weights. Pricing tiers behind your work. Your repo, their rules.

Your agent is a SaaS subscription

API keys, rate limits, surprise invoices, model deprecations. Switch provider, lose your memory.

Every run is a black box

You can see the input and the output. The middle? Pray and diff. Roll back? Hope you have a commit.

"Local" means "bring your own 32GB of VRAM"

And your own streaming setup. And a doctorate in llama.cpp flags.

The "agent" dies with the session

Restart tomorrow, teach it everything again. No memory. No continuity. No identity.

// how sparrow routes a single request

cloud

claude-opus-4.7expensive · overkill

~$0.18

cloud

claude-sonnet-4.5good but paid

~$0.04

local

qwen2.5-coder:7bhandles it cleanly

$0.00

local

ollama auto-fallbackstandby

$0.00

          → resolved in 312ms · spent $0.00
        

// the four pillars

An agent that respects the four things you actually own.

Your code. Your data. Your tokens. Your time. Sparrow is built around all four.

01 / code

Git is the memory

Every mutating action snapshots a checkpoint. Roll back the workspace with one command. No mystery state. No "what just happened".

sparrow rewind <id> · restores the exact tree

02 / data

Local-first, period

SQLite facts. Local knowledge graph. SOUL files. Your context lives in ./.sparrow/. Cloud is an explicit fallback, never a default.

o llama first · ☁ cloud by choice

03 / tokens

Budget-aware routing

Each task is classified and routed to the cheapest capable model. Same answer, fractions of the cost. Set a per-run cap. Watch it in real time.

avg run: $0.02 · vs ~$0.18 industry

04 / time

Every run, replayable

Full transcript. Tool calls. Token counts. The exact model that answered. Replay any past run, tweak the input, diff the output.

sparrow replay <run-id>

// what's in the box

A full cockpit. Not a chat box.

Sparrow ships with the surfaces real agents need — terminal, web, gateway — not just a CLI that pretends an LLM is a coworker.

// cli

Terminal-native

Animated TUI cockpit. sparrow run, sparrow chat, --json for CI, NDJSON streams for hooks.

// web

WebView cockpit

Live route / token / cost / context at http://127.0.0.1:9339/. Drawer panels, slash palette, agent picker.

// safety

Sandbox backends

Linux bwrap wrapper, Docker, SSH, or Git worktree. Pick the blast radius. Permissions, not promises.

// memory

Persistent context

SQLite facts + knowledge graph. .agent.md SOUL files. Guarded skill registry. Full transcripts retained.

// browser

Playwright + computer-use

Browser tool baked in. Gated screenshot, click, type. The web is the filesystem, when you need it.

// gateway

Multi-channel gateway

Telegram, Discord, Slack, WebSocket API. Honest errors, not silent failures. Your agent, where you are.

// docs that answer back

Searchable docs. Runnable examples.

Sparrowdev.com is the public documentation surface: quick answers, CLI examples, tool API references, and short video tutorials in one static page.

First run

Configure providers, then run a routed task with full transcript and cost tracking.

sparrow setup
sparrow run "explain this repository and list the risky files"

Rollback after edits

Every mutating batch creates a checkpoint, so recovery is a command instead of a panic.

sparrow checkpoint list
sparrow rewind abc123

Knowledge graph

Persist entities and relationships locally, then optionally sync them to Neo4j.

sparrow memory graph upsert-node project:sparrow Sparrow --kind project
sparrow memory graph search sparrow

Browser/computer-use

Install the Playwright runtime and let gated tools screenshot, click, type, and inspect.

npm install
npm run browser:install
sparrow run "open the local webview and take a screenshot"

CLI API

The commands agents and humans call most often.

sparrow run <task> route and execute a task
sparrow plan <task> produce a read-only plan
sparrow memory graph ... manage graph nodes/edges
sparrow console --port 9339 open the WebView cockpit

Tool API

Core tool names and capabilities exposed to the engine.

browser navigate, screenshot, extract, click, type, evaluate
computer screenshot, click, type, press with Exec gating
knowledge_graph upsert/search/neighbors/export/sync_neo4j
exec, fs_read, edit, git

WebView API

Local HTTP endpoints used by the cockpit and slash palette.

GET /commands slash commands with descriptions and usage
POST /run submit a task to the active engine
POST /cli run non-interactive Sparrow commands
GET /memory, /tools, /models, /status

First launch in 5 minutes

Install, run setup, add providers, and start the WebView cockpit.

00:00 install · 00:06 setup · 00:12 cockpit · 00:18 first run

Read transcript

Safe edits and rewind

Permissions, checkpoints, diffs, and restoring the workspace after a bad batch.

00:00 autonomy · 00:06 checkpoint · 00:12 diff · 00:18 rewind

Read transcript

Memory graph + browser-use

Create graph entities, inspect neighbors, then use Playwright-backed browser actions.

00:00 graph · 00:06 neighbors · 00:12 Neo4j · 00:18 click/type

Read transcript

// the loop

Engine, not magic. Auditable, not mystical.

A sparrow doesn't guess. It routes, plans, executes, observes, and emits. You can read the whole loop.

.sparrow/runs/2026-06-04-001.toml

# every run is a file you can grep, diff, and replay
[run]
id = "spar_01HX9P3K..."
task = "ship the launch page"
started = "2026-06-04T17:44:51Z"
budget_usd = 0.50
checkpoint = "abc123"

[routing]
classifier = "build/web"
chain = ["qwen2.5-coder:7b", "claude-sonnet-4.5"]
resolved_on = "qwen2.5-coder:7b"
cost_usd = 0.00
latency_ms = 312

[[steps]]
i = 1
tool = "fs.write"
path = "site/index.html"
bytes = 18432
status = "ok"

[[steps]]
i = 3
tool = "llm.fallback"
reason = "headline copy needs a stronger model"
resolved_on = "claude-sonnet-4.5"
cost_usd = 0.02

[summary]
total_usd = 0.02
total_ms = 4102
local_share = 0.94  # 94% of tokens stayed on your machine

→ .sparrow/ is just files. Grep them. Commit them. Back them up.

// the road

Where we've been. Where we're going.

Sparrow v0.3.6 is shipping today. Here's the path that got us here — and the next 90 days.

v0.1 — jan 2026

The shell loop

Rust binary. Ollama routing. sparrow run. The barest proof that local-first was possible.

shipped

v0.2 — mar 2026

Checkpoints & rewind

Git-backed snapshots. Replayable runs. The first time "sparrow broke my repo" was followed by "sparrow rewind abc123" and laughter.

shipped

v0.3 — may 2026

WebView cockpit & gateway

Live dashboard on :9339. Telegram, Discord, Slack, WebSocket. Browser & computer-use tools. The cockpit became a real surface.

shipped

v0.4 — jul 2026

Swarm mode

Multiple sparrows, one task graph. Specialists that hand off context. .agent.md packs you can install from a URL.

v0.5 — q3 2026

Long-running agents

Background processes that survive reboots. Scheduled plans. Cross-project memory that actually makes the second project easier than the first.

soon

"Sparrow is what happens when someone who actually maintains a repo at 2am builds an agent. Every feature is a scar from a real failure. That's why it works."

// the sparrow team, slightly tired

// one binary. thirty seconds.

Install it. Own it.

No account. No API key required. Bring your own models, or use the cloud as a fallback when you choose to. The whole thing is MIT.

$ — one-click install — 92×24 copy

# Windows PowerShell

irm https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ucav/Sparrow/master/install.ps1 | iex

# macOS / Linux

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ucav/Sparrow/master/install.sh | sh

# download pre-built binary

🐧 Linux x64 🍎 macOS ARM 🪟 Windows x64

# or from crates.io

cargo install --git https://github.com/ucav/Sparrow sparrow-cli

# or from source

git clone https://github.com/ucav/Sparrow && cd Sparrow && cargo build --release

# then

sparrow launch # zero-question setup, then Focus cockpit

sparrow run "hello, world"

Pre-built binaries for Linux / macOS / Windows · Source fallback requires Rust 1.96+ · Optional: Ollama, Docker, Playwright

Fly your own agent.

One star helps a lot. A "ship-it" issue helps more. And if Sparrow saves your repo at 2am — tell someone.

★ Star Sparrow on GitHub Read the docs →

You shipped a prompt. They shipped a leash.

Your agent is a SaaS subscription

Every run is a black box

"Local" means "bring your own 32GB of VRAM"

The "agent" dies with the session

// how sparrow routes a single request

An agent that respects the four things you actually own.

Git is the memory

Local-first, period

Budget-aware routing

Every run, replayable

A full cockpit. Not a chat box.

Terminal-native

WebView cockpit

Sandbox backends

Persistent context

Playwright + computer-use

Multi-channel gateway

Searchable docs. Runnable examples.

First run

Rollback after edits

Knowledge graph

Browser/computer-use

CLI API

Tool API

WebView API

First launch in 5 minutes

Safe edits and rewind

Memory graph + browser-use

Engine, not magic. Auditable, not mystical.

Where we've been. Where we're going.

The shell loop

Checkpoints & rewind

WebView cockpit & gateway

Swarm mode

Long-running agents

Install it. Own it.

Fly your own agent.

You shipped a prompt.
They shipped a leash.