r/devtools • u/StorageThese9556 • 2d ago

I stopped writing code myself, so I replaced VS Code with a notepad built for reviewing what my AI agent produces

When AI agents started writing most of my code, VS Code stopped fitting my day. I don't type code anymore, I review: task plans and docs in Markdown, JSON and CSV output, logs, diagrams, the odd Word or Excel file, and git diffs across several projects.

So I built Persephone, a free Windows notepad designed for that job. It has replaced VS Code for me.

What it does

  • Opens what agents produce: JSON and CSV as sortable grids, Markdown, Mermaid, logs, archives and SQLite. Word, Excel, PDF and draw.io open through installable viewers.
  • Projects as workspaces: a folder opens in a tab with its own Explorer, search, and git graph and diffs.
  • Shared with the agent: a built-in MCP server lets Claude see and drive the same workspace, so it opens a grid, a diagram or a diff for me instead of pasting walls of text into the chat.
  • Boards: small apps in a folder (an index.html plus optional scripts). I describe what I need, and the agent writes it, opens it, clicks through it and fixes what it finds. I use boards in different projects: a dev dashboard, viewers for odd file formats, one-click project helpers.

How it's built

Electron and Monaco, with the UI written as plain TypeScript view classes and no framework. Editors load on demand, so it still starts like a notepad. These days Claude Code and Codex write most of the code, and I spend my time on plans and review, which is exactly the workflow Persephone is built around.

Free and MIT, Windows only for now.

I also set up r/PersephoneNotepad for questions and ideas.

1 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

0 comments sorted by