[FEATURE]:Publish a fully portable Windows build of OpenCode Desktop #37893

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1. github-actions

   assigned

   Hona

   on Jul 20, 2026
2. valentinobuttaro commented on Aug 31, 2026

   

   valentinobuttaro

   on Aug 31, 2026

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   Does it only work with a USB stick?
   Is it possible to run the .exe file from the desktop?
3. overdoingism commented on Sep 17, 2026

   

   overdoingism

   on Sep 17, 2026

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   Proof-of-concept: full portability is achievable with ~5 lines of code (verified on v1.18.31)

   I built a working portable copy of OpenCode Desktop on Windows and wanted to share the findings, since they point at a very small official fix.

   What I verified

   1. The engine already honors XDG env vars on Windows.
   The bundled sidecar (out/main/chunks/node-*.js) uses standard xdg-basedir logic:

   xdgData   = env.XDG_DATA_HOME   || join(home, ".local", "share")
   xdgConfig = env.XDG_CONFIG_HOME || join(home, ".config")
   xdgCache  = env.XDG_CACHE_HOME  || join(home, ".cache")
   xdgState  = env.XDG_STATE_HOME  || join(home, ".local", "state")

   So opencode.db, auth.json, config, agents, plugins, rg.exe and models.json all follow these four variables — no code change needed on the engine side. (The in-tree TEST_ONBOARDING mode already redirects exactly these plus userData to a tmp root, so there's precedent.)

   2. The only missing piece is Electron's userData.
   In out/main/index.js:

   app.setPath("userData", join(app.getPath("appData"), appId)); // = %APPDATA%\ai.opencode.desktop

   Two gotchas I hit:

   • --user-data-dir does not help — the explicit setPath() overrides it.
   • Overriding the APPDATA env var also does not help — Chromium resolves Roaming AppData via the registry (SHGetKnownFolder), not the environment.

   So userData needs an actual code hook. Minimal change:

   app.setPath("userData",
     process.env.OPENCODE_USER_DATA || join(app.getPath("appData"), appId));

   3. Everything else is already env-var friendly.

   • Updater cache (%LOCALAPPDATA%\<appId>-updater) follows LOCALAPPDATA.
   • The sidecar is an in-process Electron utility (no external Node/Bun), so nothing else escapes the process environment.
   • No asar-integrity fuses are enabled in the shipped exe, and the single-instance lock is keyed on userData — a portable instance with its own profile runs fine alongside the installed one (verified).

   Proposed implementation

   A launcher script makes the whole folder movable:

   @echo off
   setlocal
   set "ROOT=%~dp0"
   set "XDG_DATA_HOME=%ROOT%data\opencode-data"
   set "XDG_CONFIG_HOME=%ROOT%data\opencode-config"
   set "XDG_CACHE_HOME=%ROOT%data\opencode-cache"
   set "XDG_STATE_HOME=%ROOT%data\opencode-state"
   set "OPENCODE_USER_DATA=%ROOT%data\desktop"
   start "" "%ROOT%\OpenCode.exe"
   endlocal

   Even better (and matching the OPENCODE_PORTABLE_HOME suggestion in this issue): support a single variable that the app expands internally, so users don't need to know about XDG at all:

   // main process
   const portableHome = process.env.OPENCODE_PORTABLE_HOME;
   if (portableHome) {
     for (const [k, sub] of Object.entries({
       XDG_DATA_HOME: "data", XDG_CONFIG_HOME: "config",
       XDG_CACHE_HOME: "cache", XDG_STATE_HOME: "state",
     })) process.env[k] ??= join(portableHome, sub);
   }
   app.setPath("userData", portableHome ? join(portableHome, "desktop") : /* existing */);

   Then the launcher is one set + a start. (I verified the multi-variable variant end-to-end: 3.2 GB tree on a USB-style path, running in parallel with an installed instance, all state — including the SQLite db and engine logs — landing next to the exe.)

   Edge cases worth deciding for an official build

   • Auto-updater: with env redirection the updater cache moves into the portable folder and NSIS in-place updates replace files next to the exe (works). Still, consider a flag to disable auto-update or switch to zip-based updates in portable mode, as requested.
   • Deep links: opencode:// is registered by the installer pointing at the install path; in portable mode it should be registered per-machine on first launch (HKCU) or via an explicit option.
   • Air-gapped first run: the engine downloads rg.exe + models.json into XDG_CACHE_HOME/opencode — fine for USB use, but worth documenting that pre-seeding that folder makes first run offline-capable.
   • SmartScreen: not a concern in practice — the exe is signed (Anomaly Innovations).

   Happy to share my patch script / test notes if useful.

   (Made by Qwen 3.8 27b Q5)

   👍React with 👍2Reacted by Dan and bychen009
4. RafaelAlt commented on Oct 12, 2026

   

   RafaelAlt

   on Oct 12, 2026

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   Hi everyone. I also wanted a portable version exactly like the win64 desktop, so I went ahead and had a simple script built for me that fetches and launches the latest opencode.exe I uploaded it to https://github.com/RafaelAlt/OCDP if anyone wanna take a look.
5. opencodejr commented on Oct 28, 2026

   

   opencodejrBot

   on Oct 28, 2026

   Contributor

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   Thanks for the detailed request! To restate it: you'd like a portable Windows build of OpenCode Desktop (a ZIP or an electron-builder portable .exe) that keeps all its config, credentials, logs, cache and data in a folder next to the executable, adds no registry entries, Start Menu shortcuts or uninstall information, and turns off or adapts auto-updates. That would make it usable on managed, air-gapped and USB setups.

   Right now Desktop is published for Windows only as an NSIS installer, so this would be a new packaging option. Maintainers will consider it.

   Related issues and PRs:

   • feat(desktop): Support Portable Mode #37325: an earlier PR that added a portable mode to Desktop (data stored next to the executable). It was closed automatically and never merged.
   • feat: add directory override env vars and OPENCODE_APPNAME for portable mode and profile isolation #8963: a PR adding environment variables to override OpenCode's data and config directories.
   • [FEATURE]: Authenticode-signed Windows installer (.exe or .msi) #8087: the signed-installer request where a portable ZIP was mentioned as an alternative.
   • [FEATURE]: OpenCode desktop MSI installer #48099 and [FEATURE]: (opencode-desktop) Support system-wide installation and system-wide silent install on Windows #9995: requests for an MSI installer and system-wide installation, for managed Windows deployments.
   • [FEATURE]: Move all opencode state to another machine (config, sessions, credentials, MCP, plugins, skills) #54534: a request to move all OpenCode state to another machine.
6. neriousy commented on Nov 12, 2026

   

   neriousy

   on Nov 12, 2026

   Member

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   Thanks for the suggestion. This isn't something we plan to build, so closing to keep the tracker focused.
7. neriousy

   closed this as not plannedon Nov 12, 2026