OpenGravity – A zero-install, BYOK vanilla JS clone of Antigravity

Hi. I’m a high school student studying for my GCSEs. I was using Google Antigravity heavily for my side projects, but I kept hitting the usage limits, and getting random "agent terminated" errors. So I decided to try build my own version of the IDE. I love the UI, so I copied it as accurately as possible, and then hooked up some logic into it, including the INCREDIBLY finicky webcontainer api.I tried to keep it super lightweight, no build steps, or dependencies, and now that its open source, I'm hoping people can build things on top of it that arent possible with closed source tools, like complex custom agent workflows.Some screenshots: - https://github.com/ab-613/OpenGravity/blob/main/examples/scr... - https://github.com/ab-613/OpenGravity/blob/main/examples/htm...What it's made from:- Pure Vanilla JS: no react, vue, or build step. Built entirely in plain HTML/CSS/JS to keep it super lightweight.- WebContainer API and xterm.js: Instead of faking a terminal, I (after much pain) hooked up the WebContainer API so the AI agent has a real, in browser linux environment to run shell commands, install dependencies, and edit local files.- BYOK (Bring Your Own Key): API key ALWAYS stays in localStorage.Whats currently happening:- It works, but it's an alpha. The AI can proactively start projects going properly and edit files, but because I built this over a few days before my exams, a lot of the UI dropdowns and buttons are currently just hardcoded placeholders.- I’m open sourcing it early because I think the foundation of a Vanilla JS + WebContainer IDE is really strong, and I'd love to see where the community takes it while I'm doing my exams.- Live demo: https://opengravity.pages.dev (Zoom out to 80% if not full screen. It will prompt for a gemini api key on load). Start by uploading a folder, then you can fiddle with the terminal and agen

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72

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Verdict

VALIDATE

medium confidence

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Open-source, lightweight browser-based AI IDE that eliminates vendor lock-in and usage limits by letting users bring their own API keys.

The pain

Developers hit rate limits and service interruptions with closed-source AI IDEs (Google Antigravity). They want reliable, customizable AI coding environments without vendor constraints or surprise terminations.

The gap

No open-source alternative exists that combines a polished UI, real Linux environment (via WebContainer), and true user control (BYOK). Existing solutions either require build steps, have dependencies, or lack the agent capabilities.

Build angle

Lead with the technical foundation (Vanilla JS + WebContainer is genuinely novel), but immediately validate: (1) Is there real demand beyond 'Antigravity is annoying'? (2) Can a high school student sustain this post-exams? (3) What's the monetization path if it's open-source? Position as infrastructure for AI agent workflows, not just a UI clone.

Strengths

  • Solves a real friction point (rate limits, service reliability)
  • Technical execution is impressive (WebContainer integration is non-trivial)
  • Zero-dependency, zero-install approach is genuinely lightweight
  • BYOK model aligns with privacy/control trends
  • Open-source early creates community momentum and goodwill
  • Vanilla JS foundation is maintainable and extensible

Risks

  • Creator is a high school student with exam commitments, sustainability unclear
  • UI is admittedly alpha with hardcoded placeholders, polish gap is real
  • Copying Antigravity UI closely invites legal/IP concerns
  • Market size unclear: how many developers actually hit Antigravity limits vs. just wanting a free alternative?
  • Monetization path undefined, open-source + BYOK makes revenue hard
  • WebContainer API is still evolving; dependency on third-party tech
  • Competitive risk from Google improving Antigravity or other players entering space
  • Community-driven development model requires active maintainer (risky given creator's situation)

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