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Version: 1.4.0

Introduction to thresh

AI-powered container environment manager for Windows, Linux, and macOS

thresh is a .NET 10 Native AOT command-line tool that provisions container-based development environments using AI-generated blueprints. Create development environments in seconds with natural language prompts.

Architecture Overview​

thresh provides isolated development environments using lightweight containers across multiple platforms:

Key Features​

  • 🌍 Multi-Platform - Windows/WSL2, Linux/Docker/nerdctl, macOS/containerd
  • 🤖 AI-Powered - GitHub Copilot CLI integration for intelligent blueprint generation
  • ⚡ Parallel Creation - Create multiple environments simultaneously (10x faster)
  • 📦 Built-in Blueprints - Alpine, Ubuntu, Debian, Python, Node.js, and more
  • 🗑️ Blueprint Management - List, generate, and delete blueprints
  • 💬 Interactive AI Chat - Streaming responses for blueprint assistance
  • 🚀 Native Binary - No .NET runtime required (5-13 MB)
  • 📊 System Metrics - Monitor CPU, memory, storage, and container usage
  • 🔧 MCP Server - Model Context Protocol for VS Code, Cursor, Windsurf

Getting Started by Platform​

Choose your platform to get started:

🪟 Windows​

Get started with thresh on Windows 11 using WSL 2

Requirements:

  • Windows 11
  • WSL 2 enabled

Start on Windows →

🐧 Linux​

Get started with thresh on Linux using Docker or nerdctl

Requirements:

  • Docker or nerdctl/containerd

Start on Linux →

🍎 macOS​

Get started with thresh on macOS (Apple Silicon) using containerd

Requirements:

  • macOS (Apple Silicon M1/M2/M3)
  • containerd or Docker Desktop

Beta Support

Start on macOS →

Quick Example​

# Install thresh (platform-specific, see guides above)

# Authenticate with GitHub Copilot CLI
copilot
# Then: /login

# List available blueprints
thresh blueprint list

# Create your first environment
thresh up alpine-minimal

# Generate custom blueprint with AI
thresh blueprint generate "Python ML environment with Jupyter" --output python-ml

# Start interactive chat
thresh chat

Platform Support​

PlatformRuntimeBinary SizeCompressionStatus
Windows 11WSL2~5 MBUPX✅ Supported
LinuxDocker, nerdctl, containerd~5 MBUPX✅ Supported
macOS (M1/M2/M3)containerd, Docker~13 MBNone*✅ Beta

*macOS binaries are uncompressed to preserve Apple code signing and notarization.

What's New in v1.4.0​

🎯 Grouped Commands​

More intuitive command structure with thresh blueprint as the parent command for all blueprint operations.

⚡ Parallel Creation (MCP)​

Create multiple environments simultaneously via Model Context Protocol.

📊 Enhanced Metrics​

  • IP address display
  • Load average monitoring
  • Docker/containerd storage information
  • JSON export support

🌍 Multi-Platform Support​

Full support for Windows, Linux, and macOS with automatic runtime detection.

🗑️ Blueprint Deletion​

Remove unwanted generated blueprints easily:

thresh blueprint delete my-old-blueprint

Copy binary to installation directory

New-Item -ItemType Directory -Force -Path C:\thresh Copy-Item bin\Release\net10.0\win-x64\publish\thresh.exe C:\thresh\

Add to PATH

$env:Path += ";C:\thresh"

Verify

thresh --version


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## Documentation

- 📚 **[Windows Guide](/docs/getting-started-windows)** - Complete Windows setup
- 🐧 **[Linux Guide](/docs/getting-started-linux)** - Complete Linux setup
- 🍎 **[macOS Guide](/docs/getting-started-macos)** - Complete macOS setup (Beta)
- 🔧 **[CLI Reference](/docs/cli-reference)** - Complete command documentation
- 🤖 **[MCP Integration](/docs/mcp-integration)** - VS Code, Cursor, Windsurf setup
- 📖 **[Tutorials](/docs/tutorials)** - Step-by-step guides

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## Support

- **Issues**: [GitHub Issues](https://github.com/dealer426/thresh/issues)
- **Discussions**: [GitHub Discussions](https://github.com/dealer426/thresh/discussions)
- **Repository**: [GitHub](https://github.com/dealer426/thresh)

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## Next Steps

Choose your platform to get started:

- 🪟 **[Windows 11 → Get Started](/docs/getting-started-windows)**
- 🐧 **[Linux → Get Started](/docs/getting-started-linux)**
- 🍎 **[macOS → Get Started](/docs/getting-started-macos)**

**Happy provisioning!** 🚀