Frontman is an AI coding agent designed for frontend development, enabling users to modify live applications directly from their browser without needing an IDE. It targets frontend developers, designers, and product managers by offering a visual, context-rich editing experience, significantly accelerating iteration cycles and bridging the gap between design and engineering.

How It Works

Frontman integrates as middleware into local development servers (Next.js, Astro, Vite), exposing a browser-side "MCP Server." This server captures real-time application context, including the live DOM, computed CSS, component tree, and server logs. Users interact via a chat overlay (localhost/frontman), clicking elements and describing desired changes in natural language. Frontman then identifies the relevant source files, applies the edits, and triggers instant hot reloading, working backward from the rendered output to the codebase.

Quick Start & Requirements

• Primary install / run command:
  • Next.js: npx @frontman-ai/nextjs install then npm run dev
  • Astro: astro add @frontman-ai/astro then astro dev
  • Vite: npx @frontman-ai/vite install then npm run dev
  • Access the interface at http://localhost:<port>/frontman.
• Non-default prerequisites and dependencies: Requires a local development server. Users must provide their own API keys for supported LLM providers (Anthropic, OpenAI, OpenRouter). Frontman operates solely in development mode.
• Links: Next.js Integration Guide, Astro Integration, Vite Integration Guide.

Highlighted Details

• Enables visual frontend editing and designer/PM collaboration directly on the running application.
• Supports Next.js (App/Pages Router, Turbopack), Astro (Islands, SSR/hybrid), and Vite (React, Vue, Svelte, SvelteKit).
• Available as an OpenClaw skill for specialized frontend editing capabilities.
• Production builds remain unaffected by Frontman's integration.

Maintenance & Community

The project maintains active links to its Website, Documentation, Changelog, Issues, and Discord.

Licensing & Compatibility

This project employs a split license model: client libraries and framework integrations are licensed under Apache License 2.0. The server component is licensed under the GNU Affero General Public License v3.0 (AGPL-3.0), which has strong copyleft provisions that may impact commercial use and distribution.

Limitations & Caveats

Frontman is strictly a development-time tool and does not influence production deployments. Users are responsible for all costs associated with their chosen LLM API providers. The AGPL-3.0 license for the server component necessitates careful consideration regarding its implications for derivative works and distribution in commercial contexts.