Chat
Use Chat when your idea is still messy and you need help clarifying what you actually mean.
Think clearer. Challenge your own reasoning.
A local desktop app for turning half-formed ideas into sharper decisions.
Argument Critic helps you talk through an idea, test it for weak spots, keep track of unresolved questions, search your past work, inspect screenshots, and generate structured reports you can come back to later.
- Local-first desktop workflow
- Built to ask better questions, not flatter you
- Screenshots read as text by default, with direct image inspection still available
- Made for normal users, not just developers
Best for
Planning, writing, analysis, decision review, and idea stress-testing
What makes it different
It keeps the open questions instead of letting them vanish under the next response.
Main modes
Chat, Critic, Questions, Records, Reports, Capture, and Research.
What it does
One app, several ways to think through a problem.
Critic
Use Critic when you want pushback, contradictions, weak assumptions, and missing proof exposed clearly.
Questions
Keep track of unresolved questions so the hardest gaps in your reasoning are not forgotten.
Records
Search saved sessions, reports, contradictions, questions, and captures when you need exact recall.
Reports
Turn a messy conversation into a clean, structured summary that is easier to review or share.
Capture
Take a screenshot or crop part of the screen so the app can extract the visible text by default or inspect the image directly when that is the better fit.
How to use it
The simple flow most people will want.
Start in Chat
Explain the idea in plain language. Use this space to make it clearer before you try to defend it.
Move to Critic
Once the idea is clear, send it to Critic so it can challenge your logic and assumptions directly.
Watch the Questions panel
Use the running queue of unresolved questions as your to-do list for what still needs evidence.
Generate a report
When you want a cleaner summary, turn the saved work into a report you can revisit later.
Install
Windows install, written for normal people.
Easy install path
- Download Argument-Critic-Setup.exe from the latest GitHub release.
- Open the installer and finish the Windows install prompts.
- Launch Argument Critic from the Start Menu or desktop shortcut.
- Open Settings and choose Sign in with GitHub.
What the installer handles for you
- Installs the desktop app into Windows
- Bundles the local companion service so Node.js is not required
- Bundles the GitHub sign-in helper used by the default sign-in flow
- Creates Start Menu shortcuts
- Offers a desktop shortcut
- Stores local data under your Windows user profile
No ZIP extraction, Node.js, or pnpm setup is required for the normal install path.
Need the hand-holding version?
Use the install guide, the Windows guide, and the troubleshooting page if you want the slower step-by-step version.
Privacy
Your work stays local.
Argument Critic is built around a local workflow. Your sessions, saved questions, reports, captures, and runtime data live on your machine. Stored credentials are encrypted for the current Windows user account.
Technology
What it is built with.
- Electron desktop shell
- React interface
- Fastify local companion API
- SQLite local storage
- TypeScript and Vite
- GitHub sign-in and GitHub-hosted model access when configured
FAQ
Quick answers.
Do I need to know how to code?
No. The normal Windows install path is a standard installer download from Releases.
Is it a website or a desktop app?
It is a desktop app. This page is the public website for the project.
What is GitHub sign-in for?
It is the easiest way to connect the app to Copilot-capable GitHub model access without manual token juggling. Manual token entry remains an advanced fallback.
What if something breaks?
Use the install guide and troubleshooting guide in the repo, then relaunch the installed app from the Start Menu.