SurfSense runs Claude Code and opencode as dual engines — lessons from a local NotebookLM

FurtiveMirth · reddit · 2026-11-03

The maintainer of SurfSense (Apache-2.0 desktop app for Windows/macOS/Linux) shares architecture updates: cited Q&A over documents plus an agent that writes/edits Word, PDF, PowerPoint and Excel, with local or API models.

What's new

Docker image 2.3.0 (ghcr.io/modsetter/surfsense), same stack as desktop, Caddy as the only listener, CPU-only for now
Dual engines: drives the user's own Claude Code (Pro/Max/Team) via Anthropic's Agent SDK — SurfSense never holds credentials — alongside opencode, both behind one interface with the same tools and rules
opencode 2.1.2: lazy per-turn tool loading instead of loading everything upfront
Any remote MCP server via Streamable HTTP with OAuth/key through a gateway, so runtimes never see plugin credentials
Self-contained HTML pages with SVG charts from a skill; local audio transcription; EPUB/MOBI/AZW3 sources; RapidOCR/Apple Vision before Docling; image iteration

Lessons learned

Transcribe in speech windows (Silero VAD, ≤28s windows), not fixed chunks, so citations get real timestamps
Drive Claude Code rather than reimplementing it — but pin versions and regression-test, since updates can change behavior
Lazy tool loading: full tool lists wasted small-model context

Repo: github.com/MODSetter/SurfSense

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SurfSense runs Claude Code and opencode as dual engines — lessons from a local NotebookLM

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