Same local pipeline, same license. Two ways in.
VS Code extension
Agent and Ask chat in an editor tab. Pick the provider you already use, watch Live Traffic and cost beside your files, approve tools before they write. No admin rights.
Windows desktop
Full control on the same pipeline: session timeline, Sandbox to try a change before it touches real chats, Privacy Audit, every setting, and the wire CLI. Optional.
Six stages. Only the first one is on by default.
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Observe
Provider, model, tokens, latency, and estimated spend for every turn. Always on.
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Guard
Warn, redact, or block API keys and protected topics before they leave your machine.
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Router
Send easy turns to a local or cheaper model and hard ones to the cloud — rules you write.
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Compress
Trim repeated files and history without breaking prompt caches.
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Advise
Spots retry storms and vague prompts from your own traffic, then coaches you.
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Terran
Optional bridge that injects ranked chunks from a local Aura Terran install.
Your prompts stay yours
- Runs on loopback on your machine — there is no Halo cloud service in the path.
- Stores provider, model, tokens, latency, and cost. Never prompts, responses, or keys.
- Privacy Audit in the app shows you exactly what is on disk.
Add your docs with Aura Terran
Aura Terran indexes project folders on your PC. Wire’s Terran stage injects the best chunks into every chat. Sold separately; the bridge is included with Professional.
Explore Aura TerranOne-time pricing
Every install gets the full pipeline free for 7 days — no card. Then pay once for what you keep. No subscription.
Observe
$39
Live traffic, cost, timeline, Guard warnings.
Professional
$99
The whole pipeline — Guard+, Router, Compress, Advise, Terran bridge.
Teams
$169 /seat
Per seat, min 3. Shared policy and routing.
Questions
Is there a free trial?
Yes. Every new install starts with a 7-day full-pipeline trial — Observe plus Guard+, Aura Router, Aura Compress, Terran RAG injection, and Advise Inject — with no card required. When the trial ends, keep Observe for a one-time $39, add individual modules, or buy Professional for the full pipeline. Installs before our modular pricing launch keep perpetual Observe access at no charge.
Does Aura Wire send my prompts to Bitfield Creek or any cloud service?
No. Aura Wire runs locally on loopback. Sanitized telemetry — provider, model, tokens, latency, cost — stays in a local SQLite database on your machine. Prompts, responses, and message text are never persisted.
What do I install?
The Aura Wire .zip from bitfieldcreek.com. Extract it, then install the .vsix from inside VS Code: Extensions → Install from VSIX. (The zip avoids Visual Studio’s installer opening by mistake.) It runs in VS Code and compatible forks, finds or starts the local Aura Wire Host on your machine, and chats through it — no admin rights, certificate, or driver. Later builds arrive through the chat Update button. The Host runs on Windows today; a macOS Host is in progress. The Windows installer adds the optional desktop command center and the wire CLI.
Which editors work with Aura Wire?
Editor-tab chat works in VS Code 1.85+ and compatible forks (Insiders, VSCodium, Cursor, Windsurf) through the extension. Every chat from the extension, and every request from the wire CLI or an SDK pointed at the loopback /v1 door, runs through the same local pipeline.
What platforms are supported?
The Aura Wire extension runs in VS Code and compatible forks. The local Host that backs chat is Windows today; a macOS Host is in progress. The desktop command center and wire CLI ship in the Windows installer, which auto-updates via Cloudflare R2.
What providers does Aura Wire support?
OpenAI, Azure OpenAI, OpenAI-compatible APIs, Anthropic, Google Gemini, local Ollama, and Cursor backend hosts when configured. Aura Router can translate requests and responses between providers automatically, including streaming and tool calls.
Is Aura Wire a subscription?
No. Every install starts with a 7-day full-pipeline trial. After trial, keep Observe for $39 and add only the modules you need — or buy Professional for the full pipeline. Paid licenses are one-time purchases for the current major version. Future major upgrades may be paid, with discounts for existing paid customers. Installs from before the modular pricing launch keep perpetual Observe at no charge.
Do I need Aura Terran?
No. Observe, Guard, Router, Compress, and Advise work without it. Wire’s Terran pipeline stage is a bridge to Aura Terran, which remains a separate product you install locally. The Wire bridge entitlement is included with any paid Terran license and with Wire Professional — it is not sold as a separate Wire module. Enable the bridge when Terran is running Direct RAG REST (default http://127.0.0.1:41800) and you want ranked corpus chunks injected into Wire chat. You can also point Guard at a Terran exclusion namespace for concept protection.
More in the setup guide and on the pricing page.