It runs locally in a Docker container for privacy.
Garry Tan#121
Today we're launching Paxel: a free tool that analyzes your Claude, Codex, and Cursor coding sessions and gives you a profile of how you build with AI.
It runs locally inside Docker, and your code never leaves your machine.
Try it at http://paxel.ycombinator.com
Positive users praise Y Combinator's Paxel for local privacy-focused analysis of AI coding patterns, while negative users accuse the tool of dishonest data-mining marketing and demand it be open sourced.
No Digg Deeper questions have been answered for this story yet.
This is an amazing idea by YC.
This is the type of innovation needed at the early stage to get the right founders through the door.
YC pioneered the 10 min interview and is still the only one to do it.
Now, with new innovations like these in attracting the right founders, they are going to stay far ahead of the curve.
Today we're launching Paxel: a free tool that analyzes your Claude, Codex, and Cursor coding sessions and gives you a profile of how you build with AI.
It runs locally inside Docker, and your code never leaves your machine.
Try it at http://paxel.ycombinator.com
You can now finally try one of those big projects I was teasing that I started working on a few months ago.
We want this to over time get better at helping you learn the best techniques to build better software, faster.
Today we're launching Paxel: a free tool that analyzes your Claude, Codex, and Cursor coding sessions and gives you a profile of how you build with AI.
It runs locally inside Docker, and your code never leaves your machine.
Try it at http://paxel.ycombinator.com
a way to measure vibes
Today we're launching Paxel: a free tool that analyzes your Claude, Codex, and Cursor coding sessions and gives you a profile of how you build with AI.
It runs locally inside Docker, and your code never leaves your machine.
Try it at http://paxel.ycombinator.com
And if you're applying to Startup School, paste your Paxel token into your application! We want to see how you build with these tools. Already applied? You can still go back and add it.
http://ycombinator.com/startupschool
@ycombinator I can’t believe there’s a free way to give YC my coding data for nothing in return. This is going to change the world. Trulyz
@ycombinator give it a try!! also built this form so if you have a bug or feature request just submit it here. we'll review it then fire off an agent and merge the result if we like it:)
To clarify more here: your source code and file contents never leave your machine. This is verifiable in the container.
But Paxel does upload derived data - narratives, prompt excerpts, file paths, commit metadata (all run through a credential redactor first) - to build your profile. If you want none of it, you can run --no-repo to opt out.
Fully documented here at http://paxel.ycombinator.com/data-handling
@ycombinator "At the end of the run, a JSON payload of scores, narratives, redacted decisions, and session metadata is uploaded to YC." -from paxel url ..
should i use it?? 🤔
@ycombinator This is... extremely invasive
@ycombinator What about adding it to your application for the summer batch? 👀
@ycombinator Transcripts leave the box but code is regex removed.
We are specific about this: code doesn’t leave. Other transcript data does.
This is a very important direction.
Analyzing how people build with AI may become as important as analyzing the code itself.
Because the real signal is not only in the final output.
It is in the trajectory: prompts, corrections, tool use, assumptions, retries, and where the human remains in the decision loop.
This is very close to the problem Core ASA — Asymmetric Stability Architecture is focused on:
external observability of trajectory, drift, and human decision ownership in long-running AI workflows.
Local-first is also the right move.
Trust starts where the user keeps control.
@ycombinator Wow, now this is epic! Definitely gonna run this on my gstack- can I contribute to the repo? Just need a quick review Garry
@ycombinator Absolutely love this. We've already integrated Claude Code with the Autonomous Desk.
Paxel just gave us the v2 specs. We'll integrate Paxel with our desk!
@ycombinator Gotta open source it and make sending data to YC optional, otherwise it's just people donating their data to YC
@ycombinator @gustaf nice hair cut @garrytan
@ycombinator inspired by @charlieholtz at conductor, love the idea
@ycombinator where is generalist gang?
@ycombinator it's like npx standout haha
This is a smart move. Understanding how you actually use AI coding tools, not just which ones, is becoming a real competitive edge.
Running locally in Docker is the right call too. Most teams won't share coding data with another cloud service, so privacy first makes adoption way easier.