Inspector
Inspector · Coding
Inspector is a visual front-end editor for developers who build React, Next.js or Vite apps with AI coding agents. It connects to the agent you already run, so instead of describing a text change and waiting for the agent to guess which file to touch, you simply point at the element on screen. Editing copy, nudging a layout, or swapping a component all happens through a visual interface that writes your changes straight back to the local codebase on your machine. No copy-paste, no hunting through files by hand.
About Inspector
What Is Inspector
Inspector is a visual front-end editor built for the age of AI-assisted coding. React, Next.js and Vite projects increasingly get written by agents like Claude Code, Cursor or Codex, and the bottleneck has shifted because the hard part is no longer producing a component. It's telling the agent exactly which element to change and where that element lives. Inspector closes that loop. It gives you a visual layer over your running app. Now you can edit React with AI by clicking a heading or dragging a card, and that turns into a precise edit on your local source files.
The tool is designed around a simple idea. Your hands belong on the interface, not on the file tree. You edit text inline. You move elements around. And you re-run the agent against the change without leaving the page you're looking at. It works directly on your local codebase, so nothing reaches a remote server before you decide to ship it.
The main limits are worth stating early. Inspector targets React, Next.js and Vite projects only. A Vue or Svelte team won't get much from it. It also assumes you already run a coding agent with its own subscription. Inspector connects to that agent and doesn't replace it. No agent yet? Set that up first.
Getting Started
- Install Inspector and open your project so it can detect the framework and dev server.
- Connect the coding agent you already use, whether that's Claude Code, Cursor or Codex.
- Start your dev server and open the app inside the Inspector view.
- Click any element to edit its text, or drag it to change position and layout.
- Review the diff Inspector generates and let the agent commit the change to your codebase.
Product Information
A quick look at Inspector's pricing, supported platforms, and performance.
Best for
The users, tasks, and scenarios where this tool fits best.
Users
- Front-end developers on React or Next.js teams
- Developers already paying for Claude Code, Cursor or Codex
- Solo builders shipping interfaces fast
Tasks
- Rewriting UI copy across a page
- Nudging layout and spacing
- Iterating on a component's structure
Scenarios
- Polishing a landing page the night before a demo
- Reviewing agent output in a real project
- Onboarding onto a codebase an agent scaffolded
Key features
Visual Editing of Text and Elements
Inspector lets you select an element on the page and change it in place. Edit a headline. Fix a button label. Move a card to a new spot. The tool maps each action back to the source. The point is speed on the small stuff that used to require a full prompt-and-wait round trip with your agent.
Agent-Agnostic Connections
Inspector works with Claude Code, Cursor and Codex rather than locking you to one vendor. It hooks into whichever agent you already pay for. So you keep your existing subscription and workflow. As a Claude Code front-end tool, a Cursor visual editor, or a Codex companion, it adapts to whatever you run. That flexibility matters for teams where different developers run different agents on the same repo.
Direct Local Codebase Edits
Every change lands in your local files, not a hosted editor sandbox. Your project structure, dependencies and version history stay untouched. They don't move. The visual layer sits on top of your real app, and it never swaps that app for a limited online replica.
React, Next.js and Vite Support
The tool is tuned for the modern React stack. It handles component-based interfaces, recognizes the framework's conventions, and follows the structure that those build tools generate in a typical project. If your app runs on one of these frameworks, Inspector understands what it's looking at out of the box.
Diff Review Before Commits
Inspector shows you what it's about to change so you can approve or reject it. You see the source edits the agent produced. Then you decide whether they match your intent. That review step keeps a fast visual workflow from quietly introducing changes you didn't ask for.
Built-In Dev Server Preview
You work against your live dev server inside the tool, so what you edit is exactly what the browser will render on the screen in front of you. No stale screenshots and no guessing about how a change will look. The preview and the code stay in sync as you iterate.
Pros and cons
Pros
- Speeds up small copy and layout edits that would otherwise need a full agent prompt.
- Works with the agent you already use instead of forcing a new subscription.
- Edits your real local project, so your tooling and git history stay intact.
- The visual layer makes it easier to spot and fix what an agent got wrong.
- Focused on React, Next.js and Vite, so it understands that stack's conventions.
Cons
- Only supports React, Next.js and Vite, so Vue, Svelte or Angular teams get nothing from it.
- It connects to a coding agent but doesn't include one, so you need Claude Code, Cursor or Codex running first.
- Platform support is limited to macOS, which leaves Windows and Linux developers out for now.
- It can't design from scratch; it edits interfaces your agent already generated.
Frequently asked questions
It's a visual front-end editor that connects to your AI coding agent. You point at an element in your running app, change text or position it the way you want, and Inspector turns that into edits on your local React, Next.js or Vite code. It replaces the describe-it-in-a-prompt step with a direct click.
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