Open SWE - Introduction

Overview

Estimated time: 35–45 minutes

Open SWE (Software Engineering) is an open-source AI agent designed to understand and modify entire codebases. It can analyze repository structure, implement features across multiple files, and perform complex refactoring tasks autonomously.

Learning Objectives

• Install and configure Open SWE for local development
• Use repository analysis for codebase understanding
• Implement features across multiple files autonomously
• Apply best practices for AI-assisted software engineering

Prerequisites

• AI Agents - Introduction
• Python development environment
• Git version control knowledge
• Understanding of software engineering principles

What is Open SWE?

Open SWE is an autonomous AI software engineer that can understand codebases at scale, implement complex features, and maintain code quality across large projects. Unlike simple code completion tools, it works at the architectural level.

Installation & Setup

System Requirements

# System requirements
Python 3.8+
Git 2.0+
4GB+ RAM recommended
OpenAI API key or local model setup

# Supported platforms
Linux (recommended)
macOS
Windows (WSL recommended)

Installation Process

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/OpenSWE-AI/OpenSWE.git
cd OpenSWE

# Create virtual environment
python -m venv openswe-env
source openswe-env/bin/activate  # Linux/Mac
# openswe-env\Scripts\activate  # Windows

# Install dependencies
pip install -r requirements.txt

# Install Open SWE
pip install -e .

# Verify installation
openswe --version

Configuration

# config.yaml
api:
  provider: "openai"  # or "anthropic", "local"
  key: "your-api-key-here"
  model: "gpt-4-turbo-preview"
  
agent:
  max_iterations: 10
  context_window: 32000
  temperature: 0.1
  
repository:
  ignore_patterns:
    - "*.pyc"
    - "__pycache__"
    - ".git"
    - "node_modules"
    - "dist"
  
safety:
  require_confirmation: true
  backup_before_changes: true
  max_files_per_operation: 20

Core Workflow

Repository Analysis

# Initialize Open SWE in your project
cd /path/to/your/project
openswe init

# Analyze repository structure
openswe analyze --full

# Generate codebase summary
openswe summary --output summary.md

# Example output:
# Repository: my-web-app (Python/Flask)
# Structure: 
#   - Backend: Flask app with SQLAlchemy models
#   - Frontend: React components with TypeScript
#   - Database: PostgreSQL with migrations
#   - Tests: pytest with 85% coverage
#   - Dependencies: 23 Python packages, 45 npm packages

Task Implementation

# Implement a new feature
openswe task "Add user authentication with JWT tokens and password reset functionality"

# Example autonomous workflow:
# 1. Analyzes existing user model structure
# 2. Creates authentication routes
# 3. Implements JWT token handling
# 4. Adds password reset via email
# 5. Updates frontend login components
# 6. Creates migration scripts
# 7. Writes comprehensive tests
# 8. Updates API documentation

Interactive Mode

# Start interactive session
openswe interactive

> analyze codebase
Analyzing repository structure...
Found: 
- 45 Python files (backend)
- 23 React components (frontend)
- 12 database models
- 156 test files

> implement feature: "Add real-time notifications"
Planning implementation...
1. WebSocket server setup
2. Notification model creation
3. Frontend notification component
4. Real-time event broadcasting
5. Database migrations
6. Test coverage

Proceed? (y/n): y
Implementing across 8 files...
✓ WebSocket server (app/websocket.py)
✓ Notification model (app/models/notification.py)
✓ Frontend component (src/components/NotificationCenter.tsx)
✓ Event broadcasting (app/services/events.py)
✓ Database migration (migrations/add_notifications.py)
✓ Unit tests (tests/test_notifications.py)
✓ Integration tests (tests/integration/test_websocket.py)
✓ Documentation update (docs/notifications.md)

Advanced Features

Multi-Repository Operations

# Work across multiple repositories
openswe workspace create my-microservices
openswe workspace add-repo ./user-service
openswe workspace add-repo ./payment-service
openswe workspace add-repo ./notification-service

# Implement feature across services
openswe task "Add distributed tracing across all microservices" --workspace my-microservices

# Open SWE coordinates:
# - Tracing headers in user-service
# - Payment tracking in payment-service
# - Notification correlation in notification-service
# - Shared tracing library
# - Updated service communication

Code Quality Enforcement

# Run quality checks
openswe quality-check --fix-issues

# Automated improvements:
# - Code style consistency
# - Remove dead code
# - Update deprecated patterns
# - Optimize imports
# - Fix security vulnerabilities
# - Add missing documentation
# - Improve error handling

# Quality metrics tracking
openswe metrics --generate-report

Intelligent Refactoring

# Large-scale refactoring
openswe refactor "Convert from Flask to FastAPI while maintaining all functionality"

# Autonomous refactoring process:
# 1. Maps Flask routes to FastAPI equivalents
# 2. Converts SQLAlchemy models to Pydantic
# 3. Updates dependency injection patterns
# 4. Migrates middleware and error handlers
# 5. Converts templates to API responses
# 6. Updates tests for new framework
# 7. Maintains database compatibility
# 8. Preserves all business logic

Repository Understanding

Codebase Mapping

# Open SWE's internal understanding (example)
{
  "architecture_pattern": "MVC with service layer",
  "main_technologies": ["Python", "Flask", "SQLAlchemy", "React", "TypeScript"],
  "entry_points": ["app.py", "wsgi.py"],
  "data_models": {
    "User": {
      "file": "app/models/user.py",
      "relationships": ["Profile", "Orders", "Notifications"],
      "key_methods": ["authenticate", "reset_password", "update_profile"]
    },
    "Order": {
      "file": "app/models/order.py", 
      "relationships": ["User", "Product", "Payment"],
      "business_logic": ["calculate_total", "apply_discount", "process_payment"]
    }
  },
  "api_patterns": {
    "authentication": "JWT with refresh tokens",
    "error_handling": "Custom exception classes",
    "validation": "Marshmallow schemas",
    "pagination": "Custom paginator class"
  },
  "test_patterns": {
    "unit_tests": "pytest with fixtures",
    "integration_tests": "TestClient with database rollback",
    "mocking": "unittest.mock for external services"
  }
}

Dependency Analysis

# Understanding component relationships
openswe dependencies --visualize

Component Dependencies:
auth_service → [user_model, jwt_utils, email_service]
order_service → [user_model, product_model, payment_service]
notification_service → [user_model, websocket_handler, email_service]

External Dependencies:
High Risk: 
- requests==2.25.0 (security vulnerability)
- Pillow==8.0.0 (outdated, memory issues)

Medium Risk:
- SQLAlchemy==1.3.20 (newer version available)
- Flask==1.1.2 (consider upgrading)

Recommendations:
- Update security-critical packages immediately
- Consider migrating to async framework for better performance
- Add dependency scanning to CI/CD pipeline

Integration Examples

Adding OAuth Integration

# Complex feature implementation
openswe task "Add Google OAuth login while maintaining existing email/password authentication"

# Generated implementation plan:
# 1. Install and configure OAuth libraries
# 2. Create OAuth routes and handlers
# 3. Modify user model for OAuth fields
# 4. Update frontend login component
# 5. Handle account linking for existing users
# 6. Add OAuth-specific error handling
# 7. Update tests for both auth methods
# 8. Create migration for database changes
# 9. Update API documentation
# 10. Add security considerations to docs

Database Migration

# Complex data migration
openswe task "Migrate from SQLite to PostgreSQL with zero downtime"

# Migration strategy:
# 1. Analyze current database schema
# 2. Create PostgreSQL-compatible models
# 3. Generate migration scripts
# 4. Implement dual-write pattern
# 5. Create data synchronization
# 6. Update connection configuration
# 7. Modify queries for PostgreSQL compatibility
# 8. Create rollback procedures
# 9. Update deployment scripts
# 10. Comprehensive testing plan

Team Collaboration

Code Review Integration

# Integration with Git workflows
openswe review --create-pr "Add user notification system"

# Generated pull request includes:
# - Feature implementation across multiple files
# - Comprehensive test coverage
# - Documentation updates
# - Migration scripts
# - Rollback procedures
# - Performance considerations
# - Security analysis

Knowledge Sharing

# Generate technical documentation
openswe document --feature authentication
openswe document --architecture --output architecture.md
openswe document --api --format openapi

# Creates:
# - Architecture decision records (ADRs)
# - API documentation
# - Code change explanations
# - Onboarding guides
# - Troubleshooting documentation

Safety and Quality Controls

Change Validation

# Automated testing before implementation
openswe validate-changes --dry-run

# Safety checks:
# - Syntax and type checking
# - Test coverage analysis
# - Breaking change detection
# - Performance impact assessment
# - Security vulnerability scanning
# - Code quality metrics

# Only proceeds if all checks pass

Rollback Capabilities

# Automatic backup before changes
openswe backup create --name "before-auth-implementation"

# Rollback if needed
openswe rollback --to-backup "before-auth-implementation"

# Git integration
openswe rollback --to-commit abc123

Performance and Scalability

Optimization Suggestions

# Performance analysis
openswe optimize --analyze-performance

# Automated optimizations:
# - Database query optimization
# - Caching strategy implementation
# - Code pattern improvements
# - Resource usage optimization
# - Bundle size reduction
# - API response optimization

Scalability Planning

# Scalability assessment
openswe scale-analysis --target-load "10x current traffic"

# Recommendations:
# - Database sharding strategy
# - Caching layer implementation
# - Microservice decomposition
# - Load balancing configuration
# - Performance monitoring setup
# - Infrastructure requirements

Best Practices

Effective Task Definition

Code Quality Maintenance

Troubleshooting

Checks for Understanding

1. How does Open SWE differ from simple code completion tools?
2. What safety mechanisms are built into Open SWE?
3. How can Open SWE help with large-scale refactoring projects?

Exercises

1. Install Open SWE and analyze an existing project's structure
2. Use Open SWE to implement a small feature across multiple files
3. Practice the safety features by creating backups and using dry-run mode
4. Generate documentation for a complex feature using Open SWE