Nocturne IDE: Building a Voice-Powered IDE for Blind Developers

Hi dev.to! I'm working on something a bit different: an IDE not just with AI, but with a voice. Nocturne IDE is a minimalist coding environment with a built-in AI assistant — designed specifically for blind and visually impaired developers. It’s open-source, works offline, and is powered by a local LLM (Falcon via llama-cpp-python) — all packed inside a Docker container. The idea is to make programming possible entirely by voice, including reading code, asking questions, and navigating through files without ever looking at the screen. Why build this? As a developer myself, I love tools that help me think better — not just type faster. But most modern IDEs rely heavily on visual feedback. I realized: what if you're blind? What if you simply want to code without staring at the screen for hours? That’s how Nocturne started — with a question: "What would a non-visual IDE feel like?" Tech Stack Base: Eric7 IDE (PyQt-based, Python) Assistant: Falcon LLM via llama-cpp-python Containerization: Docker with GUI support (via VcXsrv on Windows or X11 on Linux) Future plans: Rewrite in C++, better plugin system, custom UI framework What it looks like (so far) [insert screenshot or gif of assistant panel inside Eric7] Features Embedded AI assistant (currently text-based) Chat-style panel inside the IDE Offline-first setup No cloud dependencies Fully open-source What’s next? Add voice input/output Build custom plugin architecture Improve accessibility layer for screen readers Onboard contributors with good first issues Want to contribute? Check out the repo: Nocturne IDE on GitHub We just added our first good first issue! If this project resonates with you — whether for accessibility, AI, or developer tools — feel free to star, follow, or jump into an issue.

Apr 13, 2025 - 13:48

Nocturne IDE: Building a Voice-Powered IDE for Blind Developers

Hi dev.to! I'm working on something a bit different: an IDE not just with AI, but with a voice.

Nocturne IDE is a minimalist coding environment with a built-in AI assistant — designed specifically for blind and visually impaired developers.

It’s open-source, works offline, and is powered by a local LLM (Falcon via llama-cpp-python) — all packed inside a Docker container. The idea is to make programming possible entirely by voice, including reading code, asking questions, and navigating through files without ever looking at the screen.

Why build this?

As a developer myself, I love tools that help me think better — not just type faster. But most modern IDEs rely heavily on visual feedback. I realized: what if you're blind? What if you simply want to code without staring at the screen for hours?

That’s how Nocturne started — with a question: "What would a non-visual IDE feel like?"

Tech Stack

Base: Eric7 IDE (PyQt-based, Python)

Assistant: Falcon LLM via llama-cpp-python

Containerization: Docker with GUI support (via VcXsrv on Windows or X11 on Linux)

Future plans: Rewrite in C++, better plugin system, custom UI framework

What it looks like (so far)

[insert screenshot or gif of assistant panel inside Eric7]

Features

Embedded AI assistant (currently text-based)

Chat-style panel inside the IDE

Offline-first setup

No cloud dependencies

Fully open-source

What’s next?

Add voice input/output

Build custom plugin architecture

Improve accessibility layer for screen readers

Onboard contributors with good first issues

Want to contribute?

Check out the repo: Nocturne IDE on GitHub
We just added our first good first issue!

If this project resonates with you — whether for accessibility, AI, or developer tools — feel free to star, follow, or jump into an issue.