AI coding agent without GitHub: ask and plan before a repo
Use an AI coding agent without GitHub: ask Sinatra questions, research or plan with no repository connected, and connect GitHub when it should write code.
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Most hosted coding agents want a repository before they'll do anything. That's reasonable for an agent whose job is a pull request, but it puts a GitHub App install in front of the first question, and at a company that install often needs an organization owner. Since October 21 you can use Sinatra as an AI coding agent without GitHub. You can skip the GitHub step at signup, ask it questions, have it research or plan, and connect a repository when you want it to change code. That suits an engineer who wants to try a coding agent before asking anyone to approve an app on the company's GitHub.
We build Sinatra. The section on other agents says which of them need a repository first, quoting each vendor's own docs.
Product details checked October 2026 against Sinatra's docs and changelog and each vendor's own pages, linked throughout.
Try a coding agent before connecting a repo
Sign up at app.sinatra.dev with GitHub or with your email. An email sign-up doesn't need a GitHub account: you get a one-time link, and the page it opens lets you choose a password for next time.
Setup starts with the Sinatra GitHub App, and under that step is Skip for now. Choose it, name the workspace, and go on to the rest of setup, which is Linear if you use it and model access. Installing the GitHub App but picking no repositories on GitHub's install screen leaves you in the same place: a workspace with no code to work on.
Model access works the same as for any Sinatra task. Connect your own Claude, ChatGPT or SuperGrok subscription, or have an owner or admin add an Anthropic or OpenRouter API key for the workspace. Sinatra never bills for model usage. That's between you and your provider.
Each person can have one workspace without GitHub. Add a workspace always starts by installing the GitHub App.
Ask a coding agent questions with no repository connected
A workspace without GitHub runs any task that doesn't need a repository: a question, some research, or a plan. In the dashboard, the Start work box reads "Ask a question, or describe something to research or plan," with a link to connect GitHub under it. If an owner or admin has connected Slack, mention @Sinatra in a channel; a question it answers without a repository shows on the dashboard as Conversation only. Assigning or mentioning Sinatra on a Linear issue works too. So do MCP clients such as Claude Code, Cursor, claude.ai and ChatGPT (the chat post has that setup), the sinatra CLI and the HTTP API. If you run the CLI inside a git checkout, update it to 0.3.1 or later, so it doesn't send the checkout's repository along with a question. These tasks count against your plan like any other task.
A workspace like this suits the work that comes before code. Ask for a plan for a feature, and the agent asks what it should do before writing one. Paste in a messy bug report and ask for a ticket with acceptance criteria; our guide to writing tickets for AI agents is a fair standard to hold the result to. Ask how an unfamiliar protocol or library works, with an example. From the CLI, -f attaches text files to the message, up to 80 KB together, so a log or a spec can come along without a repository.
Without a repository Sinatra can't change code or open a pull request, and it tells you that when you ask. A task that names a repository in a workspace without GitHub is refused with a link to the settings that connect it. Over the API that's a 409 github_not_connected.
Connect GitHub when it should change code
When you want Sinatra to write code, choose Connect GitHub in the sidebar, in the Start work box or on Overview. It opens GitHub's install screen, where you pick the account or organization and the repositories, and it connects that installation to the workspace.
If the app is already installed on your GitHub account, or on an organization where you can push to every repository it covers, and no workspace uses that installation, Sinatra reconnects it instead of sending you through the install again. That needs GitHub linked to your Sinatra account. If it picks the wrong account, Install on another account opens GitHub's account chooser. If the app is installed but shares no repositories, the Start work box links an owner or admin to the page on GitHub where you choose them, and picks them up when you come back.
Sinatra can't create a repository for you. For a new project, create one on GitHub with a first commit (a README is enough) and share it with the app. In an organization, an owner or admin does the connecting, and a member sees a note asking them to. After that, label an issue with the Sinatra label (sinatraai), assign a Linear ticket or mention it in Slack, and Sinatra can open pull requests.
Which hosted coding agents need a repo first
Of the nine other hosted agents we checked, six expect a repository, or at least a connected code host, before the first task.
| Agent | Repository needed before the first task | Git hosts |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub Copilot cloud agent | Yes | GitHub |
| OpenAI Codex cloud | Yes, as documented | GitHub |
| Claude Code on the web | Yes, or upload a local git repository | GitHub |
| Devin | Yes | GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket; Azure DevOps on Enterprise |
| Linear coding sessions | Yes, through Linear's GitHub integration | GitHub |
| Kiro Web | A repository provider at setup; repositories can be picked later | GitHub, GitLab |
| Cursor Cloud Agents | No | GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket, Azure DevOps |
| Google Jules | No | GitHub |
| OpenHands Cloud | No, but you sign in with a git host account | GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket |
| Sinatra | No | GitHub |
Copilot's cloud agent works in a repository by design. GitHub's docs say "Copilot can only make changes in the repository specified when you start a task," and that it "only works with repositories hosted on GitHub." Copilot Chat on github.com answers general questions without one, but Copilot Chat isn't the cloud agent and can't open a PR.
Codex cloud needs an environment. OpenAI's docs say "A cloud task requires a published environment you can access," and the only setup described on its cloud environments page starts with "Select the GitHub repositories to check out." The same page lists GitLab as on the roadmap for cloud environments.
Claude Code on the web says it plainly in its quickstart: "You'll need a GitHub repository to get started." You can upload a local repository with claude --cloud instead, but it has to be a git repository "with at least one commit." For a new project Anthropic gives the same advice we do: "create a repository with a README on GitHub first."
Devin's first-run guide says "Before you start your first session, make sure you've indexed and set up your repositories." Its Ask mode plans without changing code, but you "select the repository/repositories you want to ask about." Linear's coding sessions need repositories "available through your workspace's GitHub integration." Kiro Web has you connect GitHub or GitLab during setup, then lets you pick repositories when you first ask for work.
Cursor and Jules can start with no repository
Cursor goes furthest. Its setup docs say "You can start a cloud agent without a repository or a connected source control provider," and Cursor then creates a draft repository for the agent in the background. That means it can write code before you connect anything, which Sinatra can't. It needs a plan with Cloud Agents and Origin, so not Free or Plus.
Jules has offered repoless sessions since November 2025. Its changelog says "You can now start a Jules task immediately without selecting a repository," and its free tier runs 15 tasks a day. OpenHands Cloud can "Launch an empty conversation," per its docs, though signing in uses a GitHub, GitLab or Bitbucket account.
Sinatra works with GitHub only. If your code lives on GitLab, Bitbucket or Azure DevOps, Cursor supports all three, Devin supports them (Azure DevOps on Enterprise), OpenHands and Kiro support some of them, and Sinatra won't be able to change your code at all.
If all you want is answers, you may not need a coding agent. claude.ai and ChatGPT answer questions and draft plans with no setup, on the subscription you already have. A Sinatra workspace makes more sense when the questions are a step toward code: once GitHub is connected, the same agent and dashboard handle the pull requests too, and your team sees that work alongside its Linear, GitHub and Slack tasks.
Common questions
Yes, for anything that doesn't change code. In Sinatra, skip GitHub at signup and you can ask questions, research or plan from the dashboard, Slack, Linear, MCP, the CLI or the API. To have it open pull requests, connect GitHub. Cursor can also write code without a connected repository by creating a draft one for you.
No. A workspace connects at most one GitHub organization or personal account, and GitHub is the only code host.
It's on the same plans as any workspace. Free is 1 task at a time, plus 1 queued, with no daily limit and no card. Paid plans start at $20 a month for the workspace. You still need model access through your own subscription or an API key.
No, one per person. Any you made before October 21 stay, but another one needs the GitHub App.
No. Sign up with your email, and link a GitHub account later if you want to install the app on your personal account.
To try it, sign up free, choose Skip for now at the GitHub step, and ask it something. The workspaces docs cover the details, and the sandbox post explains where the code runs once you connect a repository.
Assign the issue. Come back to a PR.
Sinatra picks up work from Linear, GitHub and Slack and opens a draft pull request for your team to review. Bring your own Claude or Codex access; Sinatra never bills for model usage.