ByteDance (TikTok) AI SDK

Jan 28, 2025

ByteDance (you know: TikTok) has forked VSCode and built their own Cursor. They have named it UI-Tars. ¯ \ _ (ツ)_/¯

They are giving away free Sonet-3.5, but it also works with on-device AI coding LLMs on llama.cpp. The agentic mode is very similar to what we get from Cursor, Windsurf, and Co.

UI-TARS is a VLM based on Qwen with added perception, reasoning, grounding, and memory. You can also make it RTFM and work with your GUI based on documentation and manuals.

Thoughts

What can go wrong if you send your project through Chinas government pipeline? I don’t see nothing wrong with it. (Try building a Tianmen Square Massacre app with UI-Tars)