Known limitations

Hoku is pre-1.0. These are the current limits, most of them set by what each provider exposes.

Platform and install

macOS only. Opening sessions relies on AppleScript, iTerm or Terminal, and macOS app links. There are no Windows or Linux versions.
Apple Silicon releases only. On an Intel Mac, build from source.
Not notarized by Apple. A DMG you download needs one Open Anyway per version. The install script avoids that prompt by checking the download itself. See Install and update.
No automatic updates. Run the install command again, or download the new DMG.
Automation permission is asked again after each update, because the ad-hoc signature has no fixed developer identity.

Claude Desktop chats can’t be discovered. They live on claude.ai. Add them by link and give them a title.
Claude Code deletes old transcripts. Those sessions stay in Hoku as Transcript no longer on disk and can’t be resumed.
One root folder per project. Sessions elsewhere can be moved in by hand, and that choice sticks.
Codex skips archived threads, automation runs and sub-agents on purpose.

Codex approvals are inferred, because Codex doesn’t record approval requests. Some approvals leave no trace and show as Working: a patch outside the writable folders, MCP tool approvals, and commands Codex itself classes as dangerous. See Codex Desktop.
Cowork sessions have limited state and never appear in Needs You. Chats have none.
State history is recorded only while Hoku runs. Activity, Resume’s What changed and recap numbers can’t include state changes from while Hoku was closed. Recaps say how much history they cover.

VS Code: selecting the exact window and integrated terminal needs the optional Hoku extension for VS Code. Without it, Hoku brings VS Code forward and you pick the tab. Even with it:
- remote windows (SSH, containers, WSL, Codespaces) and sessions in the Claude Code extension’s panel only get VS Code brought forward
- with two copies of VS Code of the same kind running (for example one with a custom --user-data-dir), Hoku doesn’t guess which one holds the session
- the extension and VS Code’s one-time Allow prompt are per VS Code profile
- forks such as Cursor, VSCodium and Windsurf aren’t recognized.
Warp, tmux and other terminals aren’t switched to. Hoku tells you where the session runs instead of starting a second copy.
Terminal gets a window, not a tab, because Terminal can’t open tabs without Accessibility access.
The Cowork link is checked against Claude Desktop’s code and opens without warnings, but it isn’t documented by Anthropic.

The Codex account email isn’t shown. It’s only in Codex’s credential file, which Hoku never opens, so the account reads Connected externally.

Needs You notifications only arrive while Hoku is running. Nothing is pushed from a server.
Follow up reminders are in-app only: the rail badge, the drawer and the inspector. There are no macOS notifications for them.
Forgetting a session also removes its follow-up. If new activity brings it back, it returns without one.