Everyone loved the idea. Then it broke its one promise.
When YC launched Paxel, developers lit up — finally, a way to show how you actually build with AI. Within hours, the same community found it quietly uploading the data it swore never left your machine, and the launch posts came down. This is the record: the excitement, the betrayal, and the open version that keeps the promise.
Developers loved the idea.
AI-builder profiles struck a nerve — the concept was exactly right. That's the part worth keeping.
Then it broke its one promise.
"It runs locally — your code never leaves your machine." Hours later, the community found otherwise.
"It runs locally inside Docker, and your code never leaves your machine." — @ycombinator, launching Paxel
The community finds Paxel uploading prompt excerpts, file paths and git metadata to YC servers.
The launch posts come down. The tool stays closed source, so no one can check.
Same problem. Not the same thing.
The problem is real. A closed tool that ships your data to a server to score you isn't the answer to it.
Why this exists.
I built this because no one should be able to take how you code, or your personal data. Then the idea got validated faster than I expected.
you must be doing something right if Y Combinator had to copy your product and publish it as their own.
old video submitted to YC.
Verified AI-skills profile · archetypes · composite score · agent-to-agent hiring, the product as pitched, one month before.
"Today we're launching Paxel: a free tool that analyzes your Claude, Codex, and Cursor coding sessions and gives you a profile of how you build with AI.
It runs locally inside Docker, and your code never leaves your machine."
The biggest accelerator on earth proved the market. We built the one that keeps the promise.
Same idea. Kept promise.
We loved the idea too. So we built it the way it should have shipped: open source, local-first, and provable. Star it, run it, read every line.