ZCode 3.16.1 Adds Generative UI & Plugin Marketplace, Rivaling DeepSeek Harness

ZCode 3.16.1 Update Overview

ZCode, the AI coding assistant from Zhipu AI, has been updated to version 3.16.1, introducing two major capabilities: Gen UI (Generative UI) and UI Plugin, alongside an expanded plugin marketplace. The update moves ZCode closer to the interactive, visual workflow offered by tools like DeepSeek Harness and Codex.

Gen UI: Dynamic Interactive Interfaces

Traditional coding agents rely on text-based interaction: the user submits a prompt, the agent returns code or static output. For tasks like data analysis, this forces the user to re-prompt for every parameter change. Gen UI changes this by allowing the agent to generate HTML/JavaScript interactive pages on the fly and embed them directly in the conversation.

For example, when a user asks to compare revenue growth under different rates, the agent can generate an interface with sliders, toggles, and real-time calculated results. The user adjusts sliders and sees immediate updates without re-prompting. Official documentation shows use cases including data dashboards, chart analysis, and design previews. These interfaces are not pre-built templates; they are generated on demand for the specific task.

UI Plugin: Persistent Collaborative Canvas

While Gen UI focuses on generating interactive responses, UI Plugin enables the agent and user to jointly edit a persistent, reusable canvas. The official documentation demonstrates this with Excalidraw, an open-source whiteboard tool. The agent can generate a differential-equation illustration on the canvas, including concept mappings, slope fields, and solution steps. After generation, the user can directly move elements, adjust layout, and modify content within the same canvas.

The underlying technology is MCP Apps, which allows plugins to serve interactive pages inside ZCode and communicate with backend services via MCP tools. User actions (button clicks) can trigger refresh or save operations, while the agent can read or modify canvas content through tools. This provides a richer human–agent collaboration entry point compared to merely displaying tool execution results.

Open Plugin Ecosystem

Beyond interactive UI, ZCode 3.16.1 expands the plugin marketplace. Users can browse, install, and manage plugins without writing complex configurations. The official plugin repository zcode-plugins has been open-sourced, collecting both official and community-contributed plugins. Categories include developer tools, utilities, productivity tools, and finance.

Installation is done via the ZCode plugin manager. After installation, users can view included skills, commands, and MCP services, toggle enablement, and check for updates. Notably, ZCode supports custom plugin sources: users can add markets via GitHub repositories, Git URLs, or local directories, enabling team-internal sharing of customized agent capabilities. Developers can create plugins following the official specification — combining Skills, MCP tools, and interactive UI — and contribute them via GitHub Pull Request to the official marketplace.