milind-soni/OpenMausBot

Open-source Grok Bot alternative with a virtual machine that bots can use

OpenMausBot – Overview

What it is – OpenMausBot is an open‑source desktop application that lets you run a team of AI agents (Claude, Codex, Grok, etc.) inside a chat‑style interface, similar to the commercial “Grok Bot” product. Each bot has its own model, memory, and can be given its own cloud or local computer to act on your behalf.

Why it matters – It gives you the same “roster of bots” experience while keeping everything on‑premises: the models run through the CLI tools you already own, data stays in ~/.openmausbot, and you approve every action the bots try to take.

Core Features (as described in the README)

Feature What you get
Bring‑your‑own agents Connect any installed Claude, Codex, or Grok CLI. No new accounts, no proxy servers.
Local‑first architecture A tiny harness server runs on 127.0.0.1; all transcripts, keys, and events are stored locally.
Per‑bot computers Each bot can spin up a cloud desktop (via Boat) or use a local VM / your own machine. Live screen preview is shown in the UI.
Permission broker Before a bot runs a shell command, edits a file, or asks a question, an inline card appears for you to Allow / Deny / Answer.
Connected apps marketplace One‑click OAuth to services like Gmail, Slack, GitHub, Notion via Composio Sessions; every bot can use the same tools.
Chat‑style management Bots appear as contacts; right‑click to pin, edit, duplicate, hide, or delete. Channels let you group bots for work, personal, or project contexts.
Voice output Bots can read replies aloud using ElevenLabs, Fish Audio, Grok TTS, macOS built‑in voices, or a local Chatterbox server.
Fast decision model (Jev) Optional “auto‑pick” model that selects the best bot for an un‑mentioned message in a few hundred ms.
Team import / sharing Teams are defined in a Markdown file with YAML front‑matter; you can import, export, or share whole teams (bots, channels, playbooks, etc.) without leaking secrets.
Cross‑platform builds Official binaries for macOS (Apple Silicon & Intel), Windows (x64), Ubuntu 24.04 (deb & AppImage).
MCP control plane A stdio‑based MCP server lets external tools script bot creation, channel management, and task execution.

Architecture Snapshot

  • App (React + Tailwind + Vite) – UI runs in a browser‑like window (Electron shell). Sends HTTP requests to the local harness server and receives a single SSE event stream.
  • Harness server (Node/TS) – Registers driver instances for each provider, normalises their protocols, brokers permissions, and talks to external services (Boat cloud computers, Composio apps, TTS providers).
  • Drivers – Thin adapters for Claude, Codex, Grok CLIs; also a driver for the Boat cloud‑computer.
  • Voice layer – Handles TTS via ElevenLabs, Fish Audio, Grok, macOS voices, or a local Chatterbox server.
  • Desktop shells (Electron) – Packaged for macOS, Windows, Ubuntu; embed the harness server so the whole stack is a single install.

Getting Started (per README)

  1. Install – Download the appropriate installer for your OS and run it (macOS drag‑to‑Applications, Windows exe, Ubuntu deb/AppImage).
  2. Provide an agent CLI – Install at least one of the supported CLIs (claude, codex, grok) and log in.
  3. Run – The app launches with the harness server already embedded; you can start creating bots, picking models, and connecting apps.
  4. From source – Clone the repo, pnpm install, then run pnpm dev:server (harness) and pnpm dev (UI) or pnpm dev:desktop for the Electron shell.

Who Might Use It?

  • Power users who want multiple specialized agents (e.g., one for coding, one for research) without sending data to a third‑party cloud.
  • Teams that need a shared “roster of bots” with fine‑grained approval controls.
  • Developers looking to script or extend the platform via the MCP control plane.

License & Community

  • License: Apache 2.0 – permissive, commercial‑friendly.
  • Contributions: PRs are welcome; the repo shows a badge encouraging community involvement.
  • Funding: GitHub Sponsors badge for monetary support.

Bottom line: OpenMausBot is a genuine, full‑featured open‑source alternative to the closed‑source “Grok Bot” style products, focused on local‑first, multi‑agent chat experiences with rich tooling integrations.

All details above are taken directly from the project's README; no external speculation added.

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