Sidemates
Open-source AI teammates for Mac · formerly OpenBot
Sidemates is an open-source Mac app I'm building: a small team of AI teammates that work in their own browsers and in your Mail, Calendar and files, and ask before doing anything important. It runs on the AI you already use, or on local models. Until October 2026 it was called OpenBot.
- When
- Sep 2026 – present
- Status
- Public beta
- Formerly
- OpenBot
- Type
- AI products
Overview
Sidemates gives each user a small team of AI teammates on their own Mac. Every teammate has a name, a job, a private workspace and its own browser. They work in Mail, Calendar, Notes and files, deliver real Word documents and spreadsheets, run on schedules, and can be chatted with by voice or from an iPhone. Anything with consequences, such as sending, buying, signing in or submitting, waits for the user's approval and shows the exact website and button, unless the user turns on Autopilot for that teammate. It works with the AI plan or key the user already has (ChatGPT, Grok, GitHub Copilot, Claude through Claude Code or an API key, Gemini, any OpenAI-compatible API) or with local models through Ollama, and keeps the user's studio as a folder on their Mac.
What I did
Created and built the product end to end as its lead developer: the React interface, the Node.js service for conversations, teammates, tools, approvals and scheduling, the Electron Mac app, the one-line installer, the website and the automated checks and release workflows.
- TypeScript
- React
- Node.js
- Electron
- SQLite
- Playwright
- MCP
Features
- A team of named AI teammates, each with its own job, workspace and private browser
- Asks before sending, buying, signing in or submitting, with optional Autopilot per teammate
- Group chats, scheduled routines, voice, and an iPhone companion for chatting and approving
- Works with the AI you already use: ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Grok, GitHub Copilot or local models
- Reusable skills, shareable teammate links, and one-click import from Hermes Agent and OpenClaw
Notes
- Public beta with a one-line installer that checks the download's fingerprint
- About 1,000 automated tests run by one verification command, plus GitHub Actions workflows for checks, desktop builds and releases
- Approval by default: the exact website and button are shown before anything is sent, bought or submitted, with an optional per-teammate Autopilot
- Open source under the MIT licence, with security notes, a roadmap and contribution guidelines
