sidemates

The open-source alternative to OpenAI dots, Grok Bot and Siri AI

Your new favorite coworkers.

A team of AI teammates that works in your own Mail, Calendar and Notes, on your Mac. Give each a name, a face and a job. They ask before anything important. Free and private: the app costs nothing, and you only pay for the AI you choose.

Get Sidemates — it’s free Make a teammate

For Mac · Open source (MIT) · Free to use · Works with the AI you already have

Make your own teammate.

No presets you’re stuck with. Pick a face, a color, a name and a job — just like in the app. Try it:

Job
Face
Color
JunoResearch

Six faces, any color — the same characters as in the app.

A researcher, like Nova

Finds things out. Fast.

Ask anything that needs a search. A research teammate reads the web, compares what it finds and brings back the answer — with a link for every fact.

  • Sources for everything
  • Says so when it can’t check something
Nova’s answer with three Italian restaurants near Stephansplatz, their hours, prices and links, followed by Scout’s check.
64 sec start to finish
A writer, like Pixel

Makes real files.

Not just a wall of chat. Ask for a document, a spreadsheet or a plan and your writer hands you a file you can open, print or send.

  • Word, Excel and more
  • Reads the PDFs you drop in
Pixel delivers vienna-weekend.docx.
The finished Word document, ready to open. 📄 vienna-weekend.docx
A checker, like Scout

Checks. Then asks.

A checker double-checks the details. And by default nobody on your team sends, books, buys or signs in without your okay — you see the exact button first. Trust someone completely? Turn on Autopilot for them and they act like a person, no questions asked.

  • You approve the important stuff, unless you choose Autopilot
  • Say no and they finish without it
Nova asks before clicking “JETZT RESERVIEREN” on a restaurant website.
✋ Waits for you
Hands on your Mac

Works in your own apps.

Cloud assistants can’t see your Mac. Your team can: it finds the email, saves the file, adds the reminder — in your own Mail, Calendar and Notes. And by default it asks before it changes anything.

  • Mail
  • Calendar
  • Reminders
  • Notes
  • Contacts
  • Shortcuts
  • Siri
  • “Hey Siri, ask Nova to…”
  • Emails are only drafted — you press Send
Find my latest receipt email and save the PDF to Documents/Receipts.
Needs your okaySave “Figma-invoice-September.pdf” from that email into ~/Documents/Receipts. Nothing is overwritten.
✓ Approved
Saved it — your €45 Figma invoice from 23 September. Want a reminder to pay it Friday?
A librarian, like Scout

Finds anything on your Mac.

“What did Anna say about the Berlin trip?” Your team searches your own notes, mail, messages and folders, then answers and tells you where it found it. You choose what they can see, and you can make them forget it all.

  • Notes
  • Mail
  • Messages
  • Files
  • The index stays on your Mac, readable only by you
  • One tap to forget everything
What did Anna say about the Berlin trip?
She booked the tickets and asked to move dinner to 8. The hotel is near the station.
From Messages with Anna, 10 Sept · and your note “Berlin trip plan”
Searched on your Mac in 0.01 s
Pass it on, like Pixel

Share a teammate. Add one in a tap.

Made a teammate that works well? Send it as a link. Whoever opens it sees exactly what it is told to do, and adds it to their own Sidemates. Or start from our gallery of ready-made teammates.

  • Starts with the browser and private computer off
  • Uses their own AI; your accounts and memory never travel
  • Routines arrive paused

Browse the gallery

Ask once. They team up.

Talk to them like a group chat. When Scout needs Nova’s answer, Scout waits for it — like a real team.

64 seconds, both done

A real run on 25 September 2026, shortened. Hours and prices from the restaurants’ own websites.

Weekend in ViennaNova · Scout · you
Nova: find three well-reviewed Italian places near Stephansplatz open this Sunday evening, with prices. Scout, double-check their hours on their own websites.
Scout waits for Nova
NovaHere are three, all open Sunday evening:
  1. Cantinetta Antinori — right at Stephansplatz. Mon–Sun 11:30–23:30. Pasta about €19–31.
  2. Da Capo — 2 min away. Kitchen daily 11:30–22:00. Pizzas about €14–16.
  3. Trattoria Santo Stefano — 5 min walk. Mon–Sun 11:30–23:00. Lasagne about €15.
Nova’s done · Scout is checking
ScoutChecked all three on their own sites — all open this Sunday evening, last warm orders around 22:00. ✓

$0

Free. Like, actually free.

Other AI agents rent you their computer every month. Sidemates runs on yours and uses the AI you already have — even a free one.

Hosted AI agents$20–300 / month
Sidemates$0, forever

Bring the AI you already have.

Sign in once, or paste a key, and the whole team can use it. Or give each teammate a different one.

ChatGPTClaudeClaude Code or API keyGrokGitHub CopilotGeminifree keyOpenCode GoYour own Macprivate

One line.
About a minute.

No account and no password. Sidemates opens by itself and lives in your Dock.

curl -fsSL https://sidemates.app/install.sh | sh
  1. 1Open Terminal: ⌘ Space, type “Terminal”, ↩
  2. 2Paste with ⌘ V, press ↩
  3. 3Say hi to your team 👋

macOS 13 or later. Checks the download’s fingerprint, never asks for your password. Read the installer · remove any time with uninstall.sh.

~ % curl -fsSL https://sidemates.app/install.sh | sh
 
Installing Sidemates — your team of AI teammates, on your Mac.
 
• Downloading Sidemates for this Mac…
• Unpacking…
• Starting Sidemates in the background…
• Opening your studio.....
• Adding Sidemates to your Applications and Dock…
 
Sidemates is installed. It’s opening in your browser now.
~ %

Good questions.

Is it really free?

Yes. Sidemates is free, open-source software. Your team uses an AI you connect, and Sidemates never charges anything on top.

Does my stuff leave my Mac?

Your team, chats and files live on your Mac. When a teammate works, what it needs goes to the AI you picked. Choose a model on your Mac to keep everything local.

What do they do without asking?

Search, read, write and make files in their own workspace. Anything that sends, books, buys, signs in or submits waits for you, unless you turn on Autopilot for a teammate you trust.

Does it work while my Mac sleeps?

They work while your Mac is on, and Sidemates keeps it awake when a scheduled job is due. It can also run on a computer that’s always on.

Can I use it on my iPhone?

Yes. Pair your iPhone with one scan to chat, get notified and approve things from your Home Screen.

Why Terminal?

It lets us give you a free Mac app without a paid Apple certificate. It downloads from our public GitHub releases, checks the fingerprint and never asks for your password.