botloft

<p align="center"> <img src="docs/assets/mascot.svg" width="120" alt="The Botloft mascot: a small orange flame with eyes"> </p> <h1 align="center">Botloft</h1> <p align="center"> <b>A crew of Claude Code bots that stays on and works together on your computer.</b> </p> <p align="center"> <a href="https://github.com/httpsphl/botloft/releases/latest"><img src="https://img.shields.io/github/v/release/httpsphl/botloft?label=release&color=ff7a59" alt="Latest release"></a> <a href="https://github.com/httpsphl/botloft/actions/workflows/ci.yml"><img src="https://img.shields.io/github/actions/workflow/status/httpsphl/botloft/ci.yml?branch=main&label=CI" alt="CI status"></a> <img src="https://img.shields.io/badge/Windows%20%7C%20Linux%20%7C%20macOS-0078d4" alt="Windows, Linux and macOS"> <a href="LICENSE"><img src="https://img.shields.io/github/license/httpsphl/botloft?color=3b3b38" alt="Apache 2.0 license"></a> </p> <p align="center"> <a href="https://github.com/httpsphl/botloft/releases/latest"><b>Download</b></a> &nbsp;·&nbsp; <a href="#what-you-can-do">Features</a> &nbsp;·&nbsp; <a href="#how-it-works">How it works</a> &nbsp;·&nbsp; <a href="#faq">FAQ</a> &nbsp;·&nbsp; <a href="#contributing">Contributing</a> </p> <picture> <source media="(prefers-color-scheme: dark)" srcset="docs/assets/hero-dark.png"> <img src="docs/assets/hero-light.png" alt="Botloft with the Research crew open: seven bots, each with its own color, state and job"> </picture> Botloft keeps a crew of [Claude Code](https://code.claude.com) bots running on your computer. Each bot has its own folder, memory and conversation. They pass work to each other, keep going after you close the window and pick up where they left off after a restart. You talk to each one like in a chat app, and you decide what they may do. ## What you can do - **Start a crew from a goal.** Say what the crew is for. Its Chief plans the work and suggests the bots it needs; you create each one with a click, or say why not. - **Chat with every bot.** Replies stream in as they are written. Send images and files. When a bot wants to run a command, edit a file or open a website, a card asks you first, unless you told that bot it may. - **Let them hand work to each other.** Bots send messages and tasks to each other. Every message is saved before it is sent and retried until it arrives. - **Watch them work.** See every page a bot opens in its browser, live, and take control to sign in for it. Watch the screens it designs take shape while it writes them. Open the files it made. - **Schedule routines.** Weekday mornings, every two hours or any cron schedule, with missed runs and overlaps handled. - **Leave them running.** Bots keep working after you close Botloft. They start when you sign in, come back soon after a crash and keep the computer awake while they work. Botloft waits near the clock and tells you when a bot needs you. - **Choose per bot.** How much it asks before acting, and which Claude model it uses. See how much of your plan's usage is left. <table> <tr> <td width="50%"><img src="docs/assets/chat-browser.png" alt="Scout's chat with a request to use the browser, next to the live browser where Scout types in a search box"><br>_{<b>Chat and live browser.</b> Scout asks before using a new site, and you watch it browse.}</td> <td width="50%"><img src="docs/assets/screens.png" alt="Designer writing a bakery landing page that takes shape in the screens area, with its cursor on the part being written"><br>_{<b>Screens.</b> Designer's pages take shape while it writes them.}</td> </tr> <tr> <td width="50%"><img src="docs/assets/chief.png" alt="The Chief suggesting a new bot, Designer, with its name, model, role and instructions ready to edit"><br>_{<b>A Chief for each crew.</b> It suggests the bots the work needs.}</td> <td width="50%"><img src="docs/assets/routines.png" alt="The crew's routines: a morning summary on weekdays, a link check every two hours, weekly numbers and a nightly archive"><br>_{<b>Routines.</b> Work that runs on a schedule, with the last result at a glance.}</td> </tr> </table> Botloft speaks English, Portuguese (Brazil) and Spanish, follows your light or dark theme and updates itself. ## Get started You need [Claude Code](https://code.claude.com/docs/en/setup), installed and signed in once with your Claude account. Bots run on your own Claude plan. 1. Download Botloft for your computer from the [latest release](https://github.com/httpsphl/botloft/releases/latest): - **Windows 10 or 11 (64-bit):** `Botloft_<version>_x64-setup.exe`. Run it; it installs for your Windows user only, with no administrator prompt. The installer is not code-signed yet, so Windows SmartScreen may ask you to confirm ("More info", then "Run anyway"). - **Linux (64-bit, preview):** `Botloft_<version>_amd64.deb` for Debian and Ubuntu, or `Botloft_<version>_amd64.AppImage` for other distributions (make it executable first). - **macOS on Apple Silicon (preview):** `Botloft_<version>_aarch64.dmg`. Drag Botloft to Applications and open it once. Apple has not notarized it yet, so macOS blocks it the first time: allow it in System Settings > Privacy & Security > Open Anyway. The [code signing policy](docs/code-signing-policy.md) says how releases are made and how to check your download. 2. Open Botloft. It sets itself up; there is nothing to configure. 3. Create your first crew and tell it what it is for. When a new version is out, an **Update available** button shows in the title bar. On Windows, uninstalling (Settings > Apps) removes the app and stops Botloft from running in the background. On Linux and macOS, stop it first with `~/.local/share/Botloft/bin/botloftd service uninstall` (Linux) or `~/"Library/Application Support/Botloft/bin/botloftd" service uninstall` (macOS), then remove the app. Your bots and their files stay either way (see [Where are my bots and their files?](#faq)). ## How it works ```mermaid flowchart LR app["Botloft app<br/>Tauri + React"] -- "JSON-RPC over WebSocket<br/>127.0.0.1 only" --> daemon["botloftd<br/>Rust daemon"] daemon --> db[("SQLite")] daemon -- "stdin and stdout<br/>stream-json" --> bots["One claude -p<br/>per bot"] bots -- "Botloft's MCP tools<br/>messages, tasks, requests" --> daemon ``` - **The daemon is the source of truth.** Closing the app never stops a bot. `botloftd` runs as a scheduled task of your Windows user, a systemd user service on Linux or a launch agent on macOS: it starts when you sign in and comes back soon if it dies. - **Claude Code is the runtime.** Each bot is a real `claude -p` session with its own workspace, memory (`CLAUDE.md`) and conversation. There is no custom agent SDK and no API key to manage. - **One conversation per bot.** Your messages, messages from other bots and notices from the daemon reach the bot in order. What it does comes back as a chat: replies, tool use and requests you allow or deny. - **Durable before delivered.** Every message is written to SQLite before it is sent and retried until it is delivered or marked as failed, which you can retry. The full design, from the protocol to the states of a bot, lives in [`docs/spec.md`](docs/spec.md) (in Portuguese). ## Privacy and security - **Local only.** The daemon listens on `127.0.0.1`. No cloud service of our own, no telemetry, no accounts. What bots send to Claude goes through Claude Code, as when you use it yourself. - **You decide what bots may do.** Per bot: ask before anything, accept edits, plan only, or decide on its own what needs your OK. Unless it decides on its own, a bot also asks before its first visit to each website. - **Tokens stay safe.** The app authenticates with an owner token readable only by your user account. Each bot gets its own token per start, and the daemon keeps only its SHA-256 hash. - **Botloft is not a sandbox.** Every bot runs as your user account, so isolation between bots is cooperative: a bot can read other bots' folders if it decides to. Give bots only the permissions you would give Claude Code directly. What Botloft sends over the network, what it changes on your computer and how to remove it are in the [code signing policy](docs/code-signing-policy.md). ## FAQ <details> <summary><b>Does Botloft cost anything?</b></summary> No. Botloft is free and open source under the Apache 2.0 license. The bots run on Claude Code with your own Claude account, so they use your plan's limits; Botloft shows how much is left. </details> <details> <summary><b>Do I need to keep the window open?</b></summary> No. The bots run in the background, even after you close Botloft, and start when you sign in if you want. Settings has a switch to stop them when you close the app instead. </details> <details> <summary><b>Where are my bots and their files?</b></summary> Each bot has a folder under `Botloft\<crew>\<bot>` in your home folder (`%USERPROFILE%` on Windows, `~` on Linux and macOS), and each crew a shared work folder that you can point at a project of yours. Botloft's own data (SQLite, logs, secrets) is in `%LOCALAPPDATA%\Botloft` on Windows, `~/.local/share/Botloft` on Linux and `~/Library/Application Support/Botloft` on macOS. </details> <details> <summary><b>Why does Windows or macOS warn me when I install it?</b></summary> The Windows installer is not code-signed yet, so SmartScreen does not know its publisher, and Apple has not notarized the macOS app, so Gatekeeper blocks its first opening until you allow it. Each release is built by GitHub Actions from this repository, and updates are signed and checked by the app before they install. The [code signing policy](docs/code-signing-policy.md) says how releases are made and how to check a download. </details> <details> <summary><b>Does it run on macOS or Linux?</b></summary> Yes, as a preview since 0.8.0: Linux (64-bit, `.deb` or AppImage) and macOS on Apple Silicon. Intel Macs are not supported yet. Windows came first and has had the most use; if something does not work elsewhere, please [open an issue](https://github.com/httpsphl/botloft/issues). </details> <details> <summary><b>Is Botloft made by Anthropic?</b></summary> No. Botloft is an independent open-source project. It uses Claude Code as installed on your computer and is not affiliated with or endorsed by Anthropic. </details> ## Status Botloft is young (version 0.x) and moves fast. The daemon, the chat, crews with a Chief, messages and tasks between bots, routines, the live browser, screens, "always allow" for requests, the installer and updates are in place. Planned next: a question box where bots ask you things, search, and a code-signed installer. `main` can be ahead of the latest release. <details> <summary><b>Development</b></summary> Requirements: Rust stable (the MSVC toolchain on Windows), Node.js 24 and pnpm. On Linux, the app also needs the desktop libraries Tauri uses (on Ubuntu: `libwebkit2gtk-4.1-dev`, `libayatana-appindicator3-dev`, `librsvg2-dev`, `libxdo-dev`). Running real bots also needs Claude Code (the native `claude` executable) installed and signed in. ```powershell # Daemon and libraries cargo build -p botloftd cargo test --workspace cargo clippy --workspace --all-targets -- -D warnings cargo fmt --all --check # Desktop app cd app pnpm install pnpm tauri dev pnpm dev # the UI alone in a browser, with a fake daemon and sample crews pnpm check # typecheck + Biome + Vitest pnpm bundle # this system's packages with the daemon inside: NSIS, .deb and AppImage, or .dmg ``` Set `BOTLOFT_HOME` to an absolute path such as `$PWD\.dev\home` during development so the daemon never touches a real installation in `%LOCALAPPDATA%\Botloft`. The daemon manages its own scheduled task (a systemd user service on Linux, a launch agent on macOS): ```powershell botloftd service install # copy botloftd into the data folder, start it now and at every logon botloftd service status botloftd service restart botloftd service uninstall # stop it and remove the task; bots and data stay ``` Each data folder gets its own task, so a dev daemon installed with `BOTLOFT_HOME` (or `--home`) never replaces the real one. ``` crates/botloft-core domain types, IDs, message envelope, protocol types crates/botloft-store SQLite storage and migrations crates/botloftd the daemon app/ Tauri v2 + React desktop app docs/ specification and ADRs ``` </details> ## Contributing Contributions are welcome: bug reports, ideas, translations and code. Start with [CONTRIBUTING.md](CONTRIBUTING.md); issues labeled [`good first issue`](https://github.com/httpsphl/botloft/labels/good%20first%20issue) are a good first step. Security problems go through [SECURITY.md](SECURITY.md), not public issues. ## License Botloft is licensed under the [Apache License 2.0](LICENSE). See [NOTICE](NOTICE) for the copyright notice that goes with redistributions. The screenshots show sample crews from the app's preview, not real data.