OpenMausBot harness · five computers
Give the job to a squad, not another chat.
ChatGPT Dots is one always-on agent on OpenAI’s cloud computer. Manus runs the same kind of job in a hosted sandbox. SquadBots is a floor of specialists with a live screen you can open in the desktop app, and Jev assigns the job before anything sends.
Avery Kim · Opening the offsite brief
Avery Kim
On the computer · Opening the offsite brief
Opening the offsite brief
Pick a squadmate. Chat and computer follow.
Simulated computer: browser, shell, and approval rail are marketing film. The live workspace is in the web app. The Mac app embeds the OpenMausBot harness.
Five computers at once
Grok Bot is one chat. This is a floor of specialists.
Each specialist has a browser, a shell, and a hold. Open a live screen in the desktop app. Risky actions reach you as an approval card first. Cloud desktop is opt-in per bot.
Avery Kim
Opening the offsite brief
notion.so/offsite-brief Offsite · week of the 14th
Opening the offsite brief
Jordan Lee
Drafting in your voice
mail.google.com/inbox Overnight · 42 threads
$ draft --voice profile --hold
Mira Chen
Merge held
github.com/squad/app/pull/184 Draft PR · empty promo guard
$ gh pr create --draft
Sam Ortiz
Deduping a shared champion
crm.local/outbound Tonight · 12 accounts
$ crm dedupe --champion
Riley Park
6 intros held
ats.local/applicants This week · 28 applicants
$ draft intros --hold
Where the work runs
Your machine by default. Cloud desktop is opt-in.
- ChatGPT Dots
- OpenAI’s always-on agent. One named assistant on a cloud computer, inside a chat.
- Manus
- Cloud automation in a hosted sandbox. The computer is theirs. The job leaves your machine.
- SquadBots
- Local-first harness. Five specialists. Work runs on your machine by default. A cloud Linux desktop is opt-in per bot.
Desktop harness
A messaging app for agents that have hands.
Release 0.1.84 is packaged for Ubuntu, Windows, and Mac. Public copies are not on the download host yet. The shell embeds the OpenMausBot harness: Claude, Codex, or Grok CLI on that machine, a live screen you can open in the desktop app, and an approval card before anything irreversible. The Mac DMG is unsigned.
Avery Kim
On the computer · Opening the offsite brief
Opening the offsite brief
What you can install
Linux, Windows, and Mac in 0.1.84. iPhone still needs a signing machine.
- See 0.1.84
0.1.84
Ubuntu and AppImage
Unsigned desktop harness. Bots run on that computer. Public copies are not on the download host yet. The browser page on this site is only a preview of the desk.
- See 0.1.84
Companion
Android preview APK
Debug-signed. Pairs to the desktop app. It does not run the bots, and it is not a Play Store listing. Same public-host gap as the desktop files.
macOS
Apple silicon and Intel DMGs in 0.1.84. Unsigned. Gatekeeper will warn on first open.
See 0.1.84
Lineage
OpenMausBot under the hood. SquadBots on the box.
Is the web app the full OpenMausBot product?
No. This site’s /app route is a simulated desk. Release 0.1.84 is packaged as an Ubuntu .deb, Linux AppImage, unsigned Mac DMGs, a Windows portable zip, and an Android companion APK that pairs to that desktop app. Public copies are not on the download host yet. An iPhone build still needs Xcode on a Mac.
How is this different from ChatGPT Dots?
Dots is ChatGPT’s always-on agent: one named assistant on OpenAI’s cloud computer, inside a chat. SquadBots is a roster of specialists with private computers on your machine by default. Jev assigns the job. Risky actions reach you as an approval card first. No OpenAI account required.
How is SquadBots different from Manus?
Manus runs agents in cloud sandboxes that Manus hosts. The computer is theirs; the job leaves your machine. SquadBots is local-first: the harness installs on your desk and the work runs on your machine by default. A cloud Linux desktop is opt-in per bot. Each specialist has a live screen you can open in the desktop app. Risky actions — sends, shell commands, merges — reach you as an approval card first. Nothing irreversible fires without your allow. You bring the Claude, Codex, or Grok CLI you already pay for.
How is this different from Grok Bot?
Grok Bot is one assistant, one provider, hosted by xAI. SquadBots is a roster of specialists. Each bot brings the Claude, Codex, or Grok CLI you already pay for, plus a live screen you can open in the desktop app, plus an approval card before send, shell, or merge.
Did you copy Rakazo or Grok Bot source?
No Rakazo code was vendored. We took the product idea of persistent bots with computers. From grok-bot-0.18-reconstructed we took the three-pane desk, command palette, and take-control shape, then restyled it. The engines and computers are OpenMausBot’s.
What is softbots?
softbots is the earlier Helix Soft desktop and iPhone rebrand of OpenMausBot. That GTM is on hold. SquadBots is the consumer name: same harness, cream marketing, Mac first.
What about the HelixAgents Squadbots work?
That was the earlier SaaS and iOS GTM. The stronger product base is OpenMausBot: local-first agents, a permission broker, and a real bot computer. SquadBots keeps the cream Soft look and ships that harness.
Which installers exist?
0.1.84 is packaged as unsigned Mac DMGs, an unsigned Ubuntu package, an AppImage, a Windows portable zip, and a debug-signed Android preview APK. The public copies host is not up yet. There is no notarized Mac build, no iOS App Store listing, and no Windows setup.exe.
Do I need an xAI account?
No. Desktop bots run on the CLIs already on your machine. The web preview can call Grok when a key is present, but the product is bring-your-own-agent, not a Grok-only chat.
Better than another chat because the work has hands.
Dots lives in ChatGPT. Manus lives in a hosted VM. SquadBots is a messaging app for a team of agents you already pay for. Work runs on your machine by default. Cloud desktop is opt-in per bot.