Rank #05 · Daily · AI
OpenMausBot: Open “Bot with a VM” Runtime vs Closed Agent Platforms
An open-source messaging UI for a roster of agents—each with its own model, computer, and connected apps—on your machine instead of a closed vendor runtime.
What it does
OpenMausBot (also branded MausBot; formerly OpenGrokBot) is an Electron + React desktop/chat app that treats AI agents like contacts. Under the hood, bots run on local claude, codex, and grok CLIs you already authenticated. A small harness server on 127.0.0.1:8799 owns agent processes; the app talks HTTP commands + one SSE event stream. Transcripts and config live under ~/.openmausbot.
Documented capabilities:
- Per-bot model picker across providers; switch mid-conversation.
- Computer panel: cloud Linux desktop (Boat), isolated Local VM, or—where certified—host computer control with explicit opt-in (macOS / Ubuntu Xorg supported or beta; Wayland host control currently disabled while safety issues remain open).
- Approval cards for shell/file actions and questions before risky work proceeds.
- Connected apps via Composio Sessions (Gmail, Slack, GitHub, Notion, …).
- Channels with separate transcripts/instructions, team import from portable Markdown packages (BotMRR /
openmausbot-teams), department share templates, MCP control plane (bounded—no approval grants or credential exposure), headlessopenmausbotCLI for scripts/CI, schedules/webhooks/app-event triggers, optional voice/TTS (ElevenLabs, Fish Audio, Grok TTS, Mac voices, local Chatterbox).
Packaged builds for macOS Apple silicon & Intel (signed/notarized), Windows x64, and Ubuntu 24.04 .deb/AppImage. Apache-2.0 for the open edition; enterprise/ is separately licensed and can be deleted. Site: openmausbot.com. The project explicitly disclaims any cryptocurrency affiliation.
Who it’s for
Developers and power users who want a Grok Bot / Muse / dots / Cue-shaped product (roster of agents with computers) but local-first, BYO-agent, open source. Requirements called out: macOS, Windows, or Ubuntu 24.04 x64; Node 24+ for source; at least one agent CLI logged in. Cloud computers and some voice providers are optional paid third parties after their own trials.
Stars / language / license
~11,045 stars · TypeScript · Apache-2.0
Data verified: 2026-11-02 ~22:16 Asia/Shanghai (GitHub API get_repository + README get_file_contents)
Trending note (selection ~22:14 Asia/Shanghai): ~+922 stars that day (archive)
Category tags
AI · agent-runtime · computer-use · Electron · self-hosted · Grok-Bot-alternative · MCP
How it differs from similar projects
Closed platforms keep the model, computer, and data on the vendor side. OpenMausBot’s Rising angle is “bot with a VM” as an open baseline: same messaging-roster shape, your CLIs, approval broker, and optional cloud desktop—without a new proprietary agent subscription in the middle. Versus single-agent coding IDEs, it is a multi-bot team UI with channels and playbooks. Versus raw CLI harnesses (or T3 Code’s coding-agent control surface), it adds computers, connectors, voice, and human-in-the-loop cards in a chat metaphor. Independent project—not affiliated with xAI, Meta, OpenAI, or Manus. Status is “early but real”; hosted/mobile connectivity and always-on webhook relays are still maturing per README.