Quick install
curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/SaarthurR/atticus-mac/main/install.sh | bash
Needs macOS 26 and an AI client: Claude Code on a Claude plan, Devin, Pi or a local model. Full install steps
What it does
- Learns. Ask for something new once and it works out the steps. Ask again and it runs in a blink, with no AI.
- Instant commands. Opens apps, moves windows, plays music and searches the web with no AI at all.
- Sees your screen. Ask about anything on screen. Ask "where do I click?" and it points at the spot.
- Draws to explain. "Explain this and draw it" builds a labeled diagram on your screen.
- Dictate anywhere. Hold fn, talk, let go. Your words land in any text field, cleaned up.
- Hands-free. Turn on Settings → General → Wake word, then just say "Atticus" (or any wake word you pick). Keep talking after each answer; the box stays up while you work and only ✕ closes it.
- Background agents. Big jobs run behind your apps while you keep working.
- Meeting Copilot. Answers and notes during calls, saved on your Mac.
- Remembers you. Say "remember…" and every ask after that knows it.
- Your plan, no API key. Runs on Claude, Devin, Pi or a local model.
- Private and safe. Your voice stays on your Mac. Deletes, sends and purchases ask first.
On Windows? @FindlayHi built Atticus for Windows, with integrations for Home Assistant, Jellyfin, Immich and more.
https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/26822ad2-6281-477d-b676-2f490a4a207b
Just ask
| You say | Atticus |
|---|
| "Code on my big screen, Chrome and Terminal on the laptop." | Arranges three windows across two displays. |
| "Open Spotify." · "Terminal on the left." | Runs instantly, with no AI at all. |
| "Find my notes about the Tokyo trip." | Searches your files by what's inside them, opens the match on your other screen. |
| "What's wrong with this code?" | Looks at your screen and answers in a line. |
| "Reply to this. Thursday works, send me a time." | Reads the email on screen and writes the reply. Insert puts it at your cursor. It never sends. |
| "Move my dentist appointment to 4." | Shows the old and new time on a card and moves it when you approve. Adding is immediate; moving or deleting asks first. |
| "Tell the agent in my terminal to also run the tests." | Types it into that window in the background while you keep working. If it can't confirm the send, it leaves the text there and asks for the window. |
| "Find me a desk lamp under $30 on Amazon." | Works in Chrome behind your apps; a live mini screen shows it. |
| "Where do I turn on Night Shift?" | A ring lights up the exact spot on your screen (Show me where). |
| "Summarize this article in three bullets." | Reads the page for you. |
| "Play my late night coding playlist on Spotify." | Plays it in a second, no clicks. Any song, artist or playlist. |
| "When I say focus mode, close Slack and open my to-do list." | Remembers it. Next time, two words do it all. |
Hands-free
Turn on Wake word in Settings → General (off by default). The word is "Atticus" unless you type your own beside the switch. Say it, with or without "hey" first, wait for Listening…, then ask. Speech is recognized on your Mac only. After each answer it listens again quietly, with a small "Listening..." beside the timer; start talking and your words fill the bubble. Clicking other apps never closes a hands-free chat, so you can keep working while it does things for you. ✕ or Esc ends it, and a chat nobody talks to fades after about 90 seconds unless you moved or resized the box. The hotkey always takes over. While the wake word is on, macOS shows the orange mic dot.
While Atticus works, the line next to ✕ minimizes the box to a small bar with its live steps. Hover and click the line to bring it back.
Safe by default
Safe mode runs the AI's commands in Claude Code's sandbox, so they can only write to a scratch folder. Before anything deletes, sends, buys or changes a file, Atticus asks you first. rm, sudo, disk tools and shutdown are always blocked. Every exact command is in the ask log. Apple's on-device speech turns your voice into text, and audio never leaves your Mac.
Choose Hold to talk or Press to toggle in Settings → General → Shortcut behavior. Hold mode sends when you release. Toggle mode starts on the first press and sends on the second; pauses keep listening. Pressing the shortcut while Atticus answers stops it; during spoken playback it stops the voice. Esc cancels listening without sending. Toggle recordings reach a review screen after 60 seconds, rather than sending automatically. Closing the overlay or pausing Atticus stops its microphone, workers and voice.
Click any answer to copy it, including earlier answers still shown in the box. Click your request to edit and ask again, or press ↑ in an empty typing box to recall the latest request. The overlay stays within your display when resized and respects Reduce Motion. While Atticus works in a covered window, another Space, or another display, a live mini screen shows that window; the steps below show the action. The finished view stays until the next ask, typing, or a click on it. Click it to open that exact window. The preview stays on your Mac, is never sent to the AI or saved, and stops streaming when the task ends. Without Screen Recording permission, the same card shows the app icon and window title.
Apple's final transcript confirms each voice request before AI tools or learned shortcuts run. AI reasoning can start during a pause, but its tools wait for confirmation. If speech finalization takes too long, Atticus offers the partial text for review. Instant commands still skip the AI entirely. Supported built-in commands run mid-sentence, before you send. Learned shortcuts wait for confirmed words.
This is the beginning of the README. Read the rest at the original. Read the full README ↗
