Obstat
Obstat lets you install and run AI apps on your own computer in one click, with no terminal. It's coming soon for Windows, Mac and Linux, at obstat.app.
- Reviewed apps. Every app on the Obstat list has been checked and tested by the Obstat team. Each one installs the exact version that was reviewed.
- Any GitHub repo. Paste a link and Obstat installs it in its own folder. You can try it in a sandbox first.
- Runs inside Obstat. Apps open in the Obstat window like a browser tab. They're kept apart from each other and from Obstat itself.
- Build a UI. If an app is only a command-line tool, Obstat makes a simple screen for it from its options. You can also ask Claude Code, Codex or Gemini CLI to build a custom one.
- Skills. AI agents on your PC can install and run apps through Obstat.
- Updates itself. New versions download in the background.
Inspired by Pinokio, and it runs Pinokio scripts.
Run it from source
You need Node.js 22 or newer.
npm ci
npm start # open the app
npm test # run the tests
npm run dist # build the Windows installer into dist/
npm run dist:mac # build the Mac .dmg files (Apple Silicon and Intel), on a Mac
npm run dist:linux # build the Linux AppImage and .deb, on Linux
Mac and Linux
The latest builds are on the desktop-preview release.
- Mac (
Obstat-mac-arm64.dmg for Apple Silicon, Obstat-mac-x64.dmg for Intel): Obstat isn't notarised by Apple yet, so the first time you open it macOS says it can't check it. Open System Settings → Privacy & Security and click Open Anyway.
- Linux (
Obstat-linux-amd64.deb for Ubuntu and Debian; Obstat-linux-x86_64.AppImage for most other distributions): to run the AppImage, make it executable (chmod +x) and open it.
How they compare with Windows:
- Sandbox: Windows tests unreviewed repos in Windows Sandbox. Linux uses bubblewrap (install it with
sudo apt install bubblewrap if it's missing) and a Mac uses Apple's own sandbox. The test can't see your files, Obstat's keys or chat sign-in, or anything else Obstat keeps, and can only change its own test folder. It can't reach other apps' servers on this computer either: on Linux it gets a network of its own whose only way out is Obstat's proxy to the internet; on a Mac only its own port on localhost is open (the one Obstat gives it in PORT; Gradio apps are told to use it), so an app that insists on another port of its own can't reach its own server in a Mac test. A Mac test also can't signal any other program (not even ones it started: Obstat ends those itself), so an app that restarts its own helper processes may not work in a Mac test. Without bubblewrap, Linux tests fall back to a plain test folder and the Sandbox page says so.
- Runtimes: Obstat downloads its own Python, Node, uv, git and (for apps that need it) ffmpeg on every system, each pinned and checked against its checksum.
- Updates: all three update themselves. The Mac app replaces itself after checking the download's checksum and Apple's code signature; it has to be in a folder you can change (Applications), not run from the
.dmg. On Linux the AppImage and the .deb update through the same updater as Windows (the .deb asks for your password to install).
- GPU: NVIDIA cards are used on Linux. On Apple silicon, apps are told about Apple's GPU, as in Pinokio.
- Keys: on Linux, keys are encrypted with your desktop's keyring (GNOME Keyring or KWallet). Without one, Obstat won't save keys.
- Ubuntu 24.04 and later: use the
.deb, which sets up the AppArmor profile Electron apps need there; the AppImage can't start without it.
How it's put together
| Folder | What's in it |
|---|
main.js, preload.js | Electron's main process, and the small bridge the window uses to talk to it |
app/ | The window: plain HTML, CSS and JavaScript, no framework |
lib/ | Everything else: installing (apps.js, script.js, worker.js), the in-app viewer (viewer.js), Build a UI (buildui.js, ui-template/), the sandbox, keys, skills, updates |
skills/ | The skills Obstat gives AI agents |
brand/ | Obstat's styles, logo and fonts, shared with obstat.app |
App scripts never run inside Obstat's own process. They run in a locked-down worker with no access to your keys.
Contributing
Issues and pull requests are welcome. Please run npm test before opening a pull request. To report a security problem, see SECURITY.md.
Licence
The code is under the MIT licence. The fonts in brand/fonts are under the SIL Open Font License. The Obstat name and logo belong to SWE3WE, so a fork should use its own name and logo.
