{"slug": "desk-pet-a-local-first-desktop-pet-powered-by-minicpm5", "title": "Desk-Pet – a local-first desktop pet powered by MiniCPM5", "summary": "OpenBMB released Desk-Pet, a local-first desktop pet application powered by the MiniCPM5 language model, allowing users to chat with a tiny companion on their desktop without requiring remote inference after initial setup. The app features agent-aware reactions that detect coding activity from tools like Cursor and Claude Code, providing task narration and idle alerts. Available for macOS and Windows, it includes a guided first-launch setup for environment checks and model downloads.", "body_md": "**English** | [简体中文](/OpenBMB/MiniCPM-Desk-Pet/blob/main/README.zh-CN.md)\n\nA local-first desktop pet powered by MiniCPM. Download, complete the guided setup, and chat with a tiny companion that lives on your desktop.\n\n**Local by default**— after the model is downloaded, everyday chat runs on your machine.** Zero manual setup**— first launch guides you through environment check, model download, and warm-up.** Desktop companion**— open a floating chat bubble, talk with MiniCPM, and keep the pet on screen while you work.** Agent-aware reactions**— the pet can react to coding activity from tools such as Cursor, Claude Code, and Codex.** Task narration**— when a coding-agent session finishes, the pet summarizes what the AI just did in a speech bubble, so you can catch up at a glance.**Idle alerts**— if a coding agent has been waiting for your input, the pet plays a bell animation and sound to get your attention.** Auto-detect agents**— the app scans your machine for installed coding agents and prompts you to connect them in one click.** Smart model download**— the app can download from Hugging Face or ModelScope and choose the better source for your network.** Persona support**— switch or import character adapters from** Settings -> MiniCPM**.\n\n| Item | Recommended |\n|---|---|\n| macOS | 14.0+, Apple Silicon (M1/M2/M3/M4), about 2 GB disk space |\n| Windows | x64 with Vulkan support, about 2 GB disk space |\n| Network | Required on first launch unless you already have a local model file |\n\nmacOS Apple Silicon is the primary tested platform. A Windows installer is also available — feedback is welcome.\n\n**macOS**\n\n- Go to\n[Releases](https://github.com/OpenBMB/MiniCPM-Desk-Pet/releases)and download the latest`MiniCPM Desk Pet-*-arm64.dmg`\n\n. - Open the DMG and drag\n**MiniCPM Desk Pet** into`Applications`\n\n. - Launch the app and follow the setup guide.\n\nIf macOS blocks the first launch, right-click the app and choose **Open**. If needed, remove the quarantine flag:\n\n```\nxattr -cr /Applications/MiniCPM\\ Desk\\ Pet.app\n```\n\n**Windows**\n\n- Go to\n[Releases](https://github.com/OpenBMB/MiniCPM-Desk-Pet/releases)and download the latest`.exe`\n\ninstaller. - Run the installer and complete the wizard.\n- Launch the app and follow the setup guide.\n\nMiniCPM Desk Pet includes a complete first-launch guide:\n\n**Environment Check** -> **Model Download** -> **Model Warm-up** -> **Ready to Use**\n\nThe default model is [MiniCPM5-1B-GGUF](https://huggingface.co/openbmb/MiniCPM5-1B-GGUF). You can let the app download it automatically, or choose an existing local `.gguf`\n\nfile.\n\nUse the floating chat bubble to talk with MiniCPM from your desktop. Once setup is complete, your normal conversations do not need a remote inference service.\n\nUseful shortcuts (macOS uses `Cmd`\n\n, Windows uses `Ctrl`\n\n):\n\n`Cmd/Ctrl+Shift+M`\n\n— open or close the MiniCPM chat bubble`Cmd/Ctrl+Shift+T`\n\n— show or hide thinking mode`Esc`\n\n— close the bubble when input is focused\n\nMiniCPM Desk Pet can stay beside your workspace and react to coding-agent activity: thinking, working, finishing tasks, waiting for attention, or going idle.\n\nThe MiniCPM settings page lets you:\n\n- download the default model or choose a local model file\n- rerun onboarding\n- manage character/persona adapters\n- restart the local model runtime when needed\n\nThe app includes a neko-style persona adapter. You can switch adapters or import your own from **Settings -> MiniCPM**.\n\n- Broader Linux validation.\n- More persona presets.\n- Clearer model download diagnostics and retry guidance.\n- Faster first launch and smaller app footprint.\n- Richer desktop-pet narration for long-running coding sessions.\n\n- The primary tested release target is macOS Apple Silicon. Windows is supported with a bundled installer; report issues if something does not work on your setup.\n- First launch requires an internet connection unless you provide a local model file.\n- Response speed depends on your chip, memory pressure, and selected model.\n- Coding-agent reactions depend on each tool's integration behavior and may vary by version.\n\nFor development setup, packaging, and repository layout, see [ docs/development.md](/OpenBMB/MiniCPM-Desk-Pet/blob/main/docs/development.md).\n\n- Desktop pet UI is based on\n[rullerzhou-afk/clawd-on-desk](https://github.com/rullerzhou-afk/clawd-on-desk). Full attribution is listed in.`NOTICE.md`\n\n- Model weights come from the OpenBMB MiniCPM model family and are downloaded separately.\n- The bundled neko persona uses the\n**neko30k** dataset ([liumindmind/NekoQA-30K](https://huggingface.co/datasets/liumindmind/NekoQA-30K)) for fine-tuning data.\n\nThis repository is distributed under [GNU AGPL-3.0-only](/OpenBMB/MiniCPM-Desk-Pet/blob/main/LICENSE).\n\nMiniCPM model weights are downloaded separately and governed by the [OpenBMB MiniCPM Model License](https://github.com/OpenBMB/MiniCPM/blob/main/MiniCPM%20Model%20License.md). Artwork, third-party code, and datasets keep their own notices; see [ NOTICE.md](/OpenBMB/MiniCPM-Desk-Pet/blob/main/NOTICE.md) and\n\n[.](/OpenBMB/MiniCPM-Desk-Pet/blob/main/clawd-on-desk/NOTICE.md)\n\n`clawd-on-desk/NOTICE.md`", "url": "https://wpnews.pro/news/desk-pet-a-local-first-desktop-pet-powered-by-minicpm5", "canonical_source": "https://github.com/OpenBMB/MiniCPM-Desk-Pet", "published_at": "2026-07-07 22:25:52+00:00", "updated_at": "2026-07-07 22:31:47.826502+00:00", "lang": "en", "topics": ["large-language-models", "ai-tools", "ai-products", "ai-agents", "developer-tools"], "entities": ["OpenBMB", "MiniCPM5", "MiniCPM5-1B-GGUF", "Hugging Face", "ModelScope", "Cursor", "Claude Code", "Codex"], "alternates": {"html": "https://wpnews.pro/news/desk-pet-a-local-first-desktop-pet-powered-by-minicpm5", "markdown": "https://wpnews.pro/news/desk-pet-a-local-first-desktop-pet-powered-by-minicpm5.md", "text": "https://wpnews.pro/news/desk-pet-a-local-first-desktop-pet-powered-by-minicpm5.txt", "jsonld": "https://wpnews.pro/news/desk-pet-a-local-first-desktop-pet-powered-by-minicpm5.jsonld"}}