Show HN: Orb – Self-hosted AI assistant that messages you first

Developer Nathan Langley released Orb, a self-hosted AI assistant backend that proactively messages users via an iOS companion app. The open-source server runs on Windows (macOS planned), uses Claude through the user's own Claude Code CLI by default, and includes a voice loop, agent spine with ~60 built-in tools, multi-brain router, and push notifications with deduplication.

The backend behind Orb — the AI assistant that talks first, on hardware you own. Get the app https://apps.apple.com/us/app/orb-ai/id6776376035 · · https://nathanlangley.dev/Orb-Wiki/self-hosting.html Setup walkthrough · /getorb/Orb-Backend/blob/main/API.md API reference Every setting The iOS app is the face; this server is everything behind it. The app works out of the box on-device — this server is the optional half that gives it hands, memory, and a machine of its own. Orb doesn't wait to be asked: the backend watches over your projects, keeps a running model of what's going on, plans ahead, does approved work on its own, and reaches your phone only when it's genuinely worth your attention. | Capability | What that means | |---|---| Voice server | A WebSocket voice loop: speech in local Whisper , a real conversation out neural TTS . No wake word on the phone — you just talk. | Agent spine | One thin loop where the model itself decides when to speak and when to act, with ~60 built-in tools: weather, mail, files, stocks, screen, sessions, missions, reminders, notifications. | Multi-brain router | Claude through your own logged-in Claude Code CLI , Grok, Codex, or local models behind a single consistent voice. Swap mid-conversation; the persona never changes. | The mind | A process that runs between conversations: maintains a situation model of your life and projects, notices what changed, makes predictions, proposes real work, supervises what you approve. | Sessions | Delegate long-running jobs builds, research, training runs to tracked background agents you can watch, message, and stop from your phone. | Push done right | APNs notifications with deduplication, hard pacing, full-message payloads, and delivery receipts that can never be silently swallowed. | Windows-first today macOS backend planned . Python 3.11+. git clone https://github.com/getorb/Orb-Backend cd Orb-Backend python -m venv venv venv\Scripts\pip install -r requirements.txt venv\Scripts\python scripts\setup.py guided: token, identity, boot check venv\Scripts\python supervisor.py runs the server with crash recovery Then give it an address your phone can reach tailscale serve --bg 8340 and pair the app: menu ☰ → Your PC . The full walkthrough with every gotcha spelled out: Self-Hosting guide . Prefer to delegate? Install Claude Code https://docs.anthropic.com/en/docs/claude-code , run claude in the repo root, and say "Set up the Orb backend for me" — the repo's CLAUDE.md teaches it the whole flow. Model access — the default conversational brain is Claude through your own logged-in Claude Code https://docs.anthropic.com/en/docs/claude-code CLI claude -p . No API key is shipped, asked for, or stored. Grok/Codex CLIs and any OpenAI-compatible free tier can slot into the router chain ORB FREE BACKENDS . Push — your own APNs key from your Apple Developer account a .p8 file — never commit it; the .gitignore already refuses . Background push to a closed app only works for an iOS build under your own team + bundle id; with the public App Store app you get in-app WebSocket notifications instead. Details in SELF HOSTING.md /getorb/Orb-Backend/blob/main/SELF HOSTING.md . Mail — your own Gmail app password; the built-in mail tools are read-only. Every variable is documented in .env.example /getorb/Orb-Backend/blob/main/.env.example and SELF HOSTING.md /getorb/Orb-Backend/blob/main/SELF HOSTING.md . | File | Role | |---|---| server win.py | The server: WS voice loop, HTTP API, brain dispatch, the notification choke point dedup / pacing / receipts | agent.py | The thin agent loop — the model decides talk-vs-tool, the harness executes | brain.py | Brain router: Claude CLI, Grok/Codex, free backends, local floor, cooldowns | tool registry.py + otools/ | Every tool, one file each, registered with @tool ... | mcp http.py + orb mcp.py | The tool surface as MCP: resident loopback /mcp for the Claude brain; stdio for Codex/Grok | proactive engine.py | Zero-AI collection ticks, twice-daily synthesis, the scheduler reminders survive restarts | mind.py | Between-conversation agency: situation model, budgeted wakes, approval-gated proposals | stt.py / personas.py | Ears faster-whisper and voice neural TTS + persona definitions | supervisor.py | Keeps the backend alive; enables self-restart after code changes | Live on the App Store free : https://apps.apple.com/us/app/orb-ai/id6776376035 https://apps.apple.com/us/app/orb-ai/id6776376035 The app itself is closed-source. This backend is the open half of the pair: the app talks to it over a WebSocket + a small HTTP API documented in API.md /getorb/Orb-Backend/blob/main/API.md — nothing stops you from building your own client. Local-first. Your data is collected on your machine and stays there. Bring your own keys. The backend never ships credentials. Structural safety. Autonomous surfaces can't reach destructive tools — those tools are absent from those surfaces, not merely discouraged. Anything that acts on the world requires your explicit approval, and every autonomous step is logged where you can read it. Silence is a feature. The proactive layer treats "nothing worth saying" as a correct, first-class outcome. - Fully offline local-model brain tier Ollama / Qwen as a first-class default. - macOS backend. - QR pairing from inside the app. MIT — see LICENSE /getorb/Orb-Backend/blob/main/LICENSE . The license covers this backend only; the Orb iOS app and the Orb name/branding are not part of it. Built by ninjahawk https://github.com/ninjahawk .