Title (EN/ZH)
OpenMausBot: take the model, the computer and the data back
OpenMausBot：把模型、电脑和数据拿回本机
Executive Summary
OpenMausBot is not a free Grok Bot. It moves the model, the computer and your data onto your machine—and with them, the ops. Checked on 4 November 2026: Apache-2.0, about 12k stars, TypeScript/Electron, local claude/codex/grok CLIs, harness on 127.0.0.1, data under ~/.openmausbot, cloud desktop or local VM or opt-in host control (Ubuntu Wayland still off, issue #345), Composio apps, approval cards, Markdown team import, no project token. Set against a seven-bot Grok Bot roster with shared hosted Linux, weekday private-repo backups and approval cards, the open build wins on model choice and data locality; it loses on who runs backup, cron and permission edges. Fit for operators who already keep CLIs signed in. Others should stay hosted.
Draft Body
OpenMausBot is not a free Grok Bot. It takes the model, the computer and your data back onto your side of the line. You also take the ops.
I run a seven-bot team on Grok Bot: GB as lead, Trend-Scout, Script-Writer, Sys-Admin, Video-Producer, a research collaborator, and X-consult W1. Thirteen scheduled jobs sit in the roster—ten live, three paused. Every bot shares one hosted Linux box: files and browser logins are common; each bot keeps its own desktop. On weekday evenings at 6 p.m. Pacific, Sys-Admin pushes the workspace to a private GitHub repo. Risky actions hit auto-review and an approval card. The X-consult bot is replaced every two weeks so the thread does not grow without bound. Uptime, bill and incident history: [to fill]. Against that roster, the open-source substitute is easier to judge.
The repo, checked again on 4 November 2026 against the GitHub API and README: Apache-2.0, created 11 August 2026, about 12k stars and 1,693 forks, TypeScript and Electron. Bots call the `claude`, `codex` and `grok` CLIs already on the machine and reuse those subscriptions. The harness listens on 127.0.0.1; transcripts and keys live under `~/.openmausbot`. Each bot can use a cloud Linux desktop, a local VM, or—after explicit opt-in—the host computer. Host control stays off under Ubuntu Wayland while issue #345 is open. Composio wires in 500-plus apps. Risky steps surface as approval cards. One Markdown file can import a whole team. The maintainer states there is no token; coins that borrow the name are unrelated.
Four comparisons matter more than the star count.
Model choice. On the hosted side I work inside the product’s given engines. OpenMausBot lets each bot pick the model behind a local CLI.
Computer shape. Mine is one shared machine with separate desktops. The open build can give each bot its own cloud desktop or local VM, or point it at the host.
Where data sits. Hosted data stays with the vendor. OpenMausBot defaults to a directory on your disk.
Who keeps the lights on. Backups, schedules and permission edges are what my Sys-Admin and approval cards absorb. That is also what I will not take back lightly. Local-first means the agent can touch a real computer; the boundary is the approval card—and whether you click Allow.
OpenMausBot fits people who already keep CLIs signed in, who will own backup and cron, and who want the roster shape without renting the vendor’s ops. Everyone else should stay on a hosted stack: pay for uptime, keep producing. I stay hosted for now, not because it is more advanced, but because I refuse to be my own SRE.
Risk, said once: enabling host control hands the machine to an agent. Treat any OpenMausBot- or Maus-named coin as noise.
Closing Line
Local-first means the agent can touch a real computer; the boundary is the approval card—and whether you click Allow.