Phaethon

An open-source, accessible, desktop-first life OS: a workspace where an AI agent helps you run the parts of your life you choose to give it.

Status: pre-alpha. In the desktop app, each space chats through Phaethon's own agent with your Anthropic API key (kept in the system keychain), or through the official claude CLI you logged into yourself. Either way the agent sees only that space's folder under ~/Phaethon/default/spaces/, and Phaethon's agent asks before changing any file. In a plain browser the chat falls back to a local echo stub. Nothing here is ready for real data.

What it is

• Vaults. Each person has a vault: a plain folder of files (MANUAL.md, memory/, skills/, spaces/<name>/). The files are the database. You can read, edit, back up and sync them with tools you already use.
• Spaces. Isolated compartments inside a vault (for example school, work). An agent working in one space cannot see another.
• Bring your own agent backend. Either the official claude CLI that you logged into yourself, or your own API key stored in the OS keychain. Phaethon never reads, stores or relays a subscription OAuth token.
• Accessible from day one. WCAG 2.2 AA is the floor, across blind and low-vision, motor and switch, Deaf and hard-of-hearing, cognitive, and speech disabilities. See docs/ACCESSIBILITY.md.

Design details: docs/ARCHITECTURE.md.

Stack

• Tauri 2 with a Rust core (src-tauri/)
• React 19 + TypeScript + Vite, managed with pnpm
• shadcn/ui on Radix primitives, Tailwind CSS v4
• assistant-ui (@assistant-ui/react) for the chat surface
• React Aria where Radix lacks a component

LibreChat (MIT) is used as a design reference only. No code is vendored from it; if any is copied later, its MIT notice goes with it.

Download

Installers for macOS (Apple silicon and Intel .dmg), Windows (-setup.exe or .msi) and Linux (.AppImage, .deb, .rpm) are on the latest release. Once installed, Phaethon checks for signed updates itself (Settings › About).

The macOS build isn't notarized yet, so the first open is blocked: open it once, then choose Open Anyway in System Settings › Privacy & Security.

Running it

Prerequisites: Node 20+, pnpm, a Rust toolchain via rustup, and the Tauri prerequisites for your OS (Xcode Command Line Tools on macOS). For the agent: Claude Code (the claude CLI), run once as claude in a terminal to log in.

pnpm install
pnpm tauri dev          # desktop app with hot reload
pnpm dev                # frontend only, in a browser at http://localhost:1420
pnpm build              # typecheck + production frontend build
pnpm tauri build        # release bundle (.app / .dmg / .msi / .AppImage)

cd src-tauri && cargo test                                       # unit tests, no network
cd src-tauri && cargo test --test claude_cli -- --ignored --test-threads=1   # real CLI, uses your login (4 short prompts)

License

MIT © Jeryn Vicari