Five minutes, start to finish. Pick your computer.
Double-click the downloaded .zip. You get a Buddy.app and a small helper called Open Buddy (first time).command.
Drag Buddy.app into your Applications folder. (Optional, but it keeps him findable in Launchpad.)
Double-click Buddy.app. macOS will say “Apple could not verify Buddy is free of malware.” That's expected: Buddy isn't yet notarized with Apple (that costs money we haven't spent). Click Done.
Open System Settings, then:
Enter your password when asked and click Open. You only ever do this once.
Open Buddy (first time).command → Open → Open. It clears the download flag and launches him directly.Buddy pops up in the bottom-right of your main screen, waves, and tucks himself into the corner with his ears out. Move your cursor into any corner of any screen to call him. A Buddy icon also appears in the menu bar and the Dock.
Screen Recording — the first time you ask him to look at your screen or climb on a window. Accessibility — the first time you let him click or type for you. Both prompts point you to Privacy & Security; flip the switch next to Buddy and, if macOS asks, quit and reopen him.
Click Buddy → the app opens on Customize → Brain. Jump to the Give him a brain tab above.
There's nothing to install. Double-click Buddy-Windows.exe. Keep the file somewhere permanent (Documents, Desktop) — it runs from wherever it is.
Windows shows a blue box: “Windows protected your PC.” This is because Buddy isn't yet code-signed, not because anything is wrong.
Only the first time.
If Windows Defender Firewall asks whether to allow Buddy, click Allow access. He needs the network to reach your AI provider and the community.
Buddy pops up bottom-right, waves, and tucks in with his ears showing. Move your cursor into any screen corner to call him. His icon is in the system tray (bottom-right, near the clock; click the ^ arrow if it's hidden).
Customize → Access → Start at login.
Click Buddy → the app opens on Customize → Brain. See the Give him a brain tab.
In a terminal, in the folder you downloaded to:
chmod +x Buddy-Linux.AppImage
./Buddy-Linux.AppImage — or double-click it in your file manager if it offers to run it.
If you see “AppImages require FUSE to run”: sudo apt install libfuse2 (Ubuntu/Debian) then try again.
Buddy needs a compositor that supports transparent, click-through windows — GNOME, KDE, and most modern desktops are fine. X11 works fully. On Wayland, screen capture and window climbing may be limited by the desktop's permissions model; the rest works.
Window climbing uses xprop (sudo apt install x11-utils). Mouse/keyboard control uses xdotool (sudo apt install xdotool). Buddy tells you in Privacy → Activity if either is missing.
Bottom-right of your primary display. If your desktop has no system tray, use the summon shortcut (Alt+B) or right-click him for the menu; Quit is in Customize → Access.
Click Buddy → Customize → Brain. See the Give him a brain tab.
Click Buddy (or press Alt+B), then Customize in the sidebar, then Brain.
Claude (Anthropic) — best for tasks on your computer. ChatGPT (OpenAI). Gemini (Google). Local model — free, private, runs on your machine (see step 5).
Claude: console.anthropic.com → API Keys. ChatGPT: platform.openai.com → API keys. Gemini: aistudio.google.com → Get API key. Each is pay-as-you-go and usually a few cents a day of Buddy use. Copy the key.
The model list fills in with exactly the models your key can use. Press Test to check the connection. Keys are encrypted with your OS keychain and never shown again.
Install Ollama, run ollama pull llama3.1, choose Local model in Buddy, and leave the server address as http://localhost:11434/v1. No key, no cost, nothing leaves your computer.
Back in Chats, type anything. He answers in a sentence or two. Try “wave”, “what species can you be?”, or “climb onto this window”.
That's the download-quarantine flag on an unsigned app. Right-click Open Buddy (first time).command → Open, which clears it. Or in Terminal: xattr -cr /Applications/Buddy.app.
Only true corners count — where the cursor can't go further. Where two monitors meet, the cursor slides through, so that corner doesn't trigger him (on purpose). Try the outer corners. You can also click him, or press Alt+B.
Update to the latest build — older versions requested Accessibility permission for window tracking, which it never needed. Current builds only ask when you use mouse/keyboard control.
Customize → Brain → Test shows the provider's real error: usually a rejected key, no credit on the account, or a model your key can't use. Pick a different model from the list.
Right-click Buddy → Pin in place keeps him out. Stay in his corner until called vs Come and go is in the same menu, and under Customize → Pet.
Quit Buddy (right-click → Quit). macOS: delete Buddy.app. Windows: delete the .exe. Linux: delete the AppImage. His data lives in your user folder (~/Library/Application Support/Buddy, %APPDATA%\Buddy, ~/.config/Buddy) if you want that gone too.