BuddyClaw

BuddyClaw is a local-first macOS desktop pet that lives in your menu bar, walks on your desktop, remembers what matters on-device, and stays playful instead of pretending to be a cloud chatbot.

BuddyClaw 是一个本地优先的 macOS 菜单栏桌宠。它会待在你的桌面上、陪着你工作、把记忆留在本机里，并且首先是一只“好玩、有性格、愿意常驻”的宠物，而不是伪装成云端聊天窗口。

Tags: macOS desktop pet local-first SwiftUI menu bar app pixel art ASCII art offline memory bilingual

Direct DMG Download · Latest Releases · All Releases · Source Code

GitHub About

Description

Local-first bilingual macOS desktop pet with Pixel, ASCII, and Claw styles, menu bar controls, and on-device memory.

Topics

macos, desktop-pet, swift, swiftui, menu-bar-app, local-first, offline-first, pixel-art, ascii-art, companion-app

Why BuddyClaw

• Local-first by default: notes, imports, event memory, and offline extractive answers stay on your Mac.
• Fast menu-bar controls: switch pet, style, and size instantly without opening a settings maze.
• Three-style architecture: Pixel, ASCII, and Claw.
• Native desktop feel: menu bar app, floating pet window, speech bubbles, quick reactions, and zero fake cloud mystique.
• Built for people who smile at a certain warm terminal coding companion and want that feeling reborn as its own desktop-native creature.

What Ships Today

• Pixel style is the formal production look.
• ASCII style is built in and always available.
• Claw style now ships as a bundled selectable style alongside Pixel and ASCII.
• Memory Center lets you import local content, write manual notes, ask offline questions, and review the local timeline.
• System-following bilingual UI: Chinese on Chinese systems, English on English systems.

At A Glance

Feature Highlights

1. A desktop pet first

BuddyClaw puts the pet experience first:

• pick a pet directly from the menu bar
• switch style instantly
• change size in one click
• reset the current pet without deleting files

2. Local memory, not fake cloud magic

BuddyClaw keeps a local SQLite memory vault for:

• imported Markdown, TXT, JSON, and BuddyPack files
• manual notes
• event memories such as app switches, focus milestones, petting, reviews, and offline questions
• daily summaries

Answers are extractive and source-backed. If the app cannot find enough support locally, it says so clearly.

3. Three-style product lane

• Pixel: crisp sprite-sheet production assets
• ASCII: code-rendered fallback with real product entry points restored
• Claw: bundled warm amber mascot art with the same first-class menu and settings entry points as the other styles

Download

The fastest path is the direct DMG stored in the repository, with GitHub Releases reserved for signed/notarized publishing flows.

• Download BuddyClaw.dmg
• Or open Releases
• Drag BuddyClaw.app into Applications

Distribution Channels

• Direct DMG: keeps the original local-first desktop experience, with activity capture enabled by default and fully stored on-device.
• Mac App Store: ships through a sandboxed Xcode archive/export flow, with activity capture off by default until you explicitly enable it.
• Both channels ship the same bundled Pixel, ASCII, and Claw styles.

Build From Source

Requirements

• macOS 14+
• Xcode

Build

DEVELOPER_DIR=/Applications/Xcode.app/Contents/Developer xcrun swift build

Build The Xcode Hosts

ruby ./scripts/generate_xcodeproj.rb
DEVELOPER_DIR=/Applications/Xcode.app/Contents/Developer xcodebuild -project BuddyClaw.xcodeproj -scheme BuddyClawDirect -destination 'generic/platform=macOS' CODE_SIGNING_ALLOWED=NO build
DEVELOPER_DIR=/Applications/Xcode.app/Contents/Developer xcodebuild -project BuddyClaw.xcodeproj -scheme BuddyClawAppStore -destination 'generic/platform=macOS' CODE_SIGNING_ALLOWED=NO build

Test

DEVELOPER_DIR=/Applications/Xcode.app/Contents/Developer xcrun swift test

Local Release Dry Run

./scripts/release_buddyclaw.sh --codesign-identity - --output-dir ./dist/local --skip-notarize

App Store Archive

./scripts/archive_app_store.sh --skip-export --output-dir ./dist/app-store-local
./scripts/archive_app_store.sh --team-id YOURTEAMID --output-dir ./dist/app-store

The signed App Store path expects your Apple Developer account to be actively signed in inside Xcode so xcodebuild can fetch signing assets.

Product Notes

• BuddyClaw is a menu-bar accessory app, so it does not show in the Dock by default.
• The app validates production pixel sprites before release.
• Release bundles keep runtime assets only and strip authoring docs/scripts from the shipped app.
• The bundled release now includes PixelSprites and ClawSprites, with ASCII always available as the code-rendered fallback.
• The repository now includes a generated BuddyClaw.xcodeproj host with BuddyClawDirect and BuddyClawAppStore schemes on top of the shared Swift package.

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中文说明

BuddyClaw 是什么

BuddyClaw 是一只本地优先的 macOS 桌宠：

• 常驻菜单栏
• 在桌面上悬浮和移动
• 有自己的名字、个性和宠物形态
• 支持本地记忆中心
• 支持离线抽取式问答
• 支持快速切换宠物、风格和大小

它不是“把聊天框塞进桌面”的产品，而是一只真正围绕陪伴感来设计的原生桌宠。

这版的核心卖点

• 本地优先：资料、笔记、时间线记忆都保存在本机
• 桌宠优先：菜单栏第一层就是 选宠物 / 选风格 / 大小 / 重置宠物
• 双语优先：系统是中文就显示中文，系统是英文就显示英文
• 成品优先：支持 release 打包、DMG 输出、资源校验

当前风格系统

• 像素 Pixel 现在的正式生产风格，桌宠运行时默认使用它

• ASCII 代码渲染版本已经恢复为正式可选入口，不再是隐藏 fallback

• Claw 现在已经随应用一起打包，和 Pixel、ASCII 一样可以直接切换使用

记忆中心能做什么

记忆中心不是主入口，但它保留下来，适合长期使用：

• 导入 Markdown / TXT / JSON / BuddyPack
• 写手动笔记
• 查看时间线事件
• 回顾今天
• 做离线本地问答

BuddyClaw 会明确告诉你回答是否来自本地命中，而不会假装自己是云端模型。

安装方式

• 直接下载 BuddyClaw.dmg
• 或进入 Releases
• 将 BuddyClaw.app 拖入 Applications

分发渠道

• Direct DMG：保留原本的本地优先桌宠体验，活动记录默认开启，但数据始终只保存在本机。
• Mac App Store：通过 sandbox + Xcode archive/export 链路发布，活动记录默认关闭，只有你显式开启后才会开始采样。
• 两个渠道都自带 Pixel、ASCII、Claw 三种风格。

从源码运行

构建：

DEVELOPER_DIR=/Applications/Xcode.app/Contents/Developer xcrun swift build

Xcode 宿主工程：

ruby ./scripts/generate_xcodeproj.rb
DEVELOPER_DIR=/Applications/Xcode.app/Contents/Developer xcodebuild -project BuddyClaw.xcodeproj -scheme BuddyClawDirect -destination 'generic/platform=macOS' CODE_SIGNING_ALLOWED=NO build
DEVELOPER_DIR=/Applications/Xcode.app/Contents/Developer xcodebuild -project BuddyClaw.xcodeproj -scheme BuddyClawAppStore -destination 'generic/platform=macOS' CODE_SIGNING_ALLOWED=NO build

测试：

DEVELOPER_DIR=/Applications/Xcode.app/Contents/Developer xcrun swift test

本地打包：

./scripts/release_buddyclaw.sh --codesign-identity - --output-dir ./dist/local --skip-notarize

App Store 归档：

./scripts/archive_app_store.sh --skip-export --output-dir ./dist/app-store-local
./scripts/archive_app_store.sh --team-id YOURTEAMID --output-dir ./dist/app-store

要走带签名的 App Store 导出流程，需要先确保你的 Apple Developer 账号已经在 Xcode 内处于登录有效状态，这样 xcodebuild 才能自动拉取签名资产。

一个小小的气质说明

如果你也喜欢某种温暖、偏橙色、带点终端气质的编码伙伴氛围，BuddyClaw 会让你看出那一点点熟悉感。
但它最终想成为的，是一只真正属于自己世界观的本地桌宠。