I have been using macOS for more than two decade, mostly alongside my daily use Linux. The last years we have seen increase in the open-source macOS apps as the developers who shifted form Linux as me were catching up. Today’s pick is one of these amazing new open-source apps that we usually could not find them easily before.
What is Aictl?
Aictl, a free and open-source AI Agent native for macOS that runs with local-first precision, yet it comes with 3 options in place: a Terminal app, a desktop app native for macOS and a Server app that you can easily setup and run on any cheap server.
The server edition also can be installed easily within a Docker container, which makes it more effective for developers and DevOpers who like run everything within a container.
I ran Aictl from the console, and it offers the user several provider options, although most of them are not free as Gemini, OpenAI, Grok, it still works with your local Olama that you installed locally, which is a blast for your privacy and security.
The Desktop app is a Tauri-based app that runs the Aictl core in the back, offering the same providers, models, tools, agents, and skills, It works on Apple Intel and Apple Silicon with specified build for each.
Another cool feature is the aictl-server which allows you to turn your work to an inactive local network-ready agent. All you need to do is download aictl-server then run: aictl-server or run it from the aictl agent: aictl --serve.
Documentation
The project comes with a rich developer-friendly and yet user-friendly documentation, which allows users especially advanced ones to scale the system and customize it for their own needs and workflow.
The license
The license is a bit unusal for this project, as it is license under the PolyForm Noncommercial License 1.0.0 which accept and allows free usage only for non-commercial users.
