Thuki
Open-source macOS floating AI overlay that runs local models through a bundled engine or Ollama, giving users a summonable screen/context assistant without cloud inference.
What it is
Thuki is a macOS overlay app for local AI. The README describes a double-Control summon shortcut, selected-text capture, /screen screenshot attachment, slash commands, on-device OCR through macOS Vision, local conversations in SQLite, and local inference through a bundled llama.cpp engine or Ollama. It is positioned as private-by-default: no account, no API key, no cloud backend, and no telemetry for normal inference. Source: GitHub quiet-node/thuki, 2026-07-03
The reviewed X video shows the actual product surface: a small floating chat window over the desktop and a code editor, a /screen prompt path, screen-context answers, and a GitHub README page for Thuki. The demo is useful because the product value is not another chat UI; it is the always-available desktop overlay plus local model runtime. Source: X/@om_patel5 and local video contact sheet, 2026-07-03
Source snapshot
| Source | Snapshot |
|---|---|
| GitHub | quiet-node/thuki, default branch main, homepage https://thuki.app. |
| Release | Latest public release v0.15.7, published 2026-07-02; tag and HEAD both resolve to 5dc756a50e3532fc480750b5821906b1e83c3c78. |
| Adoption | 541 stars and 89 forks when checked on 2026-07-03. |
| License | README badge says Apache-2.0; GitHub API returns NOASSERTION, so treat the repo license as source-reviewed but still verify the license file before vendoring. |
| Requirements | macOS 13.4+ on Apple Silicon; Bun/Rust for source builds. |
Routing
Thuki belongs next to Local Coding Agents as a user-facing local-agent surface, not as a default coding harness. Use it when the question is about private local desktop assistance, screen-context capture, or open-weight model UX on macOS. For repo-editing agents, still route through Agent Harness, Codex, Claude Code, or the concrete local coding-agent stack; Thuki is an overlay assistant, not a replacement for a code-editing harness.
Do not import it as a wiki skill yet. If Kevin repeatedly asks for a local macOS overlay workflow, promote the repeated procedure into a skill that evaluates Thuki, Ollama/bundled-engine setup, model selection, permissions, and privacy tradeoffs.
Timeline
- 2026-07-03 | Created from @om_patel5's Thuki demo bookmark. Source check found
quiet-node/thukireleasev0.15.7, tag/HEAD5dc756a, 541 stars, 89 forks, and a local macOS overlay model with bundled llama.cpp plus Ollama support. Source: X/@om_patel5, 2026-05-14; Source: GitHubquiet-node/thuki, 2026-07-03