# OpenMuse review

> OpenMuse is a self-hostable personal-agent app with a persistent browser, optional Linux terminal, files, and durable tasks, built with CopilotKit and AG-UI.

Devtoolwatch Board, the week of Oct 25–31, 2026. Canonical page: https://index.devtoolwatch.com/tools/copilotkit-openmuse/

## TL;DR

OpenMuse is an alpha personal-agent application you self-host and build on, with iOS, Android, and web clients. Developers can ask for an outcome, follow the plan, review actions, and take over the agent's browser or terminal. OpenMuse runs its own server, task worker, and browser worker, and the source is MIT licensed.

## OpenMuse at a glance

- **Category:** [Coding agents](https://index.devtoolwatch.com/categories/coding-agents/)
- **Maintained by:** CopilotKit (organization, [@CopilotKit](https://github.com/CopilotKit) on GitHub)
- **License:** MIT
- **Language:** TypeScript, Python, JavaScript
- **Repository:** [github.com/CopilotKit/openmuse](https://github.com/CopilotKit/openmuse)
- **First published:** Sep 15, 2026

## What OpenMuse does

- OpenMuse browses public pages in a persistent Chromium session, with a Take control console to open that same session yourself.
- OpenMuse can run commands in an optional isolated Linux container, saving command receipts and editable workspace files.
- OpenMuse tracks durable task plans with progress, input requests, approvals, and pause, resume, cancel, and retry.
- OpenMuse fills PDF forms from email attachments and prepares a reviewed reply with a saved receipt.
- OpenMuse connects to Gmail and Google Calendar through OAuth, requiring a stored review for every send or calendar change.
- OpenMuse runs recurring public-page checks for changes, text availability, or USD price thresholds, with deduplicated alerts.
- OpenMuse imports transaction CSVs to build a spending summary with categories and a savings-goal action.

### How it works

OpenMuse runs a Hono API with an in-process task worker, an Expo web or mobile client, and a Playwright Chromium browser worker. Chat uses CopilotKit headless chat with streamed AG-UI events. Threads are stored by CopilotKit Intelligence. Models come from OpenAI, Anthropic, or Google. Web search uses Parallel's Search MCP by default. Data is stored in embedded PGlite.

## How to install OpenMuse

**Clone the repository**

```
git clone https://github.com/CopilotKit/OpenMuse.git openmuse
```

**Install dependencies**

```
pnpm install --frozen-lockfile
```

**Start the browser worker with Docker Compose**

```
docker compose --env-file .env -f infra/compose.yaml up --build -d
```

### Requirements

- Node 24 LTS and pnpm 11.19.0
- A CopilotKit Intelligence project key, kept server-only
- A provider key for OpenAI, Anthropic, or Google to use a real model
- Docker CLI and engine for the optional Linux terminal; Xcode or Android tooling for mobile builds

### First steps

1. Copy .env.example to .env, then run npx copilotkit@latest login and npx copilotkit@latest project select to get a project key.
2. Set CPK_INTELLIGENCE_API_KEY in .env, run pnpm dev, then run pnpm dev:web in another terminal.
3. Open localhost:8081 and send "Complete the permission slip" in Chat to try the local PDF flow.
4. Start the browser worker, configure a model, and ask "Summarize copilotkit.ai" to watch the agent browse.

## Who OpenMuse is for

- Developers who want a self-hosted personal-agent template to clone and customize
- Teams building agent apps on CopilotKit and AG-UI across iOS, Android, and web
- Developers prototyping agents that browse, run commands, and handle email and PDFs with human review

### Limitations

- OpenMuse is alpha software; open-ended reasoning, live Google accounts, and Rich Threads need their own configuration.
- OpenMuse supports one owner with a shared access key; it is not a multi-tenant authentication system.
- OpenMuse terminal commands have a 30-second limit and no networking; it is a Linux container, not a full VM.
- Graphical desktops, autonomous checkout, voice, device push, and automatic payments are not yet implemented.

## Usage data (the week of Oct 25–31, 2026)

- Board rank: #24 overall, #13 in Coding agents, momentum score 86
- New GitHub stars per week (last 12 weeks): Aug 9: n/a; Aug 16: n/a; Aug 23: n/a; Aug 30: n/a; Sep 6: n/a; Sep 13: 7; Sep 20: 2.3k; Sep 27: 1.5k; Oct 4: 754; Oct 11: 608; Oct 18: 352; Oct 25: 494

## OpenMuse alternatives

| Rank | Tool | Stars | Downloads/wk |
|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | [Cindy](https://index.devtoolwatch.com/tools/makecindy-cindy/) | 8.8k | – |
| #2 | [OpenMausBot](https://index.devtoolwatch.com/tools/milind-soni-openmausbot/) | 9.6k | – |
| #3 | [Orca](https://index.devtoolwatch.com/tools/stablyai-orca/) | 111.7k | – |
| #4 | [OpenBot](https://index.devtoolwatch.com/tools/copilotkit-openbot/) | 9.1k | – |
| #5 | [Agent Reach](https://index.devtoolwatch.com/tools/panniantong-agent-reach/) | 107.2k | – |
| #6 | [Skill Recorder](https://index.devtoolwatch.com/tools/microsoft-skill-recorder/) | 5.6k | – |

## OpenMuse FAQ

### Is OpenMuse free and open source?

Yes. OpenMuse's source code is on GitHub (CopilotKit/openmuse) under the MIT license, so you can use it for free.

### How do I install OpenMuse?

Run `git clone https://github.com/CopilotKit/OpenMuse.git openmuse`. The install section above has the other options from the project's README.

### Is OpenMuse still maintained?

Yes. The CopilotKit/openmuse repository was last updated on Nov 1, 2026.

### How popular is OpenMuse?

OpenMuse has 6k GitHub stars as of Nov 1, 2026. It gained 494 new stars in the week of Oct 25–31, 2026, against a 12-week average of 862 a week. That made it #13 among AI coding agents on the Devtoolwatch Board.

### What are the best alternatives to OpenMuse?

Other AI coding agents on the Devtoolwatch Board in the week of Oct 25–31, 2026, by momentum: Cindy (#1), OpenMausBot (#2), Orca (#3), OpenBot (#4), Agent Reach (#5). The alternatives table above has their numbers.

### Does OpenMuse need a model or Google account to try it?

No. The OpenMuse local sample app needs no model, Google account, or Docker. You do need Node 24 LTS, pnpm 11.19.0, and a CopilotKit Intelligence project key.

### Which model providers does OpenMuse support?

OpenMuse supports OpenAI, Anthropic, or Google providers through CopilotKit. The default model is openai/gpt-5. Set AGENT_BACKEND=model, MODEL=provider/model-id, and the matching provider key, which stays on the server.

### Can I deploy OpenMuse to Render?

Yes. OpenMuse includes a render.yaml that deploys three services: the API, the web app, and a private browser. The README says Standard is the smallest plan that stays up, because PGlite runs out of memory at 512 MB.

### What data does OpenMuse's web search send to third parties?

OpenMuse web search sends model-generated queries and context, plus a random session identifier, to Parallel. That context may include conversation or task information. Search is on by default, and you can disable it with WEB_SEARCH_ENABLED=false.

### Is the OpenMuse Linux terminal sandboxed?

Yes. OpenMuse runs commands in a nonroot container with no host-directory mounts or credentials, and terminal networking disabled. A named /workspace volume keeps files when the container stops.

## Sources

1. [CopilotKit/openmuse on GitHub](https://github.com/CopilotKit/openmuse)
2. [OpenMuse README](https://github.com/CopilotKit/openmuse/blob/main/README.md)
3. [Devtoolwatch Board, the week of Oct 25–31, 2026](https://index.devtoolwatch.com/)