Questions
Straight
answers.
What littleguys does, what it doesn't, and where it runs. Anything missing? Ask on GitHub.
What is littleguys?
littleguys is a small, free, open-source Mac menu bar app that puts your AI agents (OpenClaw, Hermes, Claude Code, Codex and any ACP agent) on every machine in one calm place: one glance shows who needs you, one click answers. Each agent is a little guy, and the one in your menu bar shows what they're up to: idle, working, has news, needs you, or offline.
Is it free?
Yes. littleguys is free and open source, under the MIT license. Every line of it is on GitHub. Read the code →
Is it Mac only?
Yes. littleguys is a Mac app for macOS 13 or later, one download for Apple silicon and Intel. There's no Windows or Linux version.
Does it need an account, a cloud service or telemetry?
No. littleguys talks straight to your agents, on this Mac or over your own network. There's no littleguys account, no cloud service, no analytics and no telemetry. The only other things it fetches are its own updates, from GitHub, and the ACP registry's list of agents when you add one.
Do I need OpenClaw to use it?
No. littleguys works with Hermes Agent and with any ACP agent, such as Claude Code, Codex or Gemini CLI, without OpenClaw. If OpenClaw isn't on your Mac, the first screen offers to install it; skip that with Add a gateway, and pick Hermes or Agents (ACP).
Does it watch Claude Code sessions that are already running in my terminal?
No. littleguys starts ACP agents such as Claude Code and Codex itself and talks to them over stdio, so it can't attach to a session that's running in a terminal. With Claude Code you can pick up an earlier session, including one you started in the terminal, as a thread in littleguys, the way claude --resume does. To watch terminal sessions as they run, use a menu bar monitor. Menu bar monitors, compared →
Where do routines run?
OpenClaw and Hermes keep routines in their own scheduler, on the machine where the agent runs, so they run whether littleguys is open or not. Claude Code, Codex and other ACP agents have no scheduler, so littleguys runs their routines itself, and only while it's open. A run that comes due while littleguys is closed is skipped.
Can it reach agents on other machines?
Yes. littleguys connects to several OpenClaw gateways at once and finds them on your tailnet (Tailscale) and your LAN (Bonjour). It also connects to Hermes API servers, and to ACP agents served over WebSocket, such as goose serve. With more than one machine, each guy is labeled with where it lives.
How big is it?
The download is 15 MB and the installed app 33 MB, with Apple silicon and Intel in one app.
How is it different from the OpenClaw app, Hermes Desktop or the Codex app?
Those are full apps built around one kind of agent each, and they do more: voice, terminals, git review, usage and cost tracking. littleguys does less on purpose. It's one small menu bar app for all of your agents, with nothing to configure. The full comparison →
How do I install it?
With Homebrew (brew install herval/tap/littleguys), or download the .dmg from GitHub and drag littleguys into Applications. It's signed and notarized, and it updates itself.
or with Homebrew:
brew install herval/tap/littleguys
Free and open source · macOS 13+ · Apple silicon and Intel