PockoBots

Personal AI bots that live and work on your Android phone.

An open-source, phone-hosted alternative to Muse, Grok Bot and Dots.

Free app · No platform subscription · Bring your own model · Local execution

Website · Download v0.1 APK (Standard) · Mobile Use Edition · See the app · Try a task · Get started · How it compares · Build it · Contact

Give a bot a name, tell it what to do, and get on with your day. It can build an
app, run a project, browse the web, operate Android apps, check for updates and
message you when it needs you—all from the same conversation.

Your phone is the computer. Project files, terminals, Git, Node.js, npm,
Python and the task runner execute on your device. Install one packaged Android
app; its included environment sets itself up. No separate Termux installation
or rented cloud execution machine is required.

PockoBots is free, open-source software. Model usage is separate: bring your
own API key or sign into a supported vendor CLI and pay your chosen provider,
if applicable. The current app does not bundle an offline language model. With a
cloud provider, model requests and relevant conversation, tool output or phone
screenshots leave the device.

See it in action

PockoBots live demo: autonomous AI bots running on an Android phone, executing tasks, and managing workflows.

Features & Capabilities

Try a task

• "Build me a to-do app in HTML, CSS and JavaScript. Run it and give me a preview link."
• "Clone this repository, investigate the failing tests, and show me the fix."
• "Open the phone browser, research these options, and summarize what you find."
• "Check this project every morning and notify me when something needs attention."

Bots report tool results, ask for missing information and keep their work in
separate project directories. Phone actions share one device and take turns.
Repeated app/page reopening pauses instead of looping indefinitely.

What your bots can do

Each conversation has Chat / Terminal / Files. The bottom dock opens Bots, the MCP marketplace, a shared main terminal, and
Settings. The conversation tools menu opens bot preferences, connections,
permissions and server sharing. Markdown, code, tables and links render
right in chat.

Create a bot with just a name and instructions. Every bot gets the same
coding, browsing and phone capabilities. There are no mode switches or default
daily run caps.

Settings supports BYOK and phone-side CLI adapters for Codex, Claude Code,
OpenCode and Gemini. Vendor login, eligibility and usage limits remain with the
vendor. See subscription setup and limits and the
MCP marketplace guide. Google Workspace needs your
OAuth client configuration; a catalog entry alone is not an authorized connection.

Hidden native-app control is experimental. A YouTube secondary-display experiment
passed on the Pixel emulator with an ADB/scrcpy companion, while Settings remained
on the main screen. The standalone app still uses the visible screen; no isolated
LinkedIn or Instagram account is claimed. See the measured display results.

Connected to your everyday tools and services

Get started

[!WARNING]
This is v0.1 beta — it may have issues.
PockoBots runs complex local agent runtimes, package managers, and background services directly on your Android device. Android battery management, vendor-specific background killers, and device sleep may cause unexpected interruptions. Please report any issues or edge cases on GitHub!

Choose your edition

Two builds are available under GitHub Releases:

[!TIP]
Installing the Mobile Use Edition:
Google Play Protect's Enhanced Fraud Protection automatically blocks browser sideloads declaring accessibility services. If your phone shows "Blocked to protect your device", simply open Google Play Store > tap your profile icon > Play Protect > tap Settings ⚙️ > toggle off "Scan apps with Play Protect" temporarily to install, or install via your phone's built-in Files app using "More details → Install anyway".

How to install on your phone

1. Download the APK:
   Download either PockoBots (Standard) or the Mobile Use Edition directly to your Android device.
2. Allow installation from your browser or file manager:
   Tap the downloaded .apk file. If Android displays a security prompt saying your phone isn't allowed to install unknown apps from this source, tap Settings and enable Allow from this source, then tap Install.
3. First launch & runtime unpack:
   Open PockoBots. On first launch, the app automatically unpacks the packaged Node.js, Python, Git, and task environment to private app storage. Ensure you have approximately 1–2 GB of free device storage and allow 1–2 minutes for the initial unpack to complete.
4. Follow Setup & permissions:
   From the initial setup screen, enable the permissions you plan to use:
   • Notifications: Receive bot updates and completion alerts.
   • Display over other apps: Allows the floating bot pill overlay to float above Chrome and other apps.
   • Priority ringing alerts: Allows emergency calls and urgent reminders to ring the phone.
   • Accessibility service (Artemis): (Mobile Use Edition only) Opt-in permission needed only if you want bots to interact with visible Android apps or the browser.
5. Connect your model (BYOK):
   Open Settings > Bring your own key. Select an OpenAI-compatible or Anthropic-compatible provider, enter your model name, base URL, and API key, and tap Save.
6. Create a bot and start working:
   Give your bot a name and instructions. Every bot can code, run servers, open previews in Chrome, schedule calls, and listen for external webhooks.

Existing builds and historical artifacts can also be inspected under GitHub Releases.

Shell commands without per-command prompts and ringing access are enabled by
default. Per-bot preferences let you change these settings. Provider keys live
in private app storage without additional file encryption; shell tools have
access to the app's runtime account. See bot setup and behavior
and phone-control permissions and privacy.

Open a preview on another phone

A 127.0.0.1 preview opens on the device hosting the project. To reach an emulator
or phone server from another device, open Servers & sharing, sign in to
Microsoft Dev Tunnels and share the server's port. Use the actual public URL
shown in the logs. Public sharing needs internet access and the tunnel provider's
account; the agent control port cannot be shared through this API.

Built around the phone you already carry

Your phone is already with you throughout the day. PockoBots uses that hardware
for persistent personal agents, with background services, durable queues,
proactive checks and notifications. You do not need to keep a laptop open or
provision a remote machine for task execution.

Background operation is on by default. Android can still stop work after
force-stop, shutdown, battery restrictions or low memory, so uninterrupted
24/7 operation is not guaranteed. Phone UI actions require an unlocked screen
and the relevant Android permissions; priority alerts can appear while locked
when Android permits them.

How it compares

PockoBots is for people who want to own the execution environment and choose
the model behind their personal bots. It is an independent project, not an
affiliated client or a promise of identical features.

Comparison checked October 28, 2026. Listed dollar prices are USD; vendor
plans, included usage and availability can change. PockoBots has no software
subscription, but inference, internet access and external services can cost money.

What is local?

Local execution does not mean offline inference. No PockoBots-hosted backend
is needed for execution, but the current app requires a working model endpoint
for AI tasks. Installing the app alone does not provide a free offline model.

Build from source

gh repo clone AliSharjeell/PockoBots
cd PockoBots
npm ci
npm run check
npm run build:android

Use Node.js 22.19+, JDK 17, Android SDK 36 and NDK 27.2.12479018.
The Gradle wrapper selects Gradle 8.13. A fresh checkout also needs the packaged
Linux runtime; generate it on Linux/WSL with Docker, Python 3, curl, dpkg-deb and
patchelf:

python3 runtime/package.py arm64   # use amd64 for an x86_64 emulator
cd android
./gradlew :app:assembleDebug :app:lintDebug -PruntimeAbi=arm64-v8a

The APK is written to android/app/build/outputs/apk/debug/app-debug.apk.
For x86_64, package amd64 and build with -PruntimeAbi=x86_64. Copy the APK
before building another ABI; both use the same output path.

For day-to-day development, open the android directory in Android Studio,
select a running emulator and click Run. Development guide
covers source edits, logs, isolated QA builds and the experimental 16 KB Intel
emulator workaround. Physical ARM64 and ARM64 16 KB support have not been
established by the current emulator testing.

Backend checks run on Linux/WSL:

npm run check
npm test
npm run build

The native Android UI does not use a WebView. The standalone Node backend and
browser UI remain available for development.

Project status

PockoBots is preview software. Version 0.5's verification includes 20 backend
checks and four Android test journeys on a Pixel 10 Pro XL API 37 emulator
in 4 KB mode. Coverage includes mixed coding/phone tasks, real terminals, Git,
npm servers, MCP, Markdown, notification replies, ringing alerts and restart
behavior. Real paid providers and authenticated public tunnel creation were not
part of the local-fixture checks.

Read verification details, bot behavior,
development setup and the OpenBot research notes.

License and credits

PockoBots application source is MIT licensed. Included components keep
their own licenses: the terminal implementation, Artemis helper, PRoot, Debian
packages, native libraries and JavaScript/Markdown dependencies. See
runtime notices, Artemis provenance
and bundled license notices. OpenBot informed the product research; its source
was not copied into this MIT project.

Author & Contact

Created by Ali Sharjeel. For inquiries, bug reports, and feedback:

• Email: [email protected]
• Website: https://pockobots.com
• GitHub: @AliSharjeell