The field now treats "agents" as long-lived programs that act on accounts, devices and files; vendor products lock that capability inside cloud VMs. The core insight of this work is simple but consequential: a personal agent that holds a person's life must be inspectable, run where the person chooses, and have an open relay anyone can run. nanoMuse is a minimal, complete reference that shows how to build that open counterpart.
Key Findings
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Minimal end-to-end reference: implements Android, iOS (TestFlight), desktop (Windows/macOS/Linux) and web clients plus a relay, all published under GPL-3.0. This demonstrates a full-stack, self-hostable architecture rather than a partial SDK.
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Readable, provenance-backed memory: uses plain files on-device (Markdown on phones; append/change-line store on desktop) so users can read, edit and audit what the agent remembers. This design prioritizes transparency over opaque cloud-only memory stores.
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Relay-first sync with privacy controls: the relay stores account metadata, conversation text the user opts to sync, model call ledgers (model, token counts, cost) but not user files or tool outputs; two one-tap switches control sync and opt-in model-training data sharing. This balances cross-device continuity with user control.
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Practical resource and cost profile: example binaries are small (Android ~38 MB; desktop downloads ~256–498 MB; idle relay ≈85 MB RAM); a self-hosted relay fits on a cheap 1 vCPU/1 GB tier (estimated US$4–6/month) plus model usage costs, showing the concept is deployable outside large clouds.
Who it's for and trade-offs
Great fit if you want an auditable, self-hostable personal agent reference: researchers, privacy-conscious developers, and hobbyists who need cross-device automation with readable memory, hands-on device control, and the ability to swap model providers. It is intentionally minimal—each piece is the simplest thing that works—so it is useful as a reference or starting point rather than a polished, fully hardened commercial product.
Look elsewhere if you need a turnkey, enterprise-grade managed agent with legal SLAs, vendor-hosted compliance guarantees, or broad production skills out of the box; nanoMuse leaves safety, large-scale multi-user hosting, and advanced skill marketplaces as future work. Expect some manual setup (keys or self-hosting), limited built-in models by default, and deliberate UX trade-offs to preserve inspectability and user control.