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nanobot

🐈 nanobot is an ultra-lightweight, open-source, self-hosted personal AI agent framework written in Python. It runs in a WebUI, terminal, or chat apps and combines tools, long-term memory, MCP integrations, model routing, multi-agent delegation, scheduled automation, and an OpenAI-compatible API in a small, readable core.

Start Here

| You want to... | Go to | |---|---| | Install nanobot with no terminal/config background | Start Without Technical Background | | Install quickly and get one CLI reply | Install and Quick Start | | Open the bundled browser UI | WebUI | | Connect Telegram, Discord, WeChat, Slack, Email, Mattermost, Linear, or another channel | Chat Apps | | Configure providers, fallback models, Langfuse, MCP, web tools, or security | Docs and Configuration | | Understand or extend the internals | Architecture and Development | | Deploy to the cloud or keep nanobot running as a service | Deployment |

What can nanobot do?

nanobot is a self-hosted personal AI agent runtime. It can:

• run in a browser WebUI or terminal
• connect to Telegram, Discord, Slack, WeChat, Email, Mattermost, Linear, and other channels
• use tools such as files, shell, web search, web fetch, MCP, cron, image generation, and subagents
• keep session history and long-term memory through Dream
• run long-horizon goals and scheduled automations
• expose a Python SDK and OpenAI-compatible API for integrations
• deploy as a long-running local or server-side agent gateway

💡 Why nanobot

• Persistent workflows: goals, memory, tools, and chat context survive long-running work.
• Chat-native reach: WebUI, API, Telegram, Feishu, Slack, Discord, Teams, email, Mattermost, and Linear.
• Model freedom: OpenAI-compatible APIs, local LLMs, image generation, search, and fallbacks.
• Small core: readable internals with MCP, memory, deployment, and automation built in.
• Own your stack: inspect, customize, self-host, and extend without a giant platform.

📦 Install

[!IMPORTANT] If you want the newest features and experiments, install from source.

If you want the most stable day-to-day experience, install from PyPI or with uv.

Pick one install method:

| Track | Install with | Update with | What runs | |---|---|---|---| | Stable | installer, uv, or pip | the same package tool | one released Python/WebUI/TUI version | | Current source | editable Git checkout | git pull --ff-only + editable dependency sync | Python, WebUI, and TUI from that checkout |

Prerequisites: Python 3.11 or newer. Git and Bun are only needed for a source install. Published packages include the WebUI, and supported platform wheels also include the native TUI. A source-distribution install can fetch a checksummed, version-matched TUI archive—with its licenses, notices, corresponding application source, source offer, and relinking instructions—on first use.

If terminals, API keys, or config files are new to you, use the guided zero-background walkthrough in Start Without Technical Background instead of this compact README path.

One-command setup

macOS / Linux:

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/HKUDS/nanobot/main/scripts/install.sh | sh

Windows PowerShell:

irm https://raw.githubusercontent.com/HKUDS/nanobot/main/scripts/install.ps1 | iex

The default command installs or upgrades nanobot-ai from PyPI. On a fresh local desktop, it then starts nanobot webui so you can configure the first provider and model in Settings → Models. SSH, headless, existing-config, and older-release paths keep the terminal setup wizard. The installer avoids system-wide pip installs by using an active virtual environment, uv, pipx, or a managed venv under ~/.nanobot/venv. It also prints the exact command it used to run nanobot; reuse that full command below if nanobot is not on PATH.

To preview the plan without changing your environment, pass --dry-run.

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/HKUDS/nanobot/main/scripts/install.sh | sh -s -- --dry-run

& ([scriptblock]::Create((irm https://raw.githubusercontent.com/HKUDS/nanobot/main/scripts/install.ps1))) --dry-run

If you prefer to inspect the script first, open scripts/install.sh or scripts/install.ps1.

Install with uv

uv tool install nanobot-ai

Install from PyPI with pip

python -m pip install nanobot-ai

If pip reports externally-managed-environment on macOS or Linux, use the one-command installer, uv tool install nanobot-ai, pipx install nanobot-ai, or install inside a virtual environment.

Platform wheels include both the WebUI and the native terminal UI: macOS 13+ (Apple Silicon and Intel), glibc 2.17+ Linux (ARM64 and x64), and Windows x64. The x64 runtime requires SSE4.2. Pip selects the matching wheel; opening the TUI does not need a separate GitHub download or Bun installation. A source-distribution install on a supported target can use the matching checksummed GitHub release archive. On other platforms, use nanobot --classic or the WebUI.

Install from source

Clone the repository and install it in editable mode. Bun is required because the source checkout runs the matching TUI directly instead of downloading an older release binary.

git clone https://github.com/HKUDS/nanobot.git
cd nanobot
python -m venv .venv

Activate it with source .venv/bin/activate on macOS/Linux or .venv\Scripts\Activate.ps1 in Windows PowerShell, then run:

python -m pip install -e .

After that, the normal commands are identical to a stable install. nanobot runs the TUI from this checkout, and nanobot webui rebuilds stale frontend assets automatically. A later git pull --ff-only updates the Python, TUI, and WebUI source together; rerun python -m pip install -e . when Python dependencies change. Contributors should also read CONTRIBUTING.md.

Verify the install:

nanobot --version

If nanobot is not on PATH, invoke it through the method that installed it: reuse the recommended installer's command, use uv tool run --from nanobot-ai nanobot ... or pipx run --spec nanobot-ai nanobot ..., or use the Python executable from the environment where pip installed the package.

🚀 Quick Start

Open nanobot in your browser

nanobot webui

This is the recommended first run. The launcher creates the config and workspace when needed, safely enables the local WebSocket channel after confirmation, starts or joins the shared local gateway, and opens http://127.0.0.1:8765. A fresh install can open before a model is configured, so setup continues in the browser instead of beginning in a JSON file. The first-run WebUI binds to localhost by default and is not exposed to your LAN.

Your first three steps

1. Open Settings → Models and choose a provider, credential, and model.
2. Start a new topic and send Hello! to verify the connection.
3. Before project work, choose the intended workspace and access mode from the composer.

Any normal reply means the provider, model, workspace, and browser gateway are working together.

Keep nanobot running after you close the terminal

nanobot gateway --background

This is the only command that promotes the shared gateway to persistent background mode. It leaves channels and automations running after every local TUI and WebUI launcher exits. Complete first-time model setup with nanobot webui before switching to background mode; open the same localhost WebUI again afterward.

nanobot gateway status
nanobot gateway logs
nanobot gateway restart
nanobot gateway stop

Prefer a gateway-first workflow?

nanobot gateway

This skips WebUI setup and browser opening, then runs the same complete gateway in the current terminal. It is the familiar entry point if you are coming from OpenClaw or already operate agents as long-lived services. The WebUI remains available when its channel is configured; open it manually when needed.

Use nanobot gateway --background for the same direct entry point without keeping the terminal attached. For automatic startup and supervision by the operating system, see Deployment.

Prefer to work entirely in the terminal?

nanobot

This opens the native terminal client with the launch directory as its workspace. It shares saved conversations and the local gateway with the WebUI. The explicit nanobot agent form remains available for compatibility.

• Type / to discover commands, /sessions to switch conversations, or @ to mention an app, MCP server, or saved session.
• Paste clipboard images with Ctrl+V or Alt+V, and use $ to complete skill references.
• Use /diff to inspect file changes, /context to inspect session context, or /branch to continue from a completed reply in a new session.
• Press Enter to send. While nanobot is working, Enter sends now and Tab sends after the current response. Press Shift+Enter to add a newline (Ctrl+J works in terminals that cannot distinguish modified Enter keys).
• Use /detach t