Discussion
I'm not exaggerating when I say that this is the most impressive iOS app I've seen in a long time.
Open Minis is an iOS agent app that combines LLMs with native Apple frameworks – dozens of them – and gives us a glimpse of Siri AI for power users, today.
My story: https://www.macstories.net/reviews/open-minis-is-the-ios-agent-i-wish-siri-ai-could-be/
@viticci great write up. I was going to follow the developer, but have they chosen to remain somewhat anonymous? Makes the whole app/story even more compelling if so. https://www.reddit.com/r/SideProject/comments/1s4x04b/i_built_an_ondevice_ai_agent_for_iphone_that
@viticci immediately used it to built a YouTube downloader. Worked like a charm even with a free Mistral key.
@viticci Crazy. Thanks for the hint.
The "trick"?
1. The developer turned native iOS APIs into CLIs, inside the app
2. The app ships with a built-in Alpine Linux terminal that can call those CLIs and MCP, etc.
3. The app has its own workspace in the Files app
It's basically a mini, sandboxed OpenClaw/Claude Code that runs any model with its own "computer".
This app is genius, and I urge you to play with it if you're a nerd.
https://www.macstories.net/reviews/open-minis-is-the-ios-agent-i-wish-siri-ai-could-be/
@viticci “hi we put Linux in your iPhone have fun” is some beautiful, beautiful stuff. I downloaded it immediately just in case this gets the Apple takedown notice.
@viticci This is awesome. I’m setting up my existing Claude Code skills and commands via a simple install script. It sets itself up essentially.
I have no idea what I’ll use this thing for, since I have multiple Hermes agents running on my Mac mini / MBPs already wired into the Inline chat app, but it’s pretty cool to play around with.
@viticci The presence of a Linux terminal doesn't violate Apple's rules about computer-within-computer apps?
@dsilverman @viticci IIRC, the limitation is not on virtualization or the like, it’s the capacity to run pre compiled and non-vetted binary code. If it’s statically linking those Apple APIs to provide a way for an LLM to call them that doesn’t qualify.
Install bonfire.cafe
Get the full app experience
