DEV Community: Cj Ramirez The latest articles on DEV Community by Cj Ramirez (@cjlogic). https://dev.to/cjlogic https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=90,height=90,fit=cover,gravity=auto,format=auto/https:%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Fuser%2Fprofile_image%2F2137754%2Fc24cae44-43c4-424d-aaef-ffbab36f7a05.png DEV Community: Cj Ramirez https://dev.to/cjlogic en I Built a Desktop AI Companion That Walks Across Your Screen (Tauri + Rust) Cj Ramirez Fri, 12 Jun 2026 02:00:32 +0000 https://dev.to/cjlogic/i-built-a-desktop-ai-companion-that-walks-across-your-screen-tauri-rust-285j https://dev.to/cjlogic/i-built-a-desktop-ai-companion-that-walks-across-your-screen-tauri-rust-285j <p>I wanted an AI assistant that felt warm and present, not like another chat window buried in a browser tab. So I built <strong>Lil Buddy</strong> — <em>a Tauri desktop app</em> where AI companions walk around on your screen.</p> <p><strong>Tech stack</strong>: Tauri v2, React, Rust. Supports <strong>Claude</strong> and <strong>OpenCode</strong> as AI providers. Everything runs locally — no cloud dependency for the app itself.</p> <ul> <li>8 hand-drawn companion characters with full sprite animations</li> <li>Expert/persona switching for different workflows</li> <li>Telegram gateway for remote access</li> <li>Custom themes, system tray, workspace-aware helpers</li> </ul> <p>MIT Licensed (Go crazy)</p> <p>This is Developer Preview — expect bugs, rapid changes, and incomplete docs. But I'd love feedback from the DEV crowd :)</p> <p><strong>Source</strong>: <a href="https://github.com/OnPoint-Dev-Tools/lil-buddy" rel="noopener noreferrer">https://github.com/OnPoint-Dev-Tools/lil-buddy</a><br> <strong>Site</strong>: <a href="https://onpoint-dev-tools.github.io/lil-buddy/" rel="noopener noreferrer">https://onpoint-dev-tools.github.io/lil-buddy/</a></p> <p><a href="https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=800%2Cheight=%2Cfit=scale-down%2Cgravity=auto%2Cformat=auto/https%3A%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Farticles%2F0iges9bkh1z3qitq15qd.gif" class="article-body-image-wrapper"><img src="https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=800%2Cheight=%2Cfit=scale-down%2Cgravity=auto%2Cformat=auto/https%3A%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Farticles%2F0iges9bkh1z3qitq15qd.gif" alt=" " width="720" height="670"></a></p> ai opensource agents rust