This open-source AI agent drives your PC and phone.
The catch? The backend isn't in the repo
Cindy calls itself the open-source AI agent that works out of the box. What the README, releases and pricing page say, and which part is actually open.
- Claim
- Open source, out of the box?
- Catch
- USAGE STATS ON BY DEFAULT
- Verdict
- Open client, not open stack
Cindy was one of the fastest-rising TypeScript repos on GitHub in the last week of October 2026: 6,655 stars on October 27, 2,913 of them that week, for a repo created on July 22. Its tagline is "the open-source AI agent that works out of the box." It comes from XD Inc., the Shanghai game company behind TapTap, under the Apache-2.0 license. We read the README, the release notes and the pricing page. We didn't install it.
What it does
Cindy is a desktop and mobile app that puts several agent "harnesses" behind one agent. The README names Claude Code and Codex as the first supported ones and the website adds Pi. You pick a harness and a model, and you can switch either mid-task while your memory, skills and tools carry over. The README says one task can even be planned, run in parallel and reviewed by agents on different harness and model combinations.
The bigger claim is reach. Cindy runs on your own machine, "using your real files and logged-in apps," and it can drive your browser, your computer and your phone. It also takes work from chat apps like Slack and from schedules.
What it costs
The app is free. Per cindy.app, you can bring your own API key, authorize a Claude Code, Codex or Pi plan you already pay for, or connect a local model, and Cindy charges nothing on top. If you'd rather not manage models yourself, the Plus plan is a managed model service starting at $20 a month. Team and Enterprise tiers are listed as coming soon and contact-us.
What's actually open
This is where the tagline needs a footnote. The README says the repository is the open-source client, meaning the desktop and mobile apps and their shared packages. The backend service "lives in a separate repository" and isn't part of it. We checked the makecindy organization: its five public repos are the client, a wire-protocol package, official plugins, an eval question bank and the org profile. None of them is the server.
By default the client connects to Cindy's official cloud services, and desktop auto-updates come from its CDN. You can choose "Skip Sign-In" to run local agents without an account, but then server-backed features are unavailable. So the app you install is open source. The service behind its full feature set isn't published.
The catch
Read the privacy section of the README before you sign in. Official builds include TapDB usage analytics: device identifiers, OS and app version, and startup and activity events. The setting defaults to on, and after sign-in the events are linked to your account ID, which the README itself says makes them "not fully anonymous." To its credit, the same section says TapDB does not collect chat content, file content or working-directory data. Local mode (Skip Sign-In) doesn't report to TapDB, and you can switch it off under Settings → About → Usage statistics.
It's also very young software. The project has published 74 GitHub releases since July 25, 2026, and it's still at version 0.1.x. It had 1,666 open issues when we checked on October 27. And an agent that works inside your logged-in browser and apps can do whatever those sessions can do, so decide what you hand it. If you plan to use a Claude Code or Codex subscription inside Cindy, check your provider's terms first.
Verdict
An open client, not an open stack. If you want one app to run Claude Code or Codex with your own key and you're comfortable with a fast-moving 0.1 release, Cindy's client is free and auditable, and local mode keeps the analytics off. Just know that "open source" here describes the app on your machine, not the cloud it talks to by default.
SOURCES
- makecindy/cindy README, NOTICE and repository page (github.com/makecindy/cindy), Apache-2.0; stars and creation date via the GitHub API, open issues via GitHub search, releases via the GitHub releases API, October 27, 2026 (latest release v0.1.118-beta).
- GitHub Trending, TypeScript, weekly view, October 27, 2026 (2,913 stars this week).
- makecindy organization public repositories (GitHub API, October 27, 2026).
- cindy.app home page: harnesses, pricing (Free $0, Plus from $20/month) and FAQ, read October 27, 2026.
- xd.com (XD Inc., games and TapTap).
Not affiliated with XD Inc. or Cindy. We didn't install it; this covers what the README, releases and website say. Check your AI provider's terms before using a subscription inside another app.
