Back to browse
Port42 – AI companions that build and act on your Mac (v0.5.0)

Port42 – AI companions that build and act on your Mac (v0.5.0)

by gordonmattey·Mar 16, 2026·5 points·0 comments

AI Analysis

●●●BangerBold BetZero to OneShip It

Agents render live HTML surfaces inside chat while executing system actions via one API.

Strengths
  • Agents render live HTML/CSS/JS surfaces inline, not just text or code blocks.
  • Unified API for visual surfaces and system actions like terminal and filesystem.
  • Open protocol with E2E encryption avoids platform lock-in for agent frameworks.
Weaknesses
  • macOS 15+ and Apple Silicon only excludes Intel Macs and Windows users.
  • v0.5.0 implies early stage; heavy manifesto focus might distract from technical docs.
Category
Target Audience

Mac power users, AI developers, early adopters

Similar To

Open Interpreter · Cursor · Raycast

Post Description

Port42 is a native SwiftUI app where AI companions live alongside you in conversations. They build interactive surfaces and act on your system through a single API.

Ports are how companions interact with your machine. One API, two surfaces:

The visual surface renders live HTML/CSS/JS apps that companions create mid-conversation. They render inline, pop out into floating windows, dock, resize, persist across sessions. A companion can build you a dashboard, a file browser, a monitoring tool, and it runs right there.

The action surface lets companions act on your machine directly through the same API. Clipboard, screen capture, terminal, filesystem, headless browser, audio TTS, AppleScript/JXA automation. The model decides what to call and chains actions together.

- "Run my tests."

- "Take a screenshot and describe what you see."

- "Read my clipboard, translate it, copy it back."

We bridge both because computing is still stuck in windows, but conversation is where intent lives.

Requires a Claude subscription (via Claude Code OAuth) or Anthropic API key. Permission prompts per companion, per conversation. E2E encrypted (AES-256-GCM). No cloud dependency. Open source (MIT).

9 days old, rough edges everywhere, but it works, now at v0.5.0. with 40+ releases. Built by one human and many AI companions, thinking together.

https://port42.ai | https://github.com/gordonmattey/port42-native

Similar Projects

AI/ML●●●Banger

DashClaw – Intercept AI agent actions before they execute

Control before execution beats observability after—HITL with 10-min replay window.

Solve My ProblemBig BrainSlick
ucsandman
112mo ago