Openyak Desktop Agent

---
name: openyak-desktop-agent
description: OpenYak local-first AI agent desktop app with 100+ models, 16+ built-in tools, and MCP support
triggers:
  - set up OpenYak desktop agent
  - configure OpenYak with my API key
  - use OpenYak for file automation
  - build a skill or tool for OpenYak
  - connect OpenYak to local models
  - OpenYak agent modes and tools
  - integrate MCP server with OpenYak
  - OpenYak backend API development
---

# OpenYak Desktop Agent

> Skill by [ara.so](https://ara.so) — Daily 2026 Skills collection.

OpenYak is a 100% local-first, open-source desktop AI assistant that runs entirely on your machine. It supports 100+ AI models via OpenRouter, 16+ built-in tools (file I/O, bash, web fetch, glob/grep), 7 specialized agent modes, MCP server integration, and a secure remote tunnel for mobile access — all without uploading data to the cloud.

---

## Installation

### End-User (Desktop App)

1. Download the installer from [https://open-yak.com/download/](https://open-yak.com/download/) (Windows or macOS).
2. Launch the app and connect a model (free tier: 1M tokens/week, or bring your OpenRouter API key).

### Developer Setup

The project has two parts: `frontend/` (Electron/UI) and `backend/` (Python).

#### Backend

```bash
cd backend
python -m venv .venv
source .venv/bin/activate        # Windows: .venv\Scripts\activate
pip install -r requirements.txt
cp .env.example .env             # then edit .env
python main.py

Frontend

cd frontend
npm install
npm run dev          # development mode with hot reload
npm run build        # production build
npm run package      # create distributable installer

See frontend/README.md and backend/README.md for full setup details.

Configuration

Environment Variables (backend .env)

# Model provider — use OpenRouter or your own key
OPENROUTER_API_KEY=$OPENROUTER_API_KEY

# Optional: direct provider keys
OPENAI_API_KEY=$OPENAI_API_KEY
ANTHROPIC_API_KEY=$ANTHROPIC_API_KEY

# Local model endpoint (e.g. Ollama)
LOCAL_MODEL_BASE_URL=http://localhost:11434/v1

# App settings
DATA_DIR=~/.openyak/data
LOG_LEVEL=INFO

Connecting a Model in the UI

1. Open Settings → Models.
2. Choose a provider: OpenRouter, OpenAI, Anthropic, or Local (Ollama/LM Studio).
3. Paste your API key or leave blank for free-tier OpenRouter models.
4. Select a default model (e.g. anthropic/claude-opus-4.6 or deepseek/deepseek-v3.2).

Agent Modes

OpenYak ships 7 specialized agents: