EmberOS · local-first pocket computer

A real computer
in your pocket.

Your phone is the Head. Your machine is the Engine. EmberOS turns any phone into a live terminal for the computer you already own — files, code, local AI and games, all glass-box, all yours.

0
Cloud · Accounts
100%
On your machine
Yours forever
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Head + Engine

One computer. Two halves that trust each other.

No cloud in the middle. Your phone (the Head) pairs directly with a daemon on your own machine (the Engine) over your network. Everything Ember can see or do lives on hardware you own.

The Head

Your phone

A fast, native-feeling web app — the Hearth. Browse files, edit and run code, chat with local AI, play your games. Nothing is stored here; it's a window, not a vault.

The Engine

Your machine

emberd, a tiny daemon on your desktop or server. It holds your files, runs your models and tools, and answers only to Heads you've paired. Keys never leave it.

12+
live surfaces — files, code, games, AI, mail & more
5
consoles emulated in the Arcade, saves synced
3
brains to choose — local, Claude, or GPT. With eyes.
1
static binary. No installer, no accounts, no telemetry.
The apps

A whole desktop, orbiting your thumb.

Every component here is a real, working surface — not a mockup. They all run on the Engine and render on the Head in real time. This is the current build, not a roadmap.

Files

A real two-pane explorer over your machine's filesystem — browse, preview, move, import, trash-with-undo.

Terminal

A full PTY to your Engine — run anything, resize, multiple sessions. The real shell, not an imitation.

Editor + Agent

Syntax-highlit editor with side-by-side live preview — and a coding agent that edits real files on request.

Arcade

Full-color Game Boy, GBA, NES, SNES and Genesis — battery saves sync to your Engine and resume anywhere.

Models

Pick Ember's brain — free on-device models via Ollama, or your own Claude / GPT key. Vision included.

✨ Ember

The assistant that ties it all together — reads your files, sees your game screen or any photo, runs your tools.

Inbox

Ember proposes changes; you approve, reject, or undo. Nothing touches your machine without a nod.

GitHub

Connect your account, browse your repos, clone straight into ~/projects. The token never leaves the Engine.

Forge

One-tap installs from a curated app library — real packages land on the Engine and run in your Terminal.

Mail

Read and send from your own accounts. Credentials live in a 0600 file on the Engine — never in the browser.

Calendar

Your schedule on the Engine, surfaced on the desk — and Ember can read it and add events through the Inbox.

Automations

Schedules and watchers that run on the Engine even when the Head is in your pocket — plus system snapshots.

Why local

The same glass-box promise as the rest of the lab.

EmberOS is the third tool in the FantasyLab family — built on the belief that the software running your life should run on your hardware, and show its work.

Local
Your files, your models, your machine. No middleman server.
Glass-box
Every action is visible and reversible through the Inbox.
Private
Keys and data stay on the Engine. Heads only ever borrow a view.
Yours
Source-available and free to run. Nothing to cancel, nothing to lose.
Get it

Light the Engine. Open the Head.

Run one command on your machine, then open the Hearth on your phone and pair. That's the whole setup.

1 · Light the Engine on your computer
git clone https://github.com/FantasyLab-ai/emberos && cd emberos/emberd && go build -o emberd . && ./emberd --bind 0.0.0.0 --stable-pair
Windows · macOS · Linux — needs Go and git. Prints your address + a pairing code.

2a · Android

primary track · easiest
  1. Open Chrome and visit http://<your-computer>:3623 on your Wi-Fi.
  2. Enter the pairing code the Engine printed. You're in.
  3. Tap ⋮ → Add to Home screen → Install — EmberOS becomes a full-screen app with its own icon.

Android is where EmberOS is headed furthest: the on-device Engine (your phone is the computer) ships on this track first.

2b · iPhone

works today, via Safari
  1. Open Safari and visit http://<your-computer>:3623 on your Wi-Fi.
  2. Enter the pairing code. Same full desktop.
  3. Tap Share → Add to Home Screen — it opens standalone, full-screen, like a native app.

Apple doesn't allow Linux on the device, so your iPhone is the Head and the Engine lives on hardware you own — which is the whole philosophy anyway.