Getting started

About ten minutes from nothing to a bot that knows your name. New to Mimir? The overview says what it is in a page.

Before you start, have one of these ready:

a Claude plan (Pro or Max) or a ChatGPT plan (Plus or Pro), so bots run on it at no extra cost;
a SuperGrok or X Premium+ plan;
an API key (OpenRouter, OpenAI, xAI or any OpenAI-compatible service);
or Ollama or LM Studio on your computer, for a model that never leaves it.

1. Install #

Desktop app (macOS 11+ on Apple silicon, Windows 10 or 11, Linux on x86-64). Download the installer from heymimir.app or the releases page: .dmg (Mac), -setup.exe or .msi (Windows), .AppImage, .deb or .rpm (Linux). They aren't code-signed yet: on a Mac, right-click the app and choose Open the first time; on Windows, choose More info, then Run anyway.

Or build it from source:

cd ui && npm install && npm run tauri build     # the app and installer end up under $CARGO_TARGET_DIR/release/bundle/

Or run it in development mode: cd ui && npm install && npm run tauri dev.

You need Rust, Node.js 22 and, for the built-in transcription, cmake (macOS: brew install cmake; Linux: libwebkit2gtk-4.1-dev libayatana-appindicator3-dev librsvg2-dev libxdo-dev libdbus-1-dev libasound2-dev libclang-dev cmake).

Updates. The app checks for a new version a minute after it starts and every 6 hours, and downloads it in the background. Each download is checked against Mimir's signing key, so a tampered file is refused. It doesn't restart on its own (that would stop your bots mid-reply): Settings → Updates → Restart to update, or Restart to update in the menu-bar / tray menu. Switch off Check for updates automatically there to check only when you press Check now. The .dmg, Windows installers and .AppImage update themselves; a .deb or .rpm install asks for your password to install the new package.

On a server instead (bots online 24/7): see Self-hosting.

2. Connect an AI account #

The first screen asks which AI to use. Pick the one you already pay for:

Claude or ChatGPT: install the official command-line app once and sign in; Mimir uses that login. No API key, no extra cost beyond your plan. In a terminal:
```
npm install -g @anthropic-ai/claude-code && claude    # Claude: sign in when it asks, then type /exit
npm install -g @openai/codex && codex login           # ChatGPT: signs in through the browser
```
(Claude Code also has its own installer at claude.com/claude-code.) The first screen shows each one as Not installed, Not signed in or signed in, with Check again.
OpenRouter: Connect OpenRouter signs you in through the browser (hundreds of models, one key).
Local model: run Ollama or LM Studio; Mimir finds it and lists its models. Nothing leaves your computer.
Grok, xAI API or any OpenAI-compatible key: see AI accounts.

Pick a model if you like (the default is fine), then Test connection: it sends one short message so you know it works. Continue unlocks once it does.

3. Your first bot #

Next, name your first bot and, if you like, say what it should focus on: its role ("You're my research assistant; keep answers short"). Tap its face to change how it looks. Then the app opens its chat: tell it a few things about yourself, and watch them appear in the Memory tab. A new bot can start from a template by job (Morning briefer, Follow-up keeper, Researcher, Page watcher, Weekly reviewer), which fills in the role and offers the routines that job needs.

Click the bot in the sidebar to talk to it in the app's built-in chat, or press the quick-ask shortcut (⌥Space on a Mac, Ctrl+Alt+Space elsewhere) from any app. Right-click a bot for its settings (its page).

4. Put it in your messaging app (optional) #

On the bot's page (right-click the bot → Settings), add a Telegram bot token (from @BotFather), Slack tokens, or a Discord bot token. Then pair your chat: send the bot pair <CODE> (the code is on the bot's page), or tap the t.me/<bot>?start=CODE link on Telegram. No public URL or port forwarding is needed: Mimir connects out to each service. See Bots and chats.

5. Connect your email, calendar and search (optional) #

Each takes a few minutes, and bots can do a lot more with them:

Email (Settings → Email): an app password from Gmail, iCloud or Fastmail. Bots can search and read your inbox, write drafts, and send what you approve.
Calendar (Meetings → Calendar): your calendar's private iCal link, so bots can read it. To let them add events too, connect an iCloud, Fastmail or Nextcloud calendar in Settings → Calendar; otherwise they give you one-click links to add events.
Web search (Settings → Web search): a free Brave Search key, for bots on accounts other than Claude.

Step by step, provider by provider: Connect your email, calendar and web search.

6. Add a few skills #

On the Skills tab (⌘3), Mimir's skill library has ready-made procedures: a morning briefing, inbox triage, meeting prep, a weekly review, price and topic watches and more. Add the ones you want, and schedule it for the daily ones. See Skills.

7. Things to try #

"Remember that my dentist is Dr. Lee in Stellenbosch." Then later: "Who's my dentist?"
"Every weekday at 7:30, brief me on tech news in 3 bullets." (a routine)
"Remind me in 2 hours to call mum." (a one-off)
"Keep an eye on example.com/pricing and only tell me if it changes." (a quiet check)
"Any emails about the invoice? Draft a reply saying I'll pay Friday." (with email connected)
"What's on tomorrow? Put the dentist on Tuesday at 3 in my calendar." (with a calendar link)
"Start a packing list for my Lisbon trip." (a file in the chat's workspace)
"Make me a bot for SEO on heymimir.app." (a new bot, after you approve its role)
When a bot gets something wrong, just say so ("no, too long, three bullets"): it learns, and suggests a preference for you to accept (Memory).
Start a Teams or Zoom call, then Meetings → Start transcribing (Meetings).

The app keeps running in the menu bar (macOS) or tray (Windows, Linux) when you close the window, so your bots keep working. The icon shows approvals waiting for you, starts and stops meeting transcription, and quits Mimir. Settings → Keep this computer awake stops idle sleep while Mimir runs so routines fire on time (the screen still turns off; closing a laptop still sleeps it).

The command line #

cargo build --release
export TELEGRAM_BOT_TOKEN=123:abc      # from @BotFather; the AI defaults to your `claude` login
mimir serve                            # prints: /pair <CODE>; send that to your bot
mimir chat "remember my dentist is Dr. Lee"     # one turn, no messaging app needed

Other commands: mimir server (self-hosting), mimir runs, mimir approvals, mimir approve <id>, mimir transcribe <file>. Environment variables are listed in Architecture.