Self-hosting

The desktop app runs your bots while it's open. To keep them online 24/7, run mimir server on a machine you own (a VPS, a home server, a Raspberry Pi). It runs all your bots, keeps your memory, and serves the same UI on the web.

With Docker #

echo "MIMIR_COMPUTER_TOKEN=$(openssl rand -hex 24)" >> .env   # once: the key between Mimir and its computer
docker compose up -d                                   # builds the image; data in the mimir-data volume
docker compose exec mimir mimir admin-token            # sign in to http://localhost:8080 with this token

A new admin token: docker compose exec mimir mimir admin-token --new, then restart (docker compose restart). Signed-in browsers and connected apps need the new one.
HTTPS: uncomment the caddy service in docker-compose.yml and set your domain (automatic certificates). The server listens on localhost by default; only expose it through TLS.
Back up the /data volume: it holds the database (memories, bots, chats) and, on a server, the secrets.
Two services: mimir (bots, web UI, your data) and computer (the bots' computer: screen and Chromium, as its own user, no /data). They talk on the compose network only; the computer publishes no ports.

Your AI accounts on the server #

The image includes the official claude, codex and grok CLIs. Sign in once:

Claude: docker compose exec -it mimir claude (or set CLAUDE_CODE_OAUTH_TOKEN from claude setup-token).
ChatGPT: docker compose exec -it mimir codex login.
Grok: build the image with --build-arg GROK_CLI=1 (its installer is a script from x.ai without a fixed version, so it's left out by default), then Sign in to Grok in the web UI (a device code).

It's your server and your login, the same as on your laptop. API-key bots need nothing extra. The Claude and Codex CLIs, the browser tool and the base images are fixed versions, so a rebuild doesn't change what runs your bots. --build-arg AI_CLIS="" builds a slim image without the CLIs; --build-arg COMPUTER= leaves out the bots' computer. The compose file drops all Linux capabilities and forbids gaining privileges.

Without Docker #

cargo build --release -p mimir && (cd ui && npm ci && npm run build)
MIMIR_UI_DIR=ui/dist mimir server --listen 127.0.0.1:8080

Connecting the desktop app #

Settings → Your server: enter the server's address and admin token. The app then shows the server's bots, memory and routines, and the bots on this computer pause, so nothing runs twice. Disconnect switches back. The token is kept in the keychain. Use an https:// address for a server on the internet; plain http:// is accepted only for addresses at home or on Tailscale (localhost, 192.168.x, 10.x, 100.64–127.x, .local, .ts.net), since the token would otherwise travel in the clear.

Some things stay on the computer even when connected, because they belong to it: meeting recording and the meetings list, the quick-ask shortcut, keeping the computer awake.

Moving from the desktop app #

Copy ~/.mimir/mimir.db into the server's data volume before its first start, then re-enter messaging-app tokens on the server (the desktop keeps them in the OS keychain, not the database).

How the server works #

mimir server runs the same host as the desktop app: every bot's Telegram / Slack / Discord connection, the routine scheduler and approval cards, plus an HTTP API (POST /api/<command> with the admin token, the same commands the desktop UI uses) and the web UI. Secrets are stored in its database instead of a keychain; the data folder is owner-only (mode 0700). The API checks the token before reading a request; the web UI can't be framed by other sites and loads only its own scripts. GET /healthz answers ok for health checks. A MIMIR_ADMIN_TOKEN you set must be at least 24 characters.

Email, web search, the file workspaces and the skill library work the same on a server: set them up in the web UI's Settings (Connect your email, calendar and web search). The calendar link is set under Meetings, which is in the desktop app only, so a server's bots can't read a calendar yet (add-to-calendar links work everywhere). The server doesn't update itself: get the new code and rebuild (git pull && docker compose up -d --build).