Motive
Say it. Walk away.
A macOS menu bar app that runs AI agents in the background — and finds you when they need approval.
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Why Motive?
AI coding agents are powerful, but they all assume you're watching. Switch away from the terminal or editor, and you'll come back to find the agent stuck on a permission approval that's been sitting there for minutes.
Motive puts the agent in your menu bar. No window to babysit. When it needs a yes/no or has a question, a native popup drops down — no matter what app you're in. You respond, it continues, you go back to what you were doing.
Under the hood it uses OpenCode as the agent engine. Motive doesn't try to be a better agent — it just makes sure the agent can reach you.
| Desktop Apps | CLI Tools | Motive | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Where it lives | App window | Terminal | Menu bar |
| When it needs you | Buried in UI | Waits in terminal | Native popup |
| Switch away? | Miss responses | Miss prompts | Finds you |
Demo
https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/6209e3d9-60db-4166-a14a-ae90cdbc01d6
Features
Core
- Background execution — The agent runs in the background. No window to watch, no terminal to babysit.
- Native popups — Permission requests and questions appear as macOS-native popups from the menu bar.
- Ambient status — Menu bar icon shows progress at a glance without demanding attention.
- Concurrent sessions — Run multiple tasks in parallel, each working independently.
Control & Privacy
-
Trust levels — Three modes to control what the agent can do on its own:
Level Behavior Careful Asks before every edit and shell command Balanced Auto-approves safe actions, asks for unknown commands Yolo Full autonomy for trusted environments -
Approval system — Fine-grained file permission policies with per-action Always Allow / Ask / Deny.
-
Local-first — All data stays on your machine. Only API requests leave your device.
Extensibility
- Multiple providers — Claude, OpenAI, Gemini, Ollama, OpenRouter, Azure, Bedrock, and more. Bring your own key.
- 50+ built-in skills — GitHub, Slack, Notion, Calendar, and others. Enable/disable in Settings.
- Custom skills — Create your own in
~/.motive/skills/, no code changes required. - Browser automation — Web scraping, form filling, and multi-step browser workflows.
Built for Mac
- Native macOS — Swift 6, SwiftUI, AppKit. No Electron, no web views.
- Keychain storage — API keys stored securely in macOS Keychain.
- Global hotkey —
⌥Spacefrom anywhere, like Spotlight. - Multi-language UI — English, 简体中文, 日本語.
Quick Start
Install
| Chip | Download |
|---|---|
| Apple Silicon | Motive-arm64.dmg |
| Intel | Motive-x86_64.dmg |
First launch: macOS may block unsigned apps. Go to System Settings → Privacy & Security → Click "Open Anyway".
Configure
- Click the menu bar icon → Settings
- Select your AI provider (Claude / OpenAI / Gemini / Ollama)
- Enter your API key
Use
- Press
⌥Spaceto open the command bar - Describe what you want done, press Enter
- The command bar disappears — the agent works in the background
- When the agent needs approval or has a question, a native popup appears
- Check the menu bar icon anytime for status; click to view details
For detailed guides, see the documentation.
Keyboard Shortcuts
| Shortcut | Action |
|---|---|
⌥Space | Open command bar |
↵ | Submit task |
Esc | Dismiss command bar |
⌘, | Open settings |
FAQ
How is this different from Cursor / Claude Code?
Cursor needs you in its window. Claude Code needs you in the terminal. Switch away and you won't notice when they need input.
Motive runs the agent as a background process. When it needs input, a native popup appears from the menu bar regardless of what app you're in.
What can it do?
Anything OpenCode can do — refactor code, generate files, run scripts, organize projects, write docs, and more. OpenCode handles the agent work; Motive handles the macOS experience on top.
Is my data sent to the cloud?
No. Sessions and history stay on your machine. The only network traffic is API requests to your chosen AI provider. Use Ollama for fully offline operation.
Can I use a local LLM?
Yes. Select Ollama as your provider and point it to your local instance.
Why does it need Accessibility permission?
To register the global hotkey (⌥Space) that opens the command bar from anywhere.
Roadmap
- Scheduled tasks — recurring or time-based tasks that run automatically
- iOS companion — send tasks to your Mac from your iPhone
- Multi-agent workflows — orchestrate multiple agents on related tasks
Build from Source
git clone https://github.com/geezerrrr/motive.git
cd motive
open Motive.xcodeproj
The OpenCode binary is bundled automatically during release builds. For development, place it at Motive/Resources/opencode.
Requirements
- macOS 15.0 (Sequoia) or later
- API key for Claude, OpenAI, Gemini, or local Ollama setup
Acknowledgments
Powered by OpenCode — the open-source AI coding agent.
Let AI wait for you, not the other way around.