Noema
Putting a living soul into the desktop
Voice, memory, emotion, personality, and tools, connected into a desktop companion.
Features · Quick Start · Plugins
Noema is a small experiment toward something like JARVIS: a desktop companion that can speak with personality, remember context, understand tasks, and act through tools.
The project is built around a three-layer runtime split:
- Emotional layer: speaks naturally, applies personality and memory, and detects task intent.
- Work layer: owns durable task state, plans steps, calls tools, tracks execution state, and records recoverable progress.
- Interaction layer: routes user interruptions, task starts, resumes, pauses, and status requests between the emotional and work layers.
- Output layer: speaks or displays selected runtime signals without inventing task facts.
- Voice pipeline: streams ASR, VAD, turn detection, TTS, interruption, and playback frames.
- Plugin system: adds tools, prompt extensions, task context, text transforms, expressions, and admin actions.
Features
- Voice-first desktop conversation with streaming ASR, VAD, smart turn detection, and Fish Audio TTS.
- Personality-aware replies driven by role YAML files and conversation memory.
- Task execution runtime with planning, tool calls, execution state, compaction, and task admission.
- Interruption-aware audio path that can stop speech output without necessarily cancelling active tasks.
- Persistent memory backed by SQLite for conversation turns, summaries, user profile, and task runs.
- Extensible plugin system for adding new runtime capabilities without changing the core.
Quick Start
Prerequisites
- Node.js 18+
- pnpm 8+
- macOS, Windows, or Linux with microphone access
# Install workspace dependencies.
pnpm install
# Build the SDK and desktop app.
pnpm build
# Launch the desktop app.
pnpm start
API Configuration
Noema has four independent model slots:
| Slot | Purpose | Default provider/model |
|---|---|---|
| Dialogue | Low-latency conversation | OpenAI-compatible chat endpoint |
| Task | Tool use, planning, and long-running work | OpenAI-compatible chat endpoint |
| TTS | Voice output | Fish Audio s2-pro |
| ASR | Voice input | Qwen qwen3-asr-flash-realtime |
Configure these in Settings > System after launching the app, or seed the
same values with a .env file in the repository root or apps/desktop/.env.
When using the default Fish Audio + Qwen voice setup through a proxy, a
Japan-based network node is recommended for lower latency.
# Dialogue model, OpenAI-compatible
LLM_1_API_KEY=your_dialogue_api_key
LLM_1_MODEL=deepseek-chat
LLM_1_BASE_URL=https://api.deepseek.com
# Task model, OpenAI-compatible
TASK_1_API_KEY=your_task_api_key
TASK_1_MODEL=gemini-3.1-pro-preview
TASK_1_BASE_URL=https://generativelanguage.googleapis.com/v1beta/openai
# Text-to-speech
TTS_1_PROVIDER=fish
TTS_1_API_KEY=your_tts_api_key
TTS_1_MODEL=s2-pro
TTS_1_VOICE_ID=your_voice_id
# Speech-to-text
ASR_1_PROVIDER=qwen
ASR_1_API_KEY=your_asr_api_key
ASR_1_MODEL=qwen3-asr-flash-realtime
ASR_1_LANGUAGE=zh
# Optional
PROXY_URL=http://127.0.0.1:7890
The numbered suffix lets you save multiple profiles, for example
LLM_2_API_KEY, TASK_2_MODEL, or TTS_2_VOICE_ID. Select the active profile
with LLM_ACTIVE, TASK_ACTIVE, TTS_ACTIVE, and ASR_ACTIVE.
Voice provider references:
- Fish Audio TTS: Fish Audio S2 and Text to Speech API.
- Qwen realtime ASR: Realtime speech recognition
and speech-to-text models
for
qwen3-asr-flash-realtime.
Plugins
Noema loads runtime plugins from plugins/*/plugin.json. Plugins can register
tools, extend prompts, inject task context, transform text, select expression
assets, and expose admin actions.
| Plugin | Purpose |
|---|---|
base-tools | File reads/writes, search, patching, shell commands, interactive command sessions |
browser-use | Electron browser automation, DOM/AX snapshots, screenshots, file upload, page actions |
computer-use | Native desktop observation and mouse/keyboard control |
skills-manager | Local skill discovery, reading, and management |
mcp-manager | MCP server management and remote tool dispatch |
sticker-expression | Emotion-based sticker selection for replies |
fish-s2-emotion | Fish Audio S2 voice cue prompt additions and TTS text filtering |
Plugin manifests declare permissions, config fields, default enablement, and admin actions. Keep plugin hooks generic: tools execute actions, context providers contribute task context, and UI/admin behavior remains separate from runtime execution.
Acknowledgements
The orb UI in Noema directly references the visual direction and interaction ideas from these excellent Three.js projects. Thanks to their authors and communities:
- r3f-rapier-ball-of-glass by Anton Bobrov.
- Singularity by MisterPrada for real-time Three.js scene and orb interaction inspiration.
Community thanks:
License
AGPL-3.0-only. See LICENSE.