Two ways into Bees: describe the job, or point it at your files
Most AI agent tools hand you a blank canvas and expect you to wire up the whole thing. We wanted the first ten minutes of Bees to feel different, so there are two easy ways in: tell it the job in plain English, or point it at the files you already have. Bees is a free, open source desktop app that runs a team of AI agents on your own computer. It went public today. Here's how those two pieces…
Bees is a free, open-source desktop application that operates AI agents on a user's own computer. It offers two simple methods to get started with the AI agents.
The first option is to describe the task in plain English. Upon launching the app, users can articulate the desired outcome as they would to a person. Bees then inquires a few concise questions, establishes an agent dedicated to that specific job, outlines a sequence of steps, and sets a schedule. The application holds off on executing any tasks until the user presses the "Apply" button, providing an opportunity to review the plan and make necessary modifications. Moreover, if the job involves email, Bees will seek confirmation before dispatching any messages.
Alternatively, users can choose to upload a folder they wish the AI agents to peruse. After approving the folder once, Bees proceeds to read and index every file within it, directly on the user's machine. Users can then engage in searches using plain language, eliminating the need to recall file names. The AI agents utilize the same knowledge while executing tasks, enabling them to build upon documents such as reports or replies, rather than relying on assumptions.
All of this transpires without the need to share any files outside the user's computer. The AI agents operate within the confines of the user's device, whether connected to Codex or Claude Code via the command line, a hosted provider, or a local model. There is no charge for the AI itself from the developers.
To utilize Bees, users must download the application from bees.bot, and access the source code on GitHub at github.com/Bees-bot/bees-desktop. The code is available under either the MIT or Apache 2.0 licenses.
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