{
  "id": 11107470,
  "title": "Ankita is looking for contributors — here's what you'd actually build",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/01/ankita-is-looking-for-contributors-heres-what-youd-actually-build",
  "topic": "tech",
  "section": "Tech",
  "published": "2026-10-01T04:30:07.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Dev.to",
    "slug": "dev-to",
    "url": "https://dev.to/krish_verma_77e28d3fd63ca/ankita-is-looking-for-contributors-heres-what-youd-actually-build-jl1"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Krish, a developer from India, has been working on a free, open-source desktop AI assistant called Ankita for the past 8 months. The project is a terminal + Electron app with a plugin/skill system, local-first design, and the ability to run scheduled jobs, live browser clicks and typing on real pages, and communication over Telegram. The app has reached version 2.4.3, has a test suite, and downloads are increasing. Krish is looking for contributors who want to learn real-world Node.js and Electron by building something people actually use.\n\nThe codebase consists of a core agent written in plain Node.js modules, with heavy dependencies only where necessary, such as Electron for the desktop shell and Playwright for the live browser. Tools are organized in a tool catalog, each with its own module and grouped by domain, such as filesystem, git, web, browser, images, and automation. Skills are markdown playbooks loaded on demand, and automation includes routines, page watches, and a Telegram inbox with headless execution and approval diffs sent to the user's phone.\n\nThe desktop section of the codebase includes Electron + React for the chat, browser stage with takeover capability, personas, and plugin management. Memory is personal and project-scoped, with list/edit/forget functionality. All data remains on the user's machine.\n\nSome real open issues include:\n- #41: Multiple custom providers, currently with only one API_BASE. This is a good first issue with a scoped, verified current state.\n- #42: New verified skills, with skills playbooks written in the existing format and tool references existing in the repo. This is a good first issue for Hacktoberfest.\n- #43: Safer Composio handling, with connected Gmail/Drive actions currently running without approval prompts. This issue requires designing approval tiers, with reads free and mutations asking for approval. It's a more challenging task for someone wanting a real design problem.\n- #40: More chat channels, with Telegram being the only two-way channel currently. Extracting a channel interface and adding Discord support is needed.\n\nKrish has set up a CONTRIBUTING.md file with a short setup guide, strict but fair rules, labeled good first issue and help wanted tickets, personal PR reviews, and credit for contributors in release notes. Hacktoberfest-friendly PRs merged in October are also counted. The repository can be found at https://github.com/akyourowngames/A.N.K.I.T.A.",
  "summary": "I'm Krish, a developer from India. For the past 8 months I've been building Ankita — a free, open-source desktop AI assistant. Terminal + Electron app, plugin/skill system, local-first by design. It runs scheduled jobs on its own, has a live browser that clicks and types on real pages, and talks to you over Telegram. It's real and it ships: v2.4.3 is out, there's a real test suite under test/…",
  "key_points": [
    "Krish developed free, open-source desktop AI assistant Ankita over 8 months",
    "App features terminal, Electron, plugin system, local-first design",
    "Krish seeks contributors to build real-world Node.js and Electron app"
  ],
  "editors_take": "Krish's call for contributors to Ankita signals a shift towards community-driven development of the AI assistant, potentially accelerating its growth and feature expansion while providing hands-on experience with Node.js and Electron.",
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}