orkbot-run/ork

What it is

Ork is a source-available AI assistant built around persistent bots that share conversations and run on isolated computers. One repository contains the web app, API, worker, Tauri desktop client, and Expo mobile client, with PostgreSQL as the backing store. It targets people who want to host their own assistant stack rather than depend on a vendor-hosted service.

Bots can be given Docker-based "computers" through a locally built sandbox image, letting them do work in an isolated environment instead of the host.

Run locally

Prepare Node.js (version 22.22.2 or newer within 22.x, or 24/26+), Docker, and Corepack; pnpm 9.15.0 is pinned. From the repository root:

corepack pnpm install --frozen-lockfile
corepack pnpm setup:local
corepack pnpm db:up
corepack pnpm dev

The setup step generates a .env with random database passwords and independent encryption, authentication, supervisor, and screen-proxy secrets. Before the API starts, register an Accounts public client and set OIDC_CLIENT_ID in .env; the local callback is http://127.0.0.1/callback and the development port is assigned at runtime. Sign-in details are in Accounts sign-in.

Open the development URL printed after migrations complete, usually http://127.0.0.1:5173, and sign in through Ork Accounts. No model key is needed just to open the app. To give bots their own Docker computers, build the sandbox image once:

corepack pnpm sandbox:build

PostgreSQL runs under the ork Compose project and listens on loopback at 127.0.0.1:5433. If that port is taken, change POSTGRES_HOST_PORT and both database URLs in .env. Stop the database with corepack pnpm db:stop, which preserves its data.

The repository also documents checks:

corepack pnpm db:generate
corepack pnpm lint
corepack pnpm check
corepack pnpm test
corepack pnpm --filter @orkbot/web build

The production-backup test suite expects Linux tools such as flock and GNU find, plus Bash 5. A broader setup and feature reference lives in README.reference.md.

Constraints

• The working tree expects origin to point at orkbot-run/ork and upstream at the original Rakazo repository; until an origin/main branch exists, the dev script uses upstream/main as the migration baseline.
• .env holds encryption and authentication secrets; keep it private. Re-running setup preserves the existing file.
• Signed releases, store submissions, image publishing, OTA, and deployment need their own credentials, described in the GitHub Actions configuration.
• License is split: the inherited Rakazo Apache 2.0 baseline stays Apache 2.0, while new Ork work is under PolyForm Noncommercial 1.0.0. Self-hosting is free only for uses PolyForm permits; internal work at a for-profit business requires a commercial license unless PolyForm or law allows it. The combined product is source-available, not OSI open source. The license map, FAQ, and commercial agreement (a draft pending legal review) clarify terms.

HotRepo's take

Ork entered HotRepo's new-project list on 2026-11-06, gaining 31 stars over a roughly five-hour window (04:45–09:45 UTC) to reach 134 stars, with no recorded rank on the all-language daily chart. That is early traction for a project created days earlier, and the star curve is too short to say anything about sustained interest. The more consequential fact for readers is the licensing structure: a self-hosted assistant tagged "source-available" that is not OSI open source in its new parts, with a commercial license required for some business use. Evaluate it on that basis rather than on star count.