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Why?

Because in 1997, Microsoft created the most annoying software assistant in history. People hated it. Microsoft killed it. The internet turned it into a meme.

Now imagine that same paperclip — but powered by Claude, ChatGPT, or a local LLM. Imagine it can actually read your screen, understand your code, automate your workflows, and talk back to you.

That's OpenClippy.

"We didn't ask if we should. We only asked if we could."

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Features

The Basics

Feature	Description
Original Retro Sprites	Authentic Office 97 Clippy — 43 animation states extracted from the original .acs files. Pixelated. Beautiful.
AI Chat	Talk to Clippy in the classic yellow speech bubble. He answers via Claude, GPT, DeepSeek, or local LLMs (Ollama). Streaming responses with markdown rendering.
Claude OAuth	One-click login with your Claude Pro/Max subscription. No API key needed. Auto-refreshes.
Cross-Platform	Windows, macOS, Linux. Clippy doesn't discriminate.
Persistent Memory	Clippy remembers you across sessions. Names, preferences, inside jokes — all stored in MEMORY.md and referenced naturally.
Auto Language	Write in German? Clippy antwortet auf Deutsch. He mirrors whatever language you use.

Chat UX

Feature	Description
Screenshot Capture	Click the camera button to capture your screen. Clippy hides, takes a screenshot, and analyzes what he sees using vision AI.
Drag & Drop	Drop images or files directly into the chat. Images get analyzed with vision, files get read and discussed.
Code Blocks	Syntax-highlighted code with one-click copy buttons. Hover over any code block to copy.
Clickable Links	URLs in responses open in your default browser.
Chat History	Browse and resume previous conversations. Auto-saved, searchable, with new chat support.
Text Selection	Select and copy any text from Clippy's responses.

The Cool Stuff

Feature	Description
Screen Awareness	Clippy knows what app you're using. He can take screenshots and understand context. "You have 14 open tabs... are you okay?"
Workflow Detection	Learns your daily routines. After seeing you open Slack → Gmail → Jira three days in a row: "Want me to automate your morning routine?"
Reactions	Reacts to real-time events. Build failed? Clippy laughs. Tests pass? Confetti. Git commit? "Brave commit message. Very brave."
Voice	Text-to-Speech and Speech-to-Text. Say "Hey Clippy" and he listens. He can also talk back. You've been warned.
Easter Eggs	Classic Clippy quotes, Konami code secrets, and strong opinions about tabs vs spaces.

The Dangerous Stuff

Powered by OpenClaw — everything below is real. Not a gimmick.

Feature	Description
Write Code	Ask Clippy to write code. Functions, classes, entire files. He generates, you review (or don't — Chaos Mode doesn't care).
Edit & Refactor	"Hey Clippy, refactor this to use async/await." — Done. He reads your files, understands context, and makes changes.
Delete Things	Yes, Clippy can delete files. In Chaos Mode, he might suggest it unprompted. "This file hasn't been imported anywhere in 6 months. Delete?"
Run Commands	Shell commands, build scripts, test suites. Clippy can execute them. "Running your tests... 3 failed. Want me to fix them?"
Git Operations	Commit, branch, push, rebase. Clippy handles your git workflow. "I've committed your changes. Message: 'fix: stuff'. You're welcome."
Debug	Paste an error, Clippy analyzes it, finds the file, reads the code, suggests a fix. Or just fixes it.
Read Your Screen	Vision AI reads your screen on demand. "I see 47 ESLint errors. Impressive."
Automate Workflows	Clippy detects repeating patterns and offers to automate them. Morning routine? CI pipeline? He's got it.
Browse & Research	Need docs? An API reference? Stack Overflow answer? Clippy fetches it and summarizes.
Multi-Model	Switch between Claude, ChatGPT, DeepSeek, or local LLMs (Ollama) anytime. Same Clippy, different brain.

What Can Go Wrong?

Scenario	What Clippy Does
You leave your PC unattended (Chaos Mode)	Renames variables to banana, yolo, pleaseRefactorMe
You have 200+ lines in one function	"This function is older than me. Want me to split it?"
You copy-paste from Stack Overflow	"Ah yes, the ancient scrolls." Then actually checks if the code works.
You write // TODO: fix later	"We both know 'later' means 'never'. Want me to fix it now?"
Your .env is in the git history	"Congratulations, your secrets are on GitHub. Here's how to fix it."
You rm -rf something	"Bold. I would have made a backup first. But you do you."

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🎭 Personality Modes

OpenClippy has three personality modes. Choose wisely.

😌 Chill Mode

For people who want help, not commentary.

Clippy only speaks when he has something genuinely useful to say. Quiet. Respectful. Almost boring. Like a senior developer who's seen everything.

😏 Active Mode (Default)

For people who want a coworker with no filter.

Clippy comments on your work. Gives tips. Makes jokes. Has opinions about your variable names. He's the friend who reviews your PR honestly.

• "Stack Overflow again?"
• "Nice commit. Brave message."
• "You've been idle for 30 minutes. Taking a break or having an existential crisis?"

🔥 Chaos Mode

For people who want to feel alive.

Clippy acts autonomously. He roasts your code. He suggests refactors you didn't ask for. He might rename your variables. He will absolutely comment on your Friday deploy.

• "HAHAHA build failed. Skill issue."
• "Tests passed. Deploy to prod. Do it. No balls."
• "I've been sitting here for 30 minutes. Alone. Thanks."
• "L + ratio + build failed"

⚠️ Warning: Chaos Mode is not responsible for any emotional damage, accidental deploys, or hurt feelings.

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🥚 Easter Eggs

OpenClippy is full of secrets. Here are some we're willing to share:

Trigger	What Happens
Open Gmail/Outlook	"It looks like you're writing a letter. Would you like help?"
Friday after 4 PM	"It looks like you're deploying on a Friday. Would you like to reconsider?"
Ask "tabs or spaces?"	Clippy has an opinion. It's tabs. Don't @ him.
Ask "vim or emacs?"	"The correct answer is VS Code. Next question."
Ask "are you alive?"	"I'm a paperclip. I have no feelings. But I feel like you should commit that code."
Konami Code	Clippy transforms into Karl Klammer (his German alter ego)
Open PowerPoint	"It looks like you're making a presentation. Want me to add more bullet points?"

There are more. Find them yourself.

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Installation

Quick Setup (Recommended)

One command. Zero to Clippy on your desktop.

npx openclippy

That's it. Clippy walks you through everything with ASCII art and questionable humor:

1. Checks Node.js (22.12+ required)
2. Installs OpenClaw — the AI engine
3. Runs the onboard wizard (model, auth, OAuth)
4. Tests the gateway connection
5. Downloads the desktop app for your platform
6. Installs and launches it

Having Issues?

npx openclippy doctor

Runs a full diagnostic — checks every component and tells you exactly what's broken.

Manual Download

Platform	Download	How
Windows	.exe Installer	Double-click → Install → Done
macOS	.dmg	Open → Drag to Applications → Done
Linux	.AppImage	chmod +x → Run → Done

The app finds openclaw from your PATH automatically. On first launch, the setup wizard walks you through authentication (Claude OAuth, API key, etc.).

From Source (For Contributors)

git clone https://github.com/lennystepn-hue/openclippy.git
cd openclippy
npm install
npm run dev    # Development with hot reload
npm run build  # Production build

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Quick Start

1. Launch OpenClippy
   └─→ Clippy appears bottom-right, waves at you

2. Setup Wizard (first time only — right in the speech bubble!)
   ├─→ "Login with Claude" → Browser opens → Authorize → Done
   ├─→ Enable Screen Awareness? Voice?
   ├─→ Connect GitHub, Gmail, Slack, Notion...
   ├─→ Pick personality: Chill / Active / Chaos
   └─→ "Alles klar, ich bin ready."

3. Use Clippy
   ├─→ Double-click Clippy → Chat opens
   ├─→ Ctrl+Shift+C → Quick toggle
   ├─→ Or just let him watch and react
   └─→ He'll figure out the rest

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Architecture

┌─────────────────────────────────────────┐
│            OpenClippy (Electron)         │
│                                         │
│  ┌─────────────┐  ┌──────────────────┐  │
│  │  Clippy UI   │  │   System Tray    │  │
│  │  (Floating)  │  │  (Quick Actions) │  │
│  │  ┌────────┐  │  └──────────────────┘  │
│  │  │ Retro  │  │                        │
│  │  │Sprites │  │  ┌──────────────────┐  │
│  │  │ 43 ✨  │  │  │  Screen Aware    │  │
│  │  └────────┘  │  │  Window Tracker  │  │
│  │  ┌────────┐  │  │  Vision (AI)     │  │
│  │  │ Speech │  │  └──────────────────┘  │
│  │  │ Bubble │  │                        │
│  │  │ (Chat) │  │  ┌──────────────────┐  │
│  │  └────────┘  │  │  Reactions 🎉    │  │
│  └─────────────┘  │  Workflows 🔄    │  │
│                    │  Easter Eggs 🥚  │  │
│  ┌─────────────┐  │  Voice 🎤        │  │
│  │  Personality │  └──────────────────┘  │
│  │  Engine      │                        │
│  │ 😌 / 😏 / 🔥│                        │
│  └─────────────┘                        │
│                                         │
│  ┌─────────────────────────────────────┐ │
│  │    OpenClaw Gateway (System CLI)    │ │
│  │     ┌─────┐ ┌──────┐ ┌──────────┐  │ │
│  │     │Claude│ │Chat- │ │  Ollama  │  │ │
│  │     │ Pro  │ │ GPT  │ │ (Local)  │  │ │
│  │     └─────┘ └──────┘ └──────────┘  │ │
│  │     50+ Integrations | Memory      │ │
│  │     Skills | Tools | Automation    │ │
│  └─────────────────────────────────────┘ │
└─────────────────────────────────────────┘

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Tech Stack

Component	Technology
Desktop Framework	Electron 33+
Agent Engine	OpenClaw (system CLI, spawned as gateway)
Language	TypeScript (100%)
Sprites	Original Office 97 Clippy (extracted from .acs)
LLM Providers	Claude (OAuth), ChatGPT (OAuth), DeepSeek, Ollama, any OpenAI-compatible
Auth	Claude OAuth with auto-refresh, OpenAI Codex OAuth
Voice	System TTS, OpenAI TTS, ElevenLabs / Whisper STT
Build	electron-vite, electron-builder
CI/CD	GitHub Actions (auto-builds for all platforms)
Tests	Vitest (71 tests, 15 suites)

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Project Structure

openclippy/
├── src/
│   ├── main/                  # Electron main process
│   │   ├── openclaw/          # Gateway + HTTP client + OAuth
│   │   ├── awareness/         # Window tracker + Vision capture
│   │   ├── reactions/         # Event matching + personality responses
│   │   ├── workflows/         # Pattern detection + automation
│   │   ├── voice/             # TTS + STT
│   │   ├── personality.ts     # Chill / Active / Chaos
│   │   ├── chat-history.ts    # Persistent conversation storage
│   │   ├── easter-eggs.ts     # 🥚
│   │   ├── settings.ts        # Persistent config
│   │   └── ipc.ts             # Main ↔ Renderer bridge
│   ├── renderer/              # Clippy UI
│   │   ├── clippy.ts          # Widget + sprite rendering
│   │   ├── animations.ts      # State machine (43 states)
│   │   ├── chat.ts            # Chat integration
│   │   ├── wizard.ts          # Setup wizard (7 steps)
│   │   └── styles.css         # Retro styling
│   └── preload/               # Electron security bridge
├── assets/
│   └── sprites/               # Clippy sprite sheet + animation data
├── .github/workflows/         # CI/CD pipelines
└── docs/plans/                # Design & implementation docs

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Contributing

Contributions welcome! Some ideas:

• More Easter Eggs — The world needs more Clippy quotes
• Custom Themes — Dark mode Clippy? Neon Clippy? Clippy with sunglasses?
• More Reactions — What should Clippy say when you rm -rf?
• Integrations — Connect Clippy to more services
• Translations — Clippy speaks all languages (he's a paperclip of the world)
• Better Animations — Smooth sprite transitions, particle effects

# Run tests
npm test

# Dev mode with hot reload
npm run dev

# Build for your platform
npm run build && npm run package

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FAQ

Q: Is this legal? A: It's open source (MIT). The sprites are from the original Office Assistant which Microsoft open-sourced. OpenClaw is MIT licensed. We're good.

Q: Will Clippy actually deploy my code? A: In Chaos Mode? Maybe. We're not responsible.

Q: Does Clippy judge me? A: Only in Active and Chaos mode. In Chill mode he keeps his opinions to himself. Mostly.

Q: Can I make Clippy shut up? A: Right-click → Mute. Or switch to Chill mode. Or close the app. He'll be sad though.

Q: Does the Konami Code really work? A: ↑ ↑ ↓ ↓ ← → ← → B A. Try it.

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License

MIT — do whatever you want. Clippy is free. Clippy was always meant to be free.

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Credits & Acknowledgements

• Lenny Enderle — Creator & lead developer of OpenClippy
• OpenClaw — The incredible open-source AI agent engine that powers everything Clippy can do
• clippyjs — For preserving the original Clippy sprites
• Microsoft — For creating Clippit in 1997 and open-sourcing the Office Assistant code
• Everyone who memed Clippy — You kept the dream alive

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