Show HN: Atticus, a hold-to-talk macOS assistant built on Claude -p
Ninth-grader Saarth posted Atticus on Hacker News, an open-source macOS assistant that runs when you hold Control-Option-Space and speak or type a task. Simple tasks such as opening apps, playing a Spotify playlist or web queries are handled locally and typically finish in under a second — opening apps takes about 0.08 seconds — while more complex tasks go to Claude via claude -p, requiring no API key and running on an existing Claude Pro or Max plan, with the author saying tasks average a fraction of a cent. Atticus remembers the steps of a task done correctly the first time and replays them later without AI (a new-meeting workflow dropped from about 30 seconds to 5–8 seconds), and it builds up personal context; deletes, sends, purchases and file writes prompt for confirmation first. It requires macOS 26 or later for local voice transcription, and the author says a meeting copilot is in progress and that the free, open-source project still has many rough edges.
It illustrates a low-cost assistant pattern that combines local shortcut replay with an existing Claude subscription instead of API billing.
Hi HN! I'm Saarth. I'm in 9th grade, and I built Atticus.
Atticus is a fast and cheap Mac assistant that can do tasks for you. You hold down Control-Option-Space, speak or type your task, be it complex or a simple browser search, and Atticus will get on it.
The interesting part is that simple tasks, like opening apps, playing a Spotify playlist, or web queries, don't touch AI, and instead are processed locally and typically finish in under a second. For example, prompting Atticus to open apps takes around 0.08 seconds, sometimes even finishing before you finish your sentence, sort of like Jev.
Any tasks that are more complicated will be sent to Claude via claude -p, meaning you never need an API key and Atticus will run on your existing Claude Pro or Max plan. By using this approach, costs are also cut down immensely, with, on average, tasks costing a fraction of a cent.
To achieve Atticus' speed, it remembers shortcuts from each task it completes. When it does a task right for the first time, it saves its steps and replays them the next time without AI. For example, a workflow of creating a new meeting took about 30 seconds the first time around. Atticus then logs the exact steps to memory and takes 5-8 seconds on the next pass. To add to this, Atticus also learns about you as you use it more and from what's on your computer, including your name, your apps, and things you want it to remember, personalizing its answers to you.