ProjectBen

Inspiration

We were tired of constantly switching tabs and copying prompts into ChatGPT. What if your AI teammates could actually live inside your computer — always available, visible on screen, and able to work together like a real team? Inspired by sci-fi AI companions and the new capabilities of GPT-5.6, we built ProjectBen — persistent AI employees that feel truly present.

What it does

ProjectBen lets you create persistent AI Employees with unique personalities and cute animated avatars. Summon them anytime with a keyboard shortcut — they appear as floating, transparent windows on your desktop. You can chat with them, assign tasks, and have multiple agents work together through a smart orchestrator. Everything is local-first (SQLite), works offline, and remembers your projects and context.It turns powerful AI into a delightful, always-on personal workforce.

How we built it

Frontend: TanStack Router + React + Tailwind + shadcn/ui (Nova) Desktop: Electron Backend: Hono + tRPC Database: SQLite + Drizzle ORM State: Zustand Auth: better-auth (Google SSO + local guest mode)

Challenges we ran into

Making floating transparent avatar windows feel smooth and native-like in Electron while keeping them performant. Building a reliable local-first architecture with fast context loading for multiple agents. Creating a lightweight yet intelligent orchestrator that can delegate tasks across agents in real time. Balancing visual delight (animations & avatars) with actual agentic capabilities under tight time constraints.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

Successfully created a living, on-screen AI squad experience that feels magical. Built a fully local-first persistent agent system with multi-agent collaboration. Delivered a polished, delightful UI with animated avatars in record time. Strong demonstration of GPT-5.6’s agentic capabilities through real tool use and orchestration.

What we learned

How powerful GPT-5.6 + Codex become when building truly agentic applications. The importance of visual + emotional design when making AI feel "alive". Local-first development with SQLite + Electron is incredibly effective for personal tools. Floating windows and keyboard-driven interfaces dramatically improve perceived presence of AI.

What's next for ProjectBen

Voice wake-word activation Advanced computer use (real screen control via accessibility APIs) Visual workflow canvas for agent chains Cloud sync option (optional) Agent marketplace and community sharing

Built With

• bun
• hono
• sqlite
• typescript