Newelle is a desktop virtual assistant offering advanced customization and flexible AI model support, including local execution via Llama.cpp or Ollama. It targets power users and developers seeking to integrate AI deeply into their workflows, providing features like terminal command execution, extensibility, and document interaction.

How It Works

The core architecture supports diverse AI providers and local models, downloadable directly within the application. Newelle's extensibility framework allows users to add custom functionalities and models, alongside tool integration via MCP servers. Key features include on-the-fly terminal command execution, voice interaction, long-term memory, document chat, and web search capabilities.

Quick Start & Requirements

Installation options include a install.sh script (requiring Gnome SDK), GNOME Builder (clone and compile), or Nix (nix run github:qwersyk/Newelle). A Flatpak version is available (flatpak install flathub io.github.qwersyk.Newelle). The Flatpak build is sandboxed and requires manual permission adjustments via command line or Flatseal for full filesystem access, with associated security warnings. Localizations may not function on Nix builds.

Highlighted Details

• Advanced customization and flexible AI model selection.
• Local model execution support (Llama.cpp, Ollama).
• Terminal command execution and AI-driven tool integration.
• Voice support (STT/TTS) and long-term conversation memory.
• Chat with documents, web search, and website scraping.
• Built-in file manager, rich formatting, and chat branching/editing.

Maintenance & Community

No specific details regarding maintainers, community channels, or project roadmap are present in the provided README.

Licensing & Compatibility

The project's license is not explicitly stated in the README. This lack of information necessitates further investigation for commercial use or integration into closed-source projects.

Limitations & Caveats

The Flatpak version's sandboxing restricts access to user files unless permissions are explicitly granted, posing potential security and privacy risks. Users are advised to exercise caution when enabling broad permissions. Localizations are noted as non-functional on certain builds, such as those using Nix.