Tools · 2026-10-23

sideOS: an AI assistant for Mac that runs on your laptop and sends nothing without your permission

sideOS is a Mac app that carries out voice commands directly on the computer: it dictates text, records meetings, and controls apps, and it can be bought once with no monthly subscription.

✨ What it is

sideOS is a MacBook app that lives in the notch above the screen. Its maker, Buğrahan, described it on Product Hunt as an assistant that performs actions on the computer itself, rather than only answering in a separate chat window you have to copy text out of.

To give a command, hold Control + Option, say what you need, and release the keys. The assistant reads the screen, opens apps, clicks, types, and tells you out loud when it's done. An example from the description: "Reply to Alex — politely say no" is a complete task.

📌 What it can do

Dictation into any app in 62 languages, with speech recognition done on the Mac.

Meeting recording and transcription, also on the Mac.

Reminders that can complete the task before they go off, and background research tasks.

One-click connections to Gmail, Calendar, Notion, Slack, GitHub, and any MCP server.

🔹 How privacy works

The maker says there is no account and no server of theirs between you and the model. You can connect your own key from Claude, OpenAI, Gemini, or Grok, and it is stored in the Keychain. You can also run Qwen3 or GPT-OSS entirely on the computer via MLX, in which case no internet is needed.

The app reads the screen through macOS accessibility features rather than screenshots. The maker says buttons are recognized by name in about 50 ms. According to him, a typical command costs about 2–5 cents on your own AI provider bill.

🔸 Price and discount

It is a one-time purchase with no subscription: after buying, all future updates are included.

For Product Hunt readers, the maker offers the code SIDEOS25, which gives 25% off for the next 7 days. Website: sideos.ai.

Sources: 🔗 Product Hunt — AI