---
license: mit
language:
  - en
tags:
  - agent
  - personal-ai
  - local-llm
  - tool-use
  - function-calling
  - ollama
  - lm-studio
  - apple-intelligence
  - privacy
  - local-first
  - voice-assistant
pretty_name: Cognitive Twin — a local-first personal AI twin
---

# Cognitive Twin

> *This repository is **not** a model.* It is the **model card / project home** for
> [Cognitive Twin](https://github.com/sinhaankur/cognitive-twin-agent) — a
> local-first personal AI twin. Published here so anyone running a local LLM can
> understand, fork, or critique the agent without cloning first. The runnable code
> lives on GitHub; nothing here downloads weights.

A **personal AI twin** that runs on your own machine — a digital version of *you*.
It learns who you are (a persona you create), reasons with a local model, and calls
**skills** to do real things. Local-first by default; nothing leaves the machine
unless you allow it.

## What it does

- **Be you** — a persona (likes, dislikes, values, style) so it reasons and speaks
  as you, not a generic assistant.
- **Remember you** — private, on-device memory of how you actually behave. Clearable
  anytime.
- **Pick the right brain** — routes each request to the best local model by task.
- **Talk** — a native macOS Siri-style app: speak to it, it speaks back.
- **Act** — bounded, permissioned tool-calling (web research, screen reading, open
  apps/URLs) with confirmation.

## Choose your model backend

The twin drives more than one local backend and lets you switch models live:

| Backend | How models appear | Notes |
| --- | --- | --- |
| **Ollama** (default) | `llama3.2`, `qwen2.5:3b` | bare names |
| **OpenAI-compatible** | `lmstudio/qwen2.5-7b-instruct` | **LM Studio**, `llama.cpp --api`, **Jan**, vLLM, LocalAI |
| **Apple Intelligence** | `Apple Intelligence (on-device)` | fully on-device, no server |

Tool/function calling is translated between the Ollama and OpenAI APIs, so skills
work the same on either backend. Enable the OpenAI-compatible backend:

```bash
# LM Studio: load a model, then Developer ▸ Start Server (defaults to :1234)
CTWIN_USE_LMSTUDIO=1 python -m cognitive_twin voice --web
# …or any OpenAI-compatible base URL:
CTWIN_OPENAI_BASE=http://localhost:8080/v1 python -m cognitive_twin voice --web
```

## Quick start

```bash
git clone https://github.com/sinhaankur/cognitive-twin-agent
cd cognitive-twin-agent
# Ollama path: install Ollama (https://ollama.com) and pull a tool-capable model
ollama pull llama3.2
python -m cognitive_twin "good morning"
```

See the [GitHub repo](https://github.com/sinhaankur/cognitive-twin-agent) for the
full README, the native macOS **Twin Voice** app, model routing, and the skill
system.

## Why local-first

Local models already handle a large share of everyday queries. The gap is the
*software around them*: a persona, a skill system, and a reliable loop that turns
"do X" into real actions — locally, privately, on hardware you own.

## License

MIT. Inspired by [OpenJarvis](https://github.com/open-jarvis/OpenJarvis)
("Personal AI, on personal devices") — an original implementation, same spirit.