What is Hey Neko?
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Hey Neko is a voice-first AI assistant for Windows and macOS that lives in your system tray. You say “Hey Neko”, it answers out loud, remembers your context, runs your local apps, and hands building work to coding agents such as Claude Code and Codex in the background.
What does “AI orchestrator” mean here?
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Neko doesn't try to be the only AI you use: it coordinates the ones you already pay for. It sends a conversation to your chosen model, delegates coding tasks to Claude Code, Codex or any CLI agent, tracks those jobs, and tells you when they're done.
Is Hey Neko free?
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Yes, Neko is free while it's in beta. It uses an AI account you already have (a ChatGPT or Claude subscription) or a free local model through Ollama, so there is no separate API bill.
Who is Hey Neko for?
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Hey Neko is for people who build with AI on their own computer: AI developers running several coding agents, independent technical consultants with multiple clients, marketers who ship their own pages, and product managers who prototype. It isn't a team product: there is no admin console or single sign-on.
Is Neko always listening, and is my audio uploaded?
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The microphone is on, but only to hear the wake word, and that check happens on your computer. Speech that isn't “Hey Neko” is discarded immediately and never stored or uploaded. Your requests are transcribed locally too. Only the text goes to the model you chose, and with Ollama nothing leaves your computer.
What can Neko change on my computer?
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Only what's inside your Apps folder. Neko's own code, not the AI model, blocks files, commands and paths outside it, refuses credential files such as .ssh, .aws and .env, and asks before deleting or overwriting anything.
Which coding agents does Neko work with?
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Claude Code (the default), OpenAI Codex, or any command-line coding agent. Neko runs two coding tasks at a time, shows what each is doing, and resumes unfinished tasks after a restart.
Do I need to know how to code?
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No. A setup wizard connects your AI account and microphone, and Neko starts and opens your apps without a terminal. Knowing your way around a project helps when you review what a coding agent built.
Which systems does it run on?
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Windows, and macOS on Apple Silicon (M1 or newer). The beta isn't code-signed yet, so the first launch needs one extra click: “More info → Run anyway” on Windows, or “Open Anyway” under Privacy & Security on macOS.
Can I change its name, voice or language?
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Yes. Pick an animal and a name and the wake phrase follows (“Hey Mochi”). Choose from 54 natural voices or your system's voices. Neko understands and answers in English and Korean.