Clippy AI - Floating Desktop Assistant

A cross-platform floating desktop assistant powered by OpenAI's GPT models, built with Electron.js. Chat with an AI assistant, execute commands, and get quick answers—all from a sleek, always-on-top widget.

✨ Features

• 🤖 AI Chat: Conversational AI powered by OpenAI GPT-3.5
• 🪟 Floating Widget: Draggable, resizable, always-on-top window
• 💬 Chat History: Persistent conversation history stored locally
• 🎨 Customizable Styles: Choose from 5 different assistant personalities
• ⚡ Quick Commands:
  • open [url] - Open any website in your default browser
  • summarize clipboard - AI-powered summarization of clipboard content
  • calculate [expression] - Instant math calculations
• 🎯 Minimal UI: Clean, modern interface with dark theme
• 🔒 Secure: Context isolation with proper IPC communication

📋 Prerequisites

• Node.js (v16 or higher)
• npm or yarn
• OpenAI API key (Get one here)

🚀 Installation

1. Clone or navigate to the project directory

2. Install dependencies

   npm install

3. Run the application

   npm start

🔧 Setup

1. Launch the app using npm start

2. Set your OpenAI API key:

   • Click the settings icon (⚙️) in the title bar
   • Paste your OpenAI API key
   • Click "Save Key"

3. Start chatting! Type your message and press Enter or click the send button

📖 Usage

Basic Chat

Simply type your question or message and press Enter:

What's the weather like today?
Explain quantum computing in simple terms
Write a haiku about coding

Commands

Open Website

open google.com
open https://github.com
open youtube.com

Summarize Clipboard

First copy some text to your clipboard, then type:

summarize clipboard
summarize

Calculate Math

calculate 2 + 2
calc 15 * 7 + 3
calculate (100 - 25) / 5

Assistant Styles

Choose from 5 different assistant personalities in settings:

• Helpful Assistant - Balanced, clear, and informative
• Concise & Direct - Brief answers without fluff
• Friendly & Casual - Warm and conversational
• Professional - Formal and well-structured
• Creative & Fun - Playful and engaging

Settings

Access settings via the ⚙️ icon:

• API Key: Set or update your OpenAI API key
• Assistant Style: Change the AI's response personality
• Always on Top: Toggle window stay-on-top behavior
• Clear History: Remove all chat history

🎨 Interface Controls

• Drag: Click and drag the title bar to move the window
• Resize: Drag window edges to resize
• Minimize: - button to minimize
• Close: × button to close the app
• Settings: ⚙️ button for configuration

🏗️ Project Structure

clippy-ai-assistant/
├── main.js           # Electron main process
├── preload.js        # IPC bridge (secure communication)
├── index.html        # Application UI structure
├── styles.css        # UI styling
├── renderer.js       # Frontend logic and event handlers
└── package.json      # Project dependencies and scripts

🔐 Security

• Context Isolation: Enabled for security
• No Node Integration: Renderer process isolated from Node.js
• Secure IPC: Communication via contextBridge
• Local Storage: API key and chat history stored locally

💡 Tips

1. Keyboard Shortcuts:

   • Enter to send message
   • Shift + Enter for new line in input

2. Chat History: Your conversations are automatically saved and restored when you reopen the app

3. Token Limits: Responses are limited to 500 tokens to keep them concise

4. Context Window: Only the last 10 messages are sent to the API for context

🛠️ Development

To run in development mode with DevTools:

npm run dev

📦 Building for Distribution

To package the app for your platform, you can use electron-builder or electron-forge:

1. Install electron-builder:

   npm install --save-dev electron-builder

2. Add build scripts to package.json:

   "scripts": {
     "build": "electron-builder"
   }

3. Build the app:

   npm run build

🐛 Troubleshooting

API Key Issues

• Ensure your API key starts with sk-
• Check that you have credits in your OpenAI account
• Verify the key has proper permissions

Window Not Appearing

• Check if the window is minimized
• Try restarting the application
• Ensure no other instances are running

Commands Not Working

• Verify the exact command syntax
• Check the status bar for error messages
• Ensure the API key is set for summarize commands

📝 License

MIT License - feel free to use this project for personal or commercial purposes.

🤝 Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Feel free to:

• Report bugs
• Suggest new features
• Submit pull requests

🔮 Future Enhancements

Potential features for future versions:

• Multiple AI model support (GPT-4, Claude, etc.)
• Custom keyboard shortcuts
• Voice input/output
• File attachment support
• Multi-window support
• Plugin system for custom commands
• Theme customization

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Built with ❤️ using Electron.js and OpenAI