Commands

Run commands in a terminal on the home computer with openbuddies <command>. Install or update it with curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/boyney123/openbuddies/main/install.sh | bash (or npm install -g openbuddies). Every command takes --home <dir> to use a household folder somewhere other than the default (see The household folder).

Setting up and running

Command	What it does
init	Interactive setup: you and your PIN, AI provider, models and key (checked), children and their help levels. Keeps the household in ~/openbuddies (or --home <dir>). Installs a background service (launchd on macOS, a systemd user service on Linux), then starts OpenBuddies and shows the codes to scan.
start	Starts the server, prints the parent and child addresses and a pairing QR code per child, and opens the parent page. Restarts an older version that’s already running.
stop	Stops the server.
status	Shows whether it’s running and which models it uses, with a warning for models OpenBuddies isn’t tuned for. status --check runs the self-test: it lists every session’s tools and fails if anything beyond the six tutor tools is present.
pair <child>	A fresh single-use pairing QR code, valid for 10 minutes.
logs <child>	Follows the child’s chats in the terminal, with what the buddy decided each turn and how many drafts were blocked.
update	Updates to the latest version: stops OpenBuddies, keeps a copy of the household, installs, and starts again. If the new version doesn’t start, it goes back to the previous version and the copy. --to <version> picks a version, --yes doesn’t ask, --no-backup skips the copy.
reset	Back to a fresh install. Lists what will be deleted, offers a backup (yes by default), and asks you to type reset. --yes skips the questions but still backs up, unless you add --no-backup.

Children and subjects

Command	What it does
children list	Lists children.
children add	Adds a child, asking the same questions as init. Or pass --name --age --year --mode.
children mode <child> <level>	Sets the help level: strict, balanced or relaxed.
children allowance <child> <tokens>	Sets the daily AI allowance, or default for the household’s.
children web <child> off|trusted|open	Sets whether the child’s buddies can look things up.
subjects list <child>	Lists the child’s subjects and their levels.
subjects add <child> <subject> [--mode <level>]	Adds a subject, optionally with its own level.
subjects mode <child> <subject> <level>	Gives a subject its own level.
subjects remove <child> <subject>	Removes a subject.

Apps, pictures and the internet

Command	What it does
apps	Lists the apps on each child’s home screen.
apps gallery	Lists apps you can add.
apps add <source>	Adds an app from a gallery id, an https:// link to a bundle, or a folder. Shows the app in full and asks first.
apps remove <app>	Removes an app you added.
apps on <child> <app> / apps off <child> <app>	Turns an app on or off for a child.
images / images setup	Shows or sets up Picture Studio’s image model (OpenAI or Google).
web / web setup	Shows or sets up the search provider (Brave, Tavily or SearXNG).
web test <query>	Runs a test search.
tailscale setup / status / off	Sets up, checks or turns off Tailscale Serve for access away from home.