I Replaced 10 Apps With One I Host Myself β Meet Orbit πͺ
My life used to live in ten different apps. A to-do app. A calendar. A budget spreadsheet. A notes app. A habit tracker. A folder with my passport scan in it. A workout log. A list of shows to watch. A read-later app. A
My life used to live in ten different apps.
A to-do app. A calendar. A budget spreadsheet. A notes app. A habit tracker. A folder with my passport scan in it. A workout log. A list of shows to watch. A read-later app. A map of places I wanted to go.
Ten logins. A pile of subscriptions. And my most personal data, my money, my health, and my documents, sitting on servers I'll never see.
So I built the one app I actually wanted.
Meet Orbit πͺ
Orbit is a free, open-source personal assistant that runs on your own machine. Tasks, calendar, money, notes, habits, documents, and health, all in one calm app, with an optional AI that only sees what you allow.
One dashboard for your whole day. One search for everything. One place your data lives: your server.
Try it in 60 seconds β‘
git clone https://github.com/nithiin7/orbit-assistant.git
cd orbit-assistant
docker compose up -d --build
Open http://localhost:3000 and create your account. That's it. No sign-up on someone else's site, no credit card, no "free trial ends in 7 days." It runs on SQLite out of the box, or PostgreSQL when you want it.
What's inside π¦
- β Tasks, shopping, and reminders, with separate Work and Personal lists
- π Calendar with month, week, day, and agenda views, recurring events, and drag-and-drop
- π° Finance: accounts, budgets, loans, subscriptions, investments, goals, and net worth
- π Notes with rich text, folders, tags, backlinks, and a daily journal
- π Habits: streaks, routines, and history heatmaps
- π Documents: a private vault that reminds you before your passport expires
- πͺ Health: workouts, personal records, body measurements, nutrition, and activity rings
- π¬ Watchlist with episode tracking and a "what should I watch tonight?" picker
- π Saved: links, reels, and articles you swore you'd get back to
- πΊοΈ Places: a world map of where you've been and where you're going next
- π Achievements: XP and badges, just for showing up
The AI that asks first β¨
This is the part I'm proudest of.
Most AI assistants want access to everything. Orbit's is off by default. When you turn it on, you choose where it runs:
- π¦ Ollama, fully local, so nothing leaves your machine
- π Or your own OpenAI, Anthropic, Gemini, or any OpenAI-compatible key
Then you just ask. "What do I have tomorrow?" "Summarize my spending this month." "Which subscriptions renew soon?" Answers cite the records they came from, so you can check every one.
Then there's the agent. Turn on a workflow like a morning briefing, a Sunday "plan the week," or a renewal task 30 days before a document expires. It can create tasks, notes, reminders, and events. By default, every change waits for your approval.
And there's a hard line it can't cross: it has no tool to delete, pay, send email, or share anything. Nothing has to tell it not to, because those tools don't exist.
The little things π
- βK opens a command palette that searches every module
- One-tap quick capture for a task, note, expense, workout, or +250 ml of water
- Warm light and dark themes, so it doesn't look like a hospital spreadsheet
- A dashboard and sidebar you can rearrange, with anything you don't use hidden
- Google and Microsoft calendars, mail, and files, if you want them
- Encrypted, scheduled backups, plus exports to JSON, CSV, iCalendar, and Markdown, so you're never locked in
Under the hood π οΈ
For the devs reading this:
- Frontend: Next.js 16, React 19, Tailwind CSS v4, TanStack Query
- Backend: FastAPI, SQLAlchemy 2, Python 3.12
- Storage: SQLite locally, or Supabase PostgreSQL with row-level security
- Typed contract: change a Pydantic model, and the TypeScript types regenerate from OpenAPI
- Guardrails: strict TypeScript, strict Pyright, an authorization test for every API route, and Playwright for the critical paths
- License: Apache 2.0
Own your orbit π
I built Orbit because I wanted one place for my life that I actually own: no ads, no lock-in, no AI reading my bank statements without asking.
If that sounds like you, give it ten minutes. I think you'll keep it.
nithiin7
/
orbit-assistant
A privacy-first, local-first personal assistant for tasks, reminders, expenses, notes, and AI-powered automation.
πͺ Orbit
Your personal assistant, on your own server.
Tasks, calendar, money, notes, habits, documents, and fitness in one calm app with an optional AI assistant that only sees what you allow.
Quick start Β· Features Β· Self-hosting Β· Contributing
Why Orbit
- Private by design. Your data stays on the server you run. Nothing leaves it unless you connect an AI provider or a Google or Microsoft account.
- Everything in one place. One search, one command palette, and one dashboard for your whole day.
- AI on your terms. Off by default. Use local models with Ollama, or bring your own OpenAI, Anthropic, or Gemini key. Answers cite their sources, and actions wait for your approval.
-
Easy to run. One
docker compose up, on SQLite or PostgreSQL.
Features
| Module | What you get |
|---|---|
| π Dashboard | Today at a glance: agenda, due tasks, habits, payments, and customizable widgets |
| β Tasks | Tasks, shopping |
β A star on GitHub helps more people find it. Issues and PRs are very welcome.
One question for you: which app would you love to delete from your phone? Tell me in the comments. It might become Orbit's next module. π
Originally published by Dev.to AI. Aggregated on AIWithGhost for educational purposes β full credit and traffic to the original publisher.