HeyMate

Learning · 3 min read

Create a study tutor mate that helps you practice on Mac

Build a HeyMate tutor with retrieval practice, small exercises, and source checks. Includes a role prompt and a repeatable review routine.

By the HeyMate project ·

Tell the tutor how to teach

A helpful study session starts with your current understanding and a specific objective. Name the topic, your experience, and the material you are using. Ask the tutor to find gaps before choosing an explanation. HeyMate mates can hold a role, habits, notes, and a workspace, so the teaching instructions do not need to be reinvented for every session.

Try this prompt

Create a patient tutor for the subject I name. First ask what I already know. Teach one small idea at a time, ask me to explain it back, and wait for my answer. Give hints before full solutions. Flag uncertainty and ask for the source material when precision matters.

Use an explain, try, recall loop

  1. Choose one concept and read a short passage from your course or reference.
  2. Ask the tutor for a plain explanation and one worked example.
  3. Attempt a similar problem yourself, without seeing the answer.
  4. Explain your reasoning and ask where it breaks down.
  5. Close the notes and recall the key idea in your own words.

This is a suggested practice structure, not a measured claim that HeyMate improves learning outcomes. The useful test is whether you can solve a fresh problem and explain why your answer works. If the tutor keeps supplying the answer too soon, make the “wait for me” instruction explicit.

Use screen guidance for software practice

When the subject is an app, bring a sample task into view and use a vision-capable provider. HeyMate can point to the current control and wait while you try the step. Ask for a second task that uses the same concept in a slightly different way. Read learning Mac apps for that workflow.

Try this prompt

I completed the example. Give me a new practice task that tests the same idea. Do not describe the steps unless I ask for a hint. Afterward, ask me why I chose those controls.

Keep a useful learning record

  • What you can now explain without notes.
  • Which errors you made and why the correction matters.
  • One unresolved question tied to a source.
  • A small exercise to try next time.

A routine can prompt another review, using the scheduling controls available in your app version. Do a short manual session first and check that the questions match your level. A schedule does not guarantee that the model remembers every detail or understands a course’s marking criteria; use your own learning record as the reference.

Keep expert sources in the loop

Use the official course, textbook, or software documentation to verify definitions, formulas, and exam rules. A confident generated explanation may still be wrong. Do not use this workflow as a substitute for qualified medical, legal, or other professional instruction.

Text questions do not require screen access. Screen guidance needs a vision-capable provider; HeyMate’s optional Apple Intelligence route is text-only. Review provider setup and privacy before showing private coursework or documents.

Try it with one small task.

HeyMate is free and open source for macOS 14.2 and later. Bring your own AI; provider limits and optional service fees apply. Current builds are self-signed and not Apple notarized.

Set up HeyMate on Mac