HeyMateHelp belongs beside the work
HeyMate lives on your Mac, with a small presence at the notch and room to open up when you need it. Ask about the window in front of you. Talk through an idea. Give a specialist mate a task and return to the conversation when you are ready. The aim is to make help feel close at hand, without turning every small question into a separate project.
That is the thought behind “a little company, a lot of help.” The characters bring some personality. The useful part is what you can do together.
Ask out loud. Find your next click.
Hold Control + Option and say what you are trying to do. In the film, that question is wonderfully ordinary: how do I make this title fly in? HeyMate points to Keynote’s animation controls, then to the effect. You follow along in the app, with the next step tied to what is on screen.
Screen guidance is useful when you want to learn the tool yourself. Ask for one step, try it, and check what changed. The model can still misread a control, so you remain part of the process.
Help me make this title fly in. Point to the next control, explain what it does, and wait while I try it.
Some answers need a picture
A connection is easier to understand when you can see the cable. A circuit board makes more sense when you can turn it around. Even dinner can benefit from a sketch of what goes into the pot.
HeyMate can draw 2D explanations and show 3D graphics over your desktop. The film moves from a board to a camera connection to a biryani diagram: different questions, different ways to make the answer visible. You can keep asking as the idea takes shape.
Meet your little crew
Mates give recurring work a familiar home. Choose a role, add instructions and a personality, and keep the conversation with the helper responsible for it. Start with a job small enough to review:
- A research mate that gathers a short brief with sources.
- An inbox mate that drafts replies for you to read.
- A coding mate that works within the project and scope you give it.
Available tools depend on the provider and apps you connect. For computer control, enable access and approve the actions; click, type, or press Escape to take over. Delegating a task should still leave you able to follow the work.
Your AI. Your choice.
Bring ChatGPT through Codex, Claude through Claude Code, or OpenCode. You can also configure your own API or a local model. HeyMate is free and open source, with no HeyMate subscription; your provider’s usage limits and any connected service fees still apply.
You choose the access as well as the AI. Relevant screen context goes to your selected provider, while chat history stays on your Mac. On-device speech is available. The privacy guide explains those paths in more detail.
Say hey
Start with one question in an app you already use. Connect your AI, review the permissions, and ask for help with the next small thing. You do not need an elaborate workflow to begin.
Film notes: this edit combines real screen recordings, product images, and labeled illustrated interactions. Some footage is condensed or sped up; an original score replaces the recorded audio. The Keynote excerpts omit waiting time and one repeated step. The mate task shown is an example.
Download HeyMate for Mac and give your next good idea a mate.
Related reading
- Learn a Mac app with AI guidance, one step at a time
- Ask HeyMate for diagrams and visual explanations on your desktop
- Build a weekly research brief with a specialist HeyMate
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.