NixOrb v2.0 🌐
Floating AI assistant orb for Arch Linux — KDE Plasma 6 Wayland — Local-Only
A complete ground-up remake of NixOrb with a focus on local AI, rock-solid Qt6 stability, and clean modular architecture.
What's New in v2.0
- Local-only AI — Ollama backend, no API keys needed
- Fixed Qt errors — Proper qasync integration, QSocketNotifier fixes, accessibility bridge disabled
- Simplified architecture — Removed broken backends, focused on what works
- Better VRAM management — Priority eviction keeps GTX 1080 from OOM
- Offline TTS — Piper + espeak-ng fallback
- Improved settings — GUI settings editor with live updates
Architecture Overview
Quick Start
Install (Arch Linux)
git clone https://github.com/minerofthesoal/nixorb.git
cd nixorb
chmod +x install.sh
./install.sh
Start NixOrb
nixorb start # Launch the floating orb
nixorb status # Check system status
nixorb ask "What is 2+2?" # One-shot query
nixorb check # Check dependencies
Pipeline Flow
Trigger (Hotkey/WakeWord/Click)
→ Record Audio (sounddevice + VAD)
→ Transcribe (faster-whisper INT8, ~2.1GB VRAM)
→ Think (Ollama LLM stream, localhost:11434)
→ Speak (Piper TTS, offline)
→ Execute (<ACTION> sandboxed bash)
VRAM Budget (GTX 1080 8GB)
| Component | VRAM | Priority |
|---|---|---|
| Whisper Large v3 INT8 | ~2.1 GB | LOW — evicted first |
| Ollama LLM (loaded by Ollama) | ~4.0 GB | HIGH |
| Piper TTS | ~0.1 GB | MEDIUM |
| System + KDE | ~0.5 GB | reserved |
| Safety buffer | 0.25 GB | reserved |
Configuration
Edit ~/.config/nixorb/config.toml or use the GUI (right-click orb → Settings):
hotkey = "Ctrl+Alt+Space"
llm_model = "llama3.2"
ollama_host = "http://localhost:11434"
wake_word_enabled = true
tts_backend = "piper"
Keyboard Shortcuts
| Action | Default | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Activate | Ctrl+Alt+Space |
Global hotkey (via pynput/XWayland) |
| KDE Shortcut | Custom | Set in System Settings → Shortcuts |
| Orb click | Double-click | Direct activation |
| Opacity | Scroll wheel | While hovering over orb |
| Drag | Click+drag | Reposition the orb |
Project Structure
nixorb/
├── core/ # Event bus, VRAM manager
├── asr/ # Whisper speech-to-text + wake word
├── llm/ # Ollama local LLM backend
├── tts/ # Piper text-to-speech
├── ui/ # Qt6 UI (orb, tray, settings, hotkey)
├── action/ # Sandboxed command execution + clipboard
├── memory/ # ChromaDB vector memory
├── plugins/ # Plugin loader
├── utils/ # Paths, logging, web search
├── vision/ # Screen capture
├── main.py # Entry point
├── cli.py # CLI interface
└── settings.py # Configuration
Dependencies
- System:
python 3.12+,qt6-base,qt6-declarative,qt6-wayland,portaudio,wl-clipboard,grim,piper-tts,ollama - Python: See
requirements.txt/pyproject.toml
Testing
pip install -e ".[dev]"
pytest tests/ -v
License
MIT © NixOrb Contributors
1 maintainer
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