Jane Vessences
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Getting Started with Vessence

One prompt. Any AI CLI. Your data never leaves your computer.

Install Vessence

Open any AI CLI — Claude Code, Gemini CLI, or Codex — and paste this prompt:

Copied! Clone https://github.com/endsley/vessence into ~/ambient, then read JANE_BOOTSTRAP.md and follow every phase to completion.

Click the box to copy. That's the entire install process.

What happens when you paste that prompt

Your AI CLI reads the bootstrap file and handles everything automatically:

  1. Clones the repository — downloads the Vessence source code from GitHub
  2. Sets up the Python environment — creates a virtual environment and installs all dependencies
  3. Seeds ChromaDB — populates the vector memory database with Jane's base knowledge
  4. Configures your API key — walks you through setting up Google Gemini (free), Anthropic, or OpenAI
  5. Starts the server — Jane is live at http://localhost:8081

Prerequisites

The CLI will check these for you, but make sure you have:

  • Python 3.11+ — the Vessence server runs on Python
  • Node.js 22+ — required for the AI CLI tools
  • Git — to clone the repository
  • An API key — Google Gemini (free tier), Anthropic (Claude), or OpenAI
  • An AI CLI — Claude Code, Gemini CLI, or Codex

Optional: Remote access from your phone

Vessence runs on your machine. To access it from your phone or another device, register a subdomain at vessences.com for remote access:

$ cd vessence && ../venv/bin/python relay_client.py --auto

This registers a permanent URL like https://yourname.vessences.com. Put it in the Android app settings to connect from your phone.

What the bootstrap sets up

Python environment Virtual environment with all dependencies installed automatically
ChromaDB memory Vector database seeded with initial knowledge for Jane
API key configuration Guided setup for your Google Gemini, Anthropic, or OpenAI key
Web server Jane's web interface starts automatically on port 8081

After setup

Jane Chat http://localhost:8081 Talk to your AI persona
Android App Connects via relay URL Native chat, notifications, camera
100% Local Your data stays on your machine Nothing is sent to Vessence servers

Android App

The Android app connects to your Vessence server via your relay URL (e.g., yourname.vessences.com). It provides native chat with Jane, push notifications, camera capture, and file attachments.

Download Android APK View on GitHub