Taby is a little assistant that lives at the top of your screen and helps you get things done on your computer. Think Clippy 2.0, but one that actually helps: it plans your day, keeps your tasks and notes, reminds you to drink water, closes distractions, and answers questions. It runs privately on your own Mac or PC for free, and Taby Cloud adds a bigger brain for the heavy stuff. There is also a physical Taby, a small face that sits on your monitor.

Hey Taby is the home of Taby, a little assistant for your computer. The idea is simple: your computer should have a buddy that helps you get stuff done, like Clippy 2.0 done right. The app is free and runs privately on your Mac or PC. Taby Cloud is an optional subscription that adds a bigger brain, very accurate voice in 100+ languages, and a phone web app at app.heytaby.com. Physical Taby is a small face you can put on your monitor.

What can Taby do right now?

Taby plans your day, keeps your tasks, notes and habits, runs focus sessions, closes distracting apps, reminds you of things, and shows your Google, Outlook or Apple calendar. You can talk to it: local voice listens in 8 languages and talks in 11, right on your computer, and Taby Cloud voice is very accurate in 100+ languages. It can also search the web, edit images (like blurring an email in a screenshot) and use the browser for you, with the free local AI too. Taby Cloud adds a bigger brain that’s a lot better in the browser, six personalities, and a phone web app at app.heytaby.com. Other AI agents like Claude and Codex can use Taby too.

What does the hardware do without the app or when it is not connected?

If Taby is powered on but not connected to the desktop app, it is mostly the little screen and personality layer. It can show its face and built-in animations, but it will not know your tasks, timers, reminders, AI chat, or day context.

Does it have to be connected to my Mac?

No. Taby gets power through USB-C from a Mac, wall adapter, monitor, or another USB power source. For the app connection, Taby can talk to your computer over USB-C or Bluetooth.

Is the GitHub open-source repo the same as the paid version?

No. The GitHub repo is more of a learning project for electronics, ESP32 basics, firmware flashing, wiring, 3D printing, and understanding how a small desk robot works. The paid Taby is the finished product with ready-made hardware, the polished desktop app, local AI and productivity features, updates, and the full out-of-the-box experience.

What platforms does Taby support?

Works on macOS & Windows and Linux (beta). The physical desk robot connects via Bluetooth or a basic USB-C cable, so it works with any computer and any monitor. No special hardware or adapters needed.

How does Taby attach to my monitor?

Taby uses a secure, non-damaging mount that sticks to your monitor bezel. No residue, no damage. It works with any monitor that has a bezel edge and takes seconds to set up.

Yes. Your tasks, notes, habits and day history stay on your computer, and the local AI runs there too. Nothing you write is used to train models. Taby Cloud runs under Zero Data Retention, so the AI providers behind it keep nothing after your request. The app only sends content-free usage stats, and you can turn that off in Settings.

Is Taby safe to download?

Yes. The Mac app is signed and notarized by Apple (Developer ID), and the Windows installer and every program file in it are code-signed by the publisher SIA TRIIIS. Download it only from heytaby.com/downloads. Taby runs its AI on your computer, needs no account, and only asks for the permissions a feature needs, like the microphone for voice.

Is Taby the same as Tabbie?

Yes. Taby used to be called Tabbie (tabbie.me). It is the same little assistant, now at heytaby.com under the Hey Taby name.

How much does Taby cost?

The desktop app and its local AI are free. Taby Premium (Taby Cloud) is an optional EUR 8.99 a month subscription for the bigger brain, voice in 100+ languages, and the phone web app at app.heytaby.com; buy it at heytaby.com/premium or in the app. Physical Taby is a one-time EUR 79.99 / USD 89.99 pre-order with three months of Taby Cloud included, or you can build one yourself from the open-source guide.

Blog · Smart search · October 15, 2026 · 5 min read

Find your photos by what they mean

You remember the moment, not the file name. Ask Taby for “us saying goodbye at the airport” and it can find the photo of you two hugging by the suitcase, even though you never said “hug” and the file is called IMG_2041.jpg. Here’s how that works, right on your own computer.

Coming with Taby 1.0.14

Photo search comes with Taby 1.0.14, the next free update.

Normal search looks for letters

Most search on your computer matches letters. Type “hug” and it looks for files with “hug” in the name or the text. A photo has no words in it, and its name is usually just a camera number. So letter search can’t find it at all.

Search by meaning looks for ideas

Search by meaning, also called semantic search, works differently. A small AI model looks at each photo and gives it a spot on a huge map of meaning. Photos about similar things land close together: beaches near beaches, birthday cakes near birthday cakes.

When you search, your words get a spot on the same map. “Saying goodbye at the airport” lands right next to a photo of two people hugging at the gate. Taby shows you the photos closest to your words. No tags, no folders, no exact words.

The short version

Search by meaning turns photos and words into points on one map. Points close together mean similar things. Taby finds the photos closest to what you asked for.

One model for words and pictures

The trick is that words and pictures have to share the same map. Taby uses EmbeddingGemma 2, a small open model from Google DeepMind that was made for exactly that, so a sentence can find a photo.

The same model now runs the rest of Taby’s search too, for your notes, tasks and reminders, and it made that better. In Taby’s own test, it found the right note first 101 times out of 102, up from 97 with the model before.

It all happens on your computer

You choose the folders. Finding files stays off until you say yes.
Taby reads in the background, one photo at a time, newest first. It waits while your laptop runs on battery, while Taby is answering, or when your computer is busy.
Your photos aren’t uploaded to be searched. The map lives on your computer, and the little previews Taby shows are made by your computer and never uploaded.
One small download. The search model is a one‑time download of about 540 MB.
Free, on either brain. It works with the free Local Brain and with Taby Cloud alike.

In your language, and honest about misses

You can ask in any of Taby’s 14 app languages. We tested it on a public set of 1,000 photos, asking for 20 of them by a short description in each language. The right photo came first 10 to 13 times out of 20, was in the top five 15 to 19 times, and was always in the top 20.

So it’s good, not magic. If the first photo isn’t the one, the right one is usually close by. A little more detail helps: who’s in it, where it was, what was happening.

How to try it

“Find the photo of us saying goodbye at the airport”
Taby shows the closest photos as small pictures. Open one, or show it in Finder or File Explorer.
“Find the picture with the white dog”
Say what’s in it. The file name doesn’t matter.
“That photo of my birthday cake”
Talk or type, in your own words. Taby searches the folders you picked.
“Show me the sunset photos from our trip”
Ask the way you’d ask a friend. Taby looks for what fits.

Prefer typing? Press ⌘K on a Mac or Ctrl+K on Windows and type what you remember. The search box finds pictures by what they show, next to your notes and files.

Photos are one part of smart search, which also finds your notes, tasks, reminders and files by just asking. Want to know what else runs on your own computer? Read what local AI can do.