Linux migration companion — proactive local LLM assistant for Windows and macOS switchers

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pyr0ball 89271f08f8 feat(patterns): add linux-to-arch pattern set for experienced distro-hopper on CachyOS Targets an experienced Debian/Fedora user on first Arch install. Body text is terse and technical — no hand-holding, just Arch-specific gotchas. - pacman.log as watched applog source (catches terminal pacman/AUR runs) - pacman/AUR: db lock, dep conflicts, conflicting files, build failures, PGP keys, missing makedepends, partial upgrade warning, Chaotic-AUR sig - DKMS: build failures + CachyOS kernel module signature mismatch - System: locale not generated (Arch vs Debian difference), systemd-resolved, OOM (zram suggestion), disk I/O - Audio: PipeWire/WirePlumber, Bluetooth rfkill + profile - GPU: hang (mesa-git/DKMS version mismatch context), XWayland crash - Gaming: Proton, Lutris Wine runner - Network: NetworkManager + Realtek firmware callout for CachyOS		2026-05-19 08:10:13 -07:00
.vscode	feat: M0 scaffold — Tauri 2 + Vue 3, system tray, first-run onboarding, config layer	2026-05-18 10:06:49 -07:00
public	feat: M0 scaffold — Tauri 2 + Vue 3, system tray, first-run onboarding, config layer	2026-05-18 10:06:49 -07:00
src	fix(m1): address HIGH review findings — journald zombie, silent exit, double-delivery	2026-05-18 18:56:45 -07:00
src-tauri	feat(patterns): add linux-to-arch pattern set for experienced distro-hopper on CachyOS	2026-05-19 08:10:13 -07:00
.gitignore	fix(m1): address HIGH review findings — journald zombie, silent exit, double-delivery	2026-05-18 18:56:45 -07:00
index.html	feat: M0 scaffold — Tauri 2 + Vue 3, system tray, first-run onboarding, config layer	2026-05-18 10:06:49 -07:00
manage.sh	feat: M0 scaffold — Tauri 2 + Vue 3, system tray, first-run onboarding, config layer	2026-05-18 10:06:49 -07:00
package-lock.json	feat(m1): ChatPanel listens for robin:event, drains pending on open	2026-05-18 18:24:34 -07:00
package.json	feat(m1): ChatPanel listens for robin:event, drains pending on open	2026-05-18 18:24:34 -07:00
README.md	feat: M0 scaffold — Tauri 2 + Vue 3, system tray, first-run onboarding, config layer	2026-05-18 10:06:49 -07:00
tsconfig.app.json	feat: M0 scaffold — Tauri 2 + Vue 3, system tray, first-run onboarding, config layer	2026-05-18 10:06:49 -07:00
tsconfig.json	feat: M0 scaffold — Tauri 2 + Vue 3, system tray, first-run onboarding, config layer	2026-05-18 10:06:49 -07:00
tsconfig.node.json	feat: M0 scaffold — Tauri 2 + Vue 3, system tray, first-run onboarding, config layer	2026-05-18 10:06:49 -07:00
vite.config.ts	feat: M0 scaffold — Tauri 2 + Vue 3, system tray, first-run onboarding, config layer	2026-05-18 10:06:49 -07:00

README.md

Robin

Linux, with a guide who's been there.

Robin is a proactive Linux companion for users migrating from Windows or macOS. It watches your system, detects migration friction, and surfaces plain-language help before you know what to search for.

What Robin does

Lives in your system tray — out of the way until it has something useful to say
Watches journald, dmesg, and system events for common migration pain points
Knows what you came from: "where's My Documents?" maps to ~/Documents; "how do I install this .exe?" becomes a package manager explainer
Learns what you already know — stops offering suggestions you keep dismissing
All inference runs locally via Ollama — nothing leaves your machine

Target users

People switching from Windows or macOS who are not comfortable with the terminal, don't know what a log is, and are experiencing friction they can't name.

Robin is not a sysadmin tool. See Turnstone for that.

Real test cases

	Test case 1	Test case 2
Source OS	macOS	Windows
Target distro	CachyOS (Arch)	Linux Mint (Ubuntu/Debian)

Both users' real friction points during migration are the ground truth for the pattern library.

Stack

Backend: Rust + Tauri 2
Frontend: Vue 3 + TypeScript (chat panel, onboarding)
System integration: D-Bus, journald, inotify (via Rust crates)
LLM: Ollama (local inference, any compatible model)

Getting started (development)

Prerequisites

Arch/CachyOS:

./manage.sh install-deps-arch

Debian/Ubuntu/Mint:

./manage.sh install-deps

You also need Rust and Node 18+.

Dev mode

./manage.sh dev

This starts the Vite dev server and launches the Tauri app with hot-reload.

Build

./manage.sh build
# Produces: src-tauri/target/release/robin
# Installers: src-tauri/target/release/bundle/

Install as a service

./manage.sh install   # registers systemd user service
./manage.sh start     # start Robin

Robin starts with your desktop session and lives in the system tray.

Milestones

Milestone	Scope
M0: Scaffold	Repo structure, Tauri skeleton, system tray placeholder, first-run onboarding
M1: System presence	journald/dmesg watcher, D-Bus events, desktop notifications, /etc/os-release detection
M2: CachyOS/macOS patterns	macOS → CachyOS translation layer, AUR failure detection — validated on Xander's machine
M3: Mint/Windows patterns	Windows → Mint translation layer, apt/Flatpak/Timeshift patterns — validated on Muninn
M4: Robin agent	Ollama integration, full chat, RAG migration knowledge base
M5: Fluency model	Dismissal learning, confidence calibration, graduation handoff

Architecture

System events (journald, dmesg, D-Bus, inotify)
        │
        ▼
Event classifier (pattern matching + Ollama when needed)
        │
        ▼
Migration context (source OS, distro, fluency level)
        │
        ▼
Robin agent (Ollama — local LLM)
  + Migration knowledge base (equivalents, common friction, distro docs)
        │
        ▼
Chat panel (Tauri webview, Vue 3)
  + System tray notifications

License

System monitor and pattern matching: MIT Robin chat agent and migration knowledge base: BUSL-1.1 (converts to MIT after 4 years)

Part of the Circuit Forge menagerie.