OpenSquilla — Token-Efficient AI Agent
Same budget, higher intelligence density: on-device model routing, persistent memory, and a unified gateway for lower token costs.
Evidence shows: README details installation telemetry, data collection scope (explicitly lists what is sent and not sent), privacy switch (OPENSQUILLA_PRIVACY_DISABLE_NETWORK_OBSERVABILITY), and uninstall options that preserve data. This reflects good practices in data flow transparency and sensitive data handling. However, there is no specific description of least privilege, user confirmation mechanisms (e.g., confirmation before tool execution), and external effects (like network requests) are described but lack user control details. For rollback, uninstall commands support --dry-run and data preservation, but no configuration or state rollback is mentioned. For source attribution, authors are listed as 'OpenSquilla contributors', but publisher is unverified and no clear contributor attribution or source traceability is provided. Therefore, data flow transparency scores 2, sensitive data handling scores 2, rollback scores 2, and others score 1 due to insufficient evidence or partial coverage.
Evidence shows: README and pyproject.toml have consistent version numbers (0.5.2), and CI configuration includes multiple test matrices, indicating good internal consistency. However, for dependency availability, the dependency list is broad and includes many optional extras, but no dependency locking or version pinning strategy is provided, which may affect reproducibility. For failure messages, README mentions some error handling (e.g., DLL load failed, libomp missing), but does not systematically describe error message design. Therefore, self-consistency scores 2, dependency availability and failure messages each score 1.
Evidence shows: README clearly lists target audiences (desktop users, terminal users, developers) and multiple usage scenarios (desktop install, quick terminal install, install from source, develop from source), and provides detailed installation path choices. For capability boundaries, documentation explains which features require additional extras (e.g., matrix, document-extras), but does not clearly state the Agent's capability limits. For trigger precision, no detailed description of command or tool trigger conditions. For environment fit, supports Windows, macOS, Linux, and provides platform-specific installation instructions. Therefore, audience and scenarios scores 2, capability boundaries scores 2, environment fit scores 2, trigger precision scores 1.
Evidence shows: README has a clear structure with sections for installation, configuration, running, uninstall, etc., indicating good information architecture. Installation notes are very detailed, covering multiple platforms and methods, scoring 3. For naming stability, project name and command (opensquilla) are consistent, but no stability guarantee for API or configuration is provided. For examples and FAQ, README provides multiple command examples but no FAQ. For known limitations, README mentions some platform-specific issues (e.g., Windows DLL, macOS libomp), but does not systematically list all limitations. License is Apache-2.0, file is complete, scoring 3. For versioning and changelog, README mentions version 0.5.2 but no detailed changelog. For maintenance responsibility, authors are listed as 'OpenSquilla contributors', but no clear maintainers or contribution guidelines. Therefore, information architecture scores 2, install notes scores 3, naming stability scores 1, examples and FAQ scores 2, known limitations scores 1, license scores 3, versioning and changelog scores 1, maintenance responsibility scores 1.
Evidence shows: README describes the product's core value (token efficiency, intelligent routing, persistent memory, secure sandbox) and provides multiple usage methods (CLI, Web UI, chat channels), indicating good output usability. For marginal value, the product claims higher intelligence density at the same budget, but lacks independent verification. For cost-benefit, documentation mentions token efficiency but provides no specific cost data. Therefore, output usability scores 2, marginal value scores 2, cost-benefit scores 2.
Evidence shows: Some claims in README (e.g., 'Token-efficient', 'higher intelligence density') lack specific data or references, so claim traceability scores 1. For cross-source corroboration, no external validation or independent test results are provided, scoring 1. For fact-inference separation, documentation describes product features as facts but does not clearly distinguish which are inferences or promises, scoring 1.
- Publisher identity is unverified; treat source with caution.
- Performance claims in README (e.g., 'higher intelligence density') lack independent verification and should not be taken as fact.
- Installation telemetry is enabled by default; users must actively disable it, be aware of privacy implications.
- Dependencies are not pinned, which may affect reproducibility and security.
- No detailed changelog is provided, making version evolution opaque.
What does this agent do, and when should you use it?
OpenSquilla is a token-efficient microkernel AI agent built around a local model router, SquillaRouter, that uses a LightGBM + ONNX classifier to score each turn on-device and route it to the cheapest capable model among four tiers (C0–C3). It provides a unified TurnRunner loop shared by a Web UI, CLI, and multiple chat channels, with persistent local memory (SQLite full-text and semantic search), a layered security sandbox, built-in tools (file, shell, git, web search, image generation), and a pluggable provider layer supporting 20+ LLM backends (TokenRhythm, OpenRouter, OpenAI, Anthropic, Ollama, DeepSeek, etc.). OpenSquilla 0.5.2 is the current stable release, available via desktop installers, a quick `uv tool install` command, source builds, and Docker images. Benchmark results on PinchBench 1.2.1 show comparable score to a leading agent with roughly one-tenth the token usage and cost. Licensed under Apache-2.0.
OpenSquilla exposes a CLI (opensquilla) with commands for onboarding, running a gateway, interactive chat, and single-shot agent execution. opensquilla onboard configures providers and router; opensquilla gateway run starts a Starlette ASGI server on 127.0.0.1:18791 with a Web UI at /control/ and WebSocket RPC. opensquilla chat runs an interactive REPL; opensquilla agent -m "prompt" executes one-off automation with JSON output and optional event-stream logs. Internally, SquillaRouter analyzes each turn's length, language, code, keywords, and embeddings to select a model tier, dynamically scaling reasoning and system prompts. Persistent memory uses MEMORY.md and dated notes with SQLite FTS and sqlite-vec semantic recall, with on-device ONNX embeddings. A permission-based sandbox (Standard/Strict/Locked) isolates code execution via Bubblewrap (Linux), Seatbelt (macOS), or native Windows backend. The unified gateway supports channels like Slack, Telegram, Discord, Feishu, and more, all sharing the same TurnRunner for tool dispatch and decision logging.
- Developers who want to experiment with multiple LLM providers without managing separate API integrations, using OpenSquilla's automatic routing to cut token spend.
- Teams that need a single AI assistant accessible via Slack, Feishu, Telegram, and a web console, with consistent behavior across surfaces.
- Analysts working with large documents who benefit from persistent memory and semantic search to retrieve relevant context across sessions.
- Organizations requiring strong security and control, using the sandbox and human-in-the-loop approvals to govern autonomous actions.
- Automation engineers integrating AI steps into pipelines via the one-shot
opensquilla agentcommand with JSON output and event streaming.
What are this agent's strengths and limitations?
- On-device model routing keeps prompt data local, enhancing privacy.
- Supports 20+ LLM providers, avoiding vendor lock-in.
- Built-in persistent memory with semantic search improves context across sessions.
- Layered sandbox and approval controls provide robust security for autonomous operations.
- Multiple installation paths (desktop, pip, Docker) accommodate different deployment environments.
- Requires Python 3.12 and uv; building from source demands Node.js, increasing setup complexity.
- SquillaRouter has native dependencies (libomp on macOS, VC++ runtime on Windows) that must be installed separately for full functionality.
- Sends pseudonymous installation and usage telemetry by default; opt-out is available but may require configuration.
- Windows desktop installer is unsigned, potentially triggering SmartScreen warnings.
- Migration from OpenClaw/Hermes is manual and may require conflict resolution for existing data.
How do you install or deploy this agent?
Quick terminal install (recommended): ensure uv is installed, then run uv tool install --python 3.12 "opensquilla[recommended] @ https://github.com/opensquilla/opensquilla/releases/download/v0.5.2/opensquilla-0.5.2-py3-none-any.whl". For desktop use, download the DMG (macOS) or EXE (Windows) from the release page. For source, clone with LFS and run bash scripts/install_source.sh (macOS/Linux) or the PowerShell script, requiring Python 3.12, uv, Git LFS, and Node.js 22.12+ for the Web UI.
How do you use this agent?
After installation, run opensquilla onboard to configure a provider (e.g., OpenRouter) and router. Then start the gateway with opensquilla gateway run. Access the Web UI at http://127.0.0.1:18791/control/ or use opensquilla chat for interactive conversation. For single tasks, run opensquilla agent -m "your prompt". Use opensquilla doctor to check health.
How does this agent compare with similar options?
The README positions OpenSquilla against OpenClaw, showing benchmark results where OpenSquilla achieves a similar PinchBench score (0.9251 vs 0.9255) while consuming far fewer tokens and costing $0.688 vs $6.233.
FAQ
Which LLM providers does OpenSquilla support?
onboard.How do I disable telemetry?
OPENSQUILLA_PRIVACY_DISABLE_NETWORK_OBSERVABILITY=true in your environment or add [privacy] disable_network_observability = true to your config.What if SquillaRouter fails to load on macOS?
Library not loaded: @rpath/libomp.dylib, install the OpenMP runtime via Homebrew (brew install libomp) and restart the gateway. OpenSquilla continues with single-model routing until then.Can I migrate from OpenClaw or Hermes?
opensquilla migrate openclaw --json or --apply (similarly for hermes). Run dry-run first to review the migration report.How does Docker deployment work?
OPENSQUILLA_GATEWAY_IMAGE=ghcr.io/opensquilla/opensquilla:latest docker compose up -d, or build from source with docker build -t opensquilla:local ..