A little more clarity.
A little more room in your day.
Vesta Companion brings your priorities, knowledge and everyday workflows together in a folder you control. Give your assistant a name. Teach it what matters. Pick up where you left off.
Version 1.0.0 • September 2026
Official download and guides:
github.com/Vesta-Software-Group/vesta-companion
On the repository page, choose Releases, open the newest release, then select vesta-companion.zip under Assets.
Open the Releases page and select vesta-companion.zip under Assets. Choose Extract all and keep the whole folder together.
In your approved AI desktop app, select the extracted folder as a local project or connect it as a local folder.
Send the message below. Your Companion will guide you through naming and personalising it.
Read START-HERE.md and system/COMPANION.md. Help me set up my Vesta Companion.
No terminal, GitHub account or API key is needed to download and use the kit. Your chosen AI app needs its own approved account, subscription and installation prerequisites.
A local folder such as C:\Agents\MyCompanion is a good starting point. Use a personally restricted, organisation-approved synced folder only when access and backup arrangements are clear. Avoid broadly shared team folders.
Opening a folder alone does not start a chat. Send the first message, and keep the app's permission controls enabled.
The folder holds your memory. The app provides the AI and its tools.
Add a local project and choose the Companion folder as its primary folder. Start a local task and send the starter message.
AGENTS.md + skillsUse Work Local with this folder attached, where available. Ask it to read the shared instructions. Check that it can write back to the folder.
Local file access requiredChoose the Code tab, Local environment and the Companion folder. Send the starter message. Windows setup may require Git for Windows.
CLAUDE.md + skillsConnect the Companion folder on desktop. Send the starter message or use the supplied Cowork folder instructions.
Connected folder requiredAsk it to save a harmless note, show its location and read it back. If it cannot, setup is not yet persistent. Ordinary cloud chats need a manual file export/import route.
App labels and capabilities vary by version, operating system, plan and company policy. A cloud task stays in the cloud even when shown in a desktop app.
App profiles have different levels of testing. Check reported results and limits before relying on a new app. See compatibility details. Avoid worktrees and simultaneous writers for live personal memory.
You choose the name, the tone and the work it helps with.
Illustrative conversation only. Your profile starts blank.
Remember that I prefer a short recommendation followed by the evidence. Save it in my profile.
Setup saves progress after each step. At the end, you should see your profile, a first useful output and a successful read-back from your local folder.
One daily briefing from Outlook, Teams and your local priorities.
1. Prepare for the decision meeting.
2. Reply to the open question.
3. Unblock the task waiting on feedback.
Times, preparation and conflicts.
What needs attention, with sources.
Create my daily briefing from today's Outlook calendar, recent Outlook emails, my selected Teams chats and my to-do list. Show what you could and could not check.
The briefing highlights decisions, direct questions, deadlines, blockers and preparation. It links back to evidence and removes repeated items across systems. It does not send messages or change your mailbox or calendar.
Start with a local-only briefing from your tasks and saved notes, or provide an approved export. Missing sources must be labelled clearly; no access never means “nothing urgent”.
Your Companion uses connections available in your chosen app.
Check which Outlook calendar, Outlook email and Teams read tools you can use. Do not change anything. Explain any gaps and help me run a small test.
Check connections in this specific app; access elsewhere may not carry over. For assignment or consent blocks, ask IT. Continue with a labelled partial brief.
Ask for a briefing at a specific time and timezone. The assistant checks the app's scheduler and records one owner. Device and connection availability still matter.
A clean, local board for priorities, projects and follow-ups.
Team rhythm High priority In progress
New starter Normal priority
Workshop Waiting
Fictional examples. Open the interactive demo.
“Add a task to prepare Friday's update.”
“Mark the checklist complete.”
“Show me my three priorities.”
Your Companion updates the task file and produces personal/todo/board.html.
Add and edit tasks, tick them off, search, and filter by project or priority. Keep an eye on the unsaved-changes banner.
The task file is personal/todo/tasks.json.
Direct: choose Open task file, select your tasks.json, then Save to selected file in a supported browser.
Portable: Download changes, then ask your Companion to import that downloaded file. Downloading alone does not update your vault.
If the file changed elsewhere, the board/importer refuses the stale overwrite. Keep your export and ask for reconciliation. One active editor at a time.
Useful knowledge belongs in your files, ready for the next task.
Setup creates folders for useful notes and a HOME page to find them. Each new note records its type, date, source and confidence. Ask your Companion to save what matters.
Open personal/vault in an approved copy of Obsidian, then open HOME.md. Read vault-conventions.md for the note guide. No community plugins are installed.
Save our progress and update HANDOVER.md. Then tell me what the next app should read to continue.
Finish saving before opening the same folder in another app. Ask the new app to read the shared instructions, profile and handover. Check its permissions and connections again.
Local storage is not offline model processing. Relevant content may be sent to your chosen AI provider. Chat history and app-specific schedules do not automatically transfer.
Skills help your Companion follow useful, repeatable processes.
Your diary, messages and priorities, with sources.
Remember context and prepare for conversations.
Turn an outcome into milestones and next actions.
Arrive with an objective, questions and evidence.
See progress, blockers and commitments still open.
Manage preferences, backups, updates and skills.
Ask naturally: “Prepare me for tomorrow's meeting”, “Remember this contact” or “Review my week”. The assistant uses the relevant skill when its app supports discovery, or reads the shared skill index.
Help me create a skill for my monthly team update. Ask about my process, draft it, and test it with fictional examples before we use it.
Custom skills stay in personal/skills. The assistant explains what they read, write and connect to. Changes affecting external actions or safety require your approval.
A skill downloaded from the internet can contain instructions or code. Do not install an unknown collection automatically. A newly created or modified skill is not independently security certified.
Start with one useful workflow. Add more when it earns its place.
“Give me a decision brief before the meeting.”
“Track the commitments from our review.”
“Make my updates shorter and clearer.”
“Turn these notes into next actions.”
“Show what is waiting for a response.”
“Help me write a repeatable checklist.”
“Create a plan with milestones and evidence of completion.”
“What is blocking the next step?”
“Help me investigate this issue and save the findings.”
“Prepare a proposed change for review.”
Try a preferred language, a shorter writing style, your working hours, a decision-brief format, a glossary or a recurring review. Keep those preferences in your profile, not hidden in one conversation.
Add one approved service, test it with a small read, and understand what access it provides. More connections are useful only when they help with your actual work.
Keep private examples and company-specific workflows inside your personal folder. Share the clean public kit with colleagues so they can make their own.
Choose an approved private destination. The handover records confirmed backup and restore dates; weekly reminders can be snoozed. Practise restoring a dated copy. Sync can also sync mistakes.
From Releases, expand Assets and download vesta-companion.zip. Extract to a separate folder. Ask your Companion to copy personal files, check notes/tasks/skills and keep the old folder intact. See docs/UPDATING.md.
Keep the app's sandbox and approval controls enabled. Prefer new document copies. Claude users can ask about the optional settings template for more file-edit and command confirmations.
No passwords, tokens, private keys or verification codes in notes, chat or exports. Sign in through the approved app's normal connection flow.
Help me make a backup plan for my personal folder. Explain the destination and restore steps before copying anything.
Review the exact recipients, destination and content. Email support is draft-only. Other messages and invitations need explicit approval. The daily briefing only reads Microsoft 365.
Send colleagues the Releases page so they can choose the newest kit. Never upload your populated assistant, task exports, work screenshots or connection details to GitHub or a public support issue.
The kit's instructions guide behaviour. Your app, operating system and service permissions enforce access. Neither written rules nor a clean scan can guarantee safe behaviour in every situation.
Name your Companion, save one preference and add your first task.
Try a daily brief and meeting preparation. Add approved connections if useful.
Retrieve a saved note in a new task, test a handover, and plan a backup.
| What you see | What to try |
|---|---|
| “I cannot access that folder” | Check that this is a local task and the folder is connected. Ask for a harmless save/read-back test. |
| Missing email, calendar or Teams | Check each connection in this app. Ask IT about assignment or consent blocks; use a labelled partial brief. |
| Board changes disappear | Open the latest tasks.json. Save directly or import the downloaded changes; a browser tab alone is not persistence. |
| “File changed elsewhere” | Retain your export. Ask your Companion to compare and reconcile it against current tasks. |
| Codex approval problems | Try Ask for approval (manual) if Approve for me fails. Keep the sandbox enabled. If commands still cannot start, contact IT/app support; manual approval may not fix it. |
Have your approved app, extracted ZIP and one useful task ready. See troubleshooting for connections and local access. Do not use Full Access or change sandbox settings to work around errors.
Official project: github.com/Vesta-Software-Group/vesta-companion
Licence: Apache 2.0. No change to the chosen licence is needed for this original core kit. Vesta branding remains subject to trademark rights.
V1.0: stable core kit; app and connector availability varies. Test scope is in docs/TESTING.md.