FAQ
Is Bestie a chatbot wrapper?
Section titled “Is Bestie a chatbot wrapper?”No. Bestie uses an LLM provider, but the product goal is a consistent self-hosted companion runtime with character files, local memory, Doctor diagnostics, Telegram support, and permission-gated tools.
Is Bestie conscious or human?
Section titled “Is Bestie conscious or human?”No. Do not market it that way. Bestie is software with a designed personality and memory controls.
Is Bestie a therapist replacement?
Section titled “Is Bestie a therapist replacement?”No. Bestie can provide supportive conversation, but it should not claim to diagnose, treat, or replace professional help.
Is Bestie a romantic companion?
Section titled “Is Bestie a romantic companion?”No. Bestie can be warm and emotionally present, but it should not claim romantic partnership or human love.
Does Bestie store all conversations forever?
Section titled “Does Bestie store all conversations forever?”No. Bestie uses local SQLite memory controls. Users can inspect, pause, resume, edit, forget, export, and clear memory. Sensitive memories should require approval.
Why local SQLite before Zep?
Section titled “Why local SQLite before Zep?”SQLite keeps the first memory layer local, inspectable, and easy to test. Zep is useful later for graph memory and temporal context, but it should not come before the basic chat, memory policy, and user controls work.
Can Bestie use Telegram?
Section titled “Can Bestie use Telegram?”Yes. Telegram is the first real chat channel. It runs locally through long polling and is owner-only by default.
Can Bestie understand voice messages?
Section titled “Can Bestie understand voice messages?”Yes, with explicit transcription config. Local Vietnamese-first development can use whisper.cpp, ffmpeg, and a local model such as ggml-small.bin.
Can Bestie use tools?
Section titled “Can Bestie use tools?”Yes, but cautiously. The current foundation supports permission-gated internal tools and classified read-only MCP calls. Broader write, external, destructive, public, and payment actions need explicit permission design.
Can I connect any OpenAI-compatible provider?
Section titled “Can I connect any OpenAI-compatible provider?”Bestie is designed around an OpenAI-compatible chat completions adapter. Configure llm.baseUrl, llm.model, and llm.apiKeyEnv.
Where do secrets live?
Section titled “Where do secrets live?”Secrets live in .bestie/.env for local builds. Do not store raw API keys or tokens in .bestie/config.json.
Why does Doctor avoid some network checks by default?
Section titled “Why does Doctor avoid some network checks by default?”Doctor should be safe to run locally without unexpectedly calling external services. Explicit flags such as --telegram-connect opt into network checks.
Can I deploy Bestie as SaaS?
Section titled “Can I deploy Bestie as SaaS?”Hosted/SaaS mode is a future direction, not the current local-first target. The current docs focus on self-hosted local use.