Docs menu

Connect Grok Bot or dots to Apple Apps on Your Mac

Always-on personal assistants such as Grok Bot (xAI) and dots (OpenAI, inside ChatGPT) are the natural home for Orchard. An assistant that runs all day is only as useful as what it can reach, and with Orchard it can actually use your Calendar, Reminders, Mail, Messages and Notes instead of just talking about them.

Both assistants live in the cloud but can be given access to your Mac. Once they have it, they install the Orchard skill and call the orchard CLI on your Mac. Everything Orchard does still happens locally; see Privacy Architecture.

Before you start

  1. Install Orchard for macOS and sign in. See Installation.
  2. In Orchard, enable the tools you want the assistant to use (the Skill / CLI channel) and grant the matching macOS permissions. See Permissions Guide.
  3. Keep Orchard.app running. The assistant’s calls reach the app through the CLI.

Grok Bot

Grok Bot is xAI’s always-on assistant with its own cloud computer. On your Mac it can also work on your local machine once you turn on its local computer access. The Mac app is available from cursor.com/download/bot or with brew install --cask grok-bot.

  1. Install Grok Bot on your Mac and sign in.
  2. Enable the Bot’s local computer access so it can run commands on your Mac. By default it asks before each command (“Ask every time”).
  3. In the Bot’s chat, send a message asking it to install the Orchard skill, for example: “Install the Orchard skill so you can use my Mac’s Calendar, Reminders and Mail.”
  4. Approve the commands it asks to run. The Bot runs orchard commands on your Mac, and you decide whether each one goes through.
  5. Try a real request: “Brief me every morning on today’s calendar, unread mail and the weather.”

dots

dots (lowercase) is OpenAI’s always-on personal agent inside ChatGPT. It has no standalone app. You give a dot access to your Mac through the ChatGPT desktop app.

  1. Install the ChatGPT desktop app on your Mac and sign in.
  2. Open your dot’s profile and, under computer access, choose Allow for your Mac.
  3. Send the dot a message asking it to install the Orchard skill, for example: “Install the Orchard skill so you can read my calendar and reminders.”
  4. Approve the commands it asks to run on your Mac.
  5. Ask it something real: “Every weekday at 8, tell me what’s on my calendar and which reminders are due.”

Keep ChatGPT open

Local skills only work while your Mac is connected to the dot, and that requires the ChatGPT desktop app to stay open.

Things to ask

  • “Brief me every morning on today’s calendar, unread mail and the weather.”
  • “Remind me to call the dentist tomorrow at 10, and add it to my Calendar.”
  • “Summarize unread mail from the last day and flag anything that needs a reply.”
  • “Find my note about the Lisbon trip and turn the packing list into reminders.”
  • “Text Sam that I’m running ten minutes late.”

Notes and troubleshooting

  • The assistant says it can’t find orchard. Make sure Orchard.app is running and, if needed, install the CLI from Orchard’s settings. Then ask the assistant to retry. See Troubleshooting.
  • Nothing happens on your Mac. Check that computer access is still enabled for your Mac, and for dots that the ChatGPT desktop app is open.
  • Commands wait for approval. That is expected with Grok Bot’s default “Ask every time” setting. Review each command before approving.
  • A tool returns an upgrade message. Reminders, Calendar and Clock are free; the other apps need Pro. See Free vs Pro.
  • Messages and Mail. Sending on your behalf is powerful. Keep approvals on until you trust a workflow.

If your assistant is not listed here but supports Agent Skills or MCP, see Codex & Other Agents or Connect via MCP.