I’ve been working on an open-source project called Julie (desktop AI assistant, local-first, agentic computer use). It started as a personal tool and has grown enough that I’m considering turning it into a real product. I have a ton more features i didnt push yet, including bug fixes and determinisim in the agent behaviour.
I have about $5k I can realistically put toward this and I think it could be sustainable if I can get a small but real group of users.
I’m trying to sanity check a few things before committing:
Is this the kind of thing people actually pay for, or does it stay a hobby/open-source tool?
What would you focus on first to validate demand without burning the budget?
Any advice on early distribution for dev tools like this?
I’ve been working on an open-source project called Julie (desktop AI assistant, local-first, agentic computer use). It started as a personal tool and has grown enough that I’m considering turning it into a real product. I have a ton more features i didnt push yet, including bug fixes and determinisim in the agent behaviour.
I have about $5k I can realistically put toward this and I think it could be sustainable if I can get a small but real group of users.
I’m trying to sanity check a few things before committing:
Is this the kind of thing people actually pay for, or does it stay a hobby/open-source tool?
What would you focus on first to validate demand without burning the budget?
Any advice on early distribution for dev tools like this?