I spent 6 months building this system, it a open source self-hosted platform to run web apps in an environment resembling standard operating systems.
Every time I wanted to build a small web tool, I ended up dealing with the same stuff: authentication, communication, WebSockets, ports, and infrastructure.
Even with Claude and Codex, I was still spending time on things that had nothing to do with the actual tool I wanted to build.
So I spent around 6 months building PhreshOS.
The idea was simple: build the infrastructure once, then use AI agents to build applications on top of it without having to deal with all that stuff again.
It's a self-hosted, open-source system with a web-based desktop where applications can run in windows, much like a regular OS. Authentication and two-way communication are already handled, so applications don't need to implement them separately.
Apps can also run in Node.js worker threads instead of each needing a separate Node.js process, which helps keep resource usage low. This makes it possible to run dozens of applications on a relatively small server.
Another thing I wanted was for AI agents to be able to use these applications directly. They can access application services and interact with the same state the desktop interface displays, without needing a separate interface built specifically for them.
The biggest benefit for me is that I can now sit down with an AI agent and build dozens of small applications in a single day, without setting up authentication, communication, or infrastructure for each one.
The whole project, including its packages, is open source under the MIT license.
GitHub: https://github.com/PhreshOS/system
Live demo: https://demo.phreshos.com/
I'd love to hear what you think, including criticism.