Chat On Steroids

Community

Local MCP workbench that puts ChatGPT's hands on your computer

★ 1.7k Stars Category · Dev Tools Very popular

51FMRS · D

Chat On Steroids is an MIT-licensed, non-OpenAI-official local-first MCP server and desktop chat workspace. It gives ChatGPT Codex-style file reads, patches, shell execution and interactive terminals, plus a local session record, Compact & Resume, Goal/Loop automation and up to eight worker sub-agent chats. It suits developers willing to wire up a tunnel, a browser extension and per-capability permissions, and is not for users who want a zero-config hosted service or an OS-level sandbox. The main risks are that commands and desktop control act on the whole machine under your user account, the extension's observation and automation of the ChatGPT web UI may fall under your account's terms, and the distributed builds are unsigned.

Reliability

8/20

Security and permissions

11/20

Maintenance

10/20

Documentation

13/20

Setup experience

9/20

Read the FMRS scoring method →

Chat On Steroids is a cross-platform desktop chat workspace that doubles as a local MCP server, letting ChatGPT read and patch files, run shell commands and interactive terminals inside folders you approve, and control the Windows or macOS desktop. It ships Codex-style contracts for apply_patch, exec_command and write_stdin, keeps a durable local transcript of every tool call, supports Compact & Resume across chats, offers Goal and Loop automation, and can spawn up to eight worker ChatGPT conversations as sub-agents. The app lives in the tray, hosts no model of its own, and works with the ChatGPT you already use in a Chrome 116+ or Edge browser plus a matching companion extension for session attribution and worker coordination. ChatGPT reaches the loopback-only, random-secret-path MCP server through an OpenAI Secure MCP Tunnel, a Cloudflare quick tunnel, or your own HTTPS tunnel.

Tools

read

Bounded reads inside approved folders

view_image

Inspect image content

find

No-shell search fallback that steps aside when commands are enabled

apply_patch

Multi-file patches, preflighted before anything is written

exec_command

Run shell commands as real processes with interactive stdin and output budgets

write_stdin

Write standard input to a running command process

download_artifact

Save ChatGPT-generated files

session

Look up the locally recorded session history and real tool results

agents

Control worker chats: spawn, message, read reports and wake them again

observe

Screenshots, window and control inspection

computer

Mouse, keyboard and clipboard control

session_finish

Astra-only: receive the next task within the same turn

Setup

Download the installer for your CPU from Releases and open Chat On Steroids; it lives in the tray or menu bar.
Open Settings → Workspace, review permissions and approve a project folder (press Add, or drop the folder onto the Folders card).
Create an OpenAI Secure MCP Tunnel and a Restricted API key with only Tunnels: Read and Tunnels: Use, paste both into the Setup tab and press Connect.
In ChatGPT on the web, enable Developer mode, create the Core custom app from the tunnel, and the Desktop app too if you kept screen and input control on.
Press Open extension folder, open chrome://extensions, enable Developer mode, choose Load unpacked and select that folder; pairing is automatic.
For API-backed plan, Goal or Loop generation, choose OpenRouter or a custom OpenAI-compatible endpoint in Settings → Agents & automation and enter the key.

Fit and risk

Best for

Developers who want ChatGPT to actually edit and execute against a local codebase
Advanced users comfortable configuring a tunnel, a browser extension and per-capability permission switches in a beta product
Users on Windows 10/11, macOS 13 Ventura or newer, or a current desktop Linux with Chrome 116+ or Edge

Not for

Users who want a zero-config, officially hosted remote MCP service
ChatGPT workspaces that cannot enable Developer mode and custom MCP apps
Anyone needing a true OS-level sandbox: commands run with your logged-in user privileges and desktop control is not folder-scoped
Linux environments without a Secret Service keyring such as GNOME Keyring or KWallet

Required permissions

File read/write limited to folders you approve in Settings → Workspace, with paths validated and canonicalised first
Command execution as your logged-in user, not folder-sandboxed
Desktop control (on by default on Windows, opt-in on macOS with Screen Recording and Accessibility grants) applying to the whole desktop
Browser extension running only on chatgpt.com, chat.openai.com and the app's loopback bridge, recording conversation state locally
OS secret storage: DPAPI on Windows, Keychain on macOS, libsecret or KWallet on Linux
Networking: a loopback-only MCP server behind a random secret path plus the tunnel you configure

Risks and side effects

Command execution runs with normal user privileges and is application-level containment, not an OS sandbox; same-user filesystem races remain possible
With desktop control enabled, actions affect the entire machine, beyond your project folders
The extension observes ChatGPT's web UI and multi-agent mode opens and types into extra ChatGPT tabs; this is not a documented public automation API and your account's terms, rate limits and permitted-use policies may apply
Builds are not publisher-signed and macOS builds are not notarized, so SmartScreen, Gatekeeper or the browser will warn; verify SHA256SUMS.txt first
Any public tunnel URL should be treated as a password; leaking it exposes the local MCP server
Multi-agent mode and automatic generation consume additional ChatGPT or API quota

Troubleshooting

A new ChatGPT tab every half minute: this was a bug fixed in the current source; update, or enable Browser only under Settings → Chat settings → Browser & history
A folder cannot be listed: use the actual virtual path shown for your approved folder and confirm the Core plugin is installed and the folder is approved
Tools missing or stale after a permission change: schema changes schedule a connector refresh after a 20-second debounce; if it fails, refresh the custom app in ChatGPT, which is separate from reloading the extension
Extension says app not found: recording or multi-agent mode must be on for the bridge to run, then reopen the popup
Extension version mismatch: reload the unpacked extension after every app update
agents returns UNIDENTIFIED_CALLER: use that conversation in the paired browser so the extension can observe its request id
COMPACTION_IN_PROGRESS in a chat: that chat is being handed off; let it write the brief and work continues in the replacement
Linux says secure credential storage is unavailable: unlock GNOME Keyring or KWallet and restart the app
Tunnel unavailable: point Advanced settings at an explicit tunnel-client or cloudflared, or use the bundled copy

Use cases

Let ChatGPT read, search, patch and run commands inside approved local project folders

Split large tasks across multiple worker ChatGPT conversations and collect their reports

Hand a heavy chat off to a fresh conversation with Compact & Resume while keeping the local record

Use Goal and Loop to draft follow-ups or keep a task advancing automatically

Drive Windows or macOS desktop automation through observe and computer

Supported clients

ChatGPTFull support

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