GitHub - bctnry/OpenSyzygy: a LLM chat interface with a new aesthetic.

an LLM chat interface with a new aesthetic.

A self-hosted chatbot interface with a Go backend and Svelte frontend, talking to a local or remote Ollama server.

Features

Terminal interface — the entire app is a single terminal-style window. Type commands (/help) or chat freely.
User accounts — register/login via terminal, JWT auth, conversations stored per-user.
Admin tier — admin user can configure Ollama URL, models, system prompts, manage users (create, delete, promote, demote, reset passwords) — from the terminal or the config panel.
Onboarding — new users get a short LLM-led interview (4 questions, one at a time). Their answers generate a personalized 4-color UI palette.
Streaming chat — messages stream token-by-token with a braille throbber while waiting.
Conversations — fork, retry (forks + re-sends), revert (removes message + after), graph view (git-style tree).
Memory system — automatically extracts memorable facts about the user from conversations. Toggleable, editable, deletable.
Scratchpad — save text snippets, ask the LLM about them, edit/delete.
Themes — color picker with live preview, LLM theme generator, create/edit/delete.
Background image — upload a background image with adjustable opacity.
Markdown rendering — headings, tables, code blocks with syntax highlighting + language label, LaTeX math (KaTeX), lists, blockquotes, links.
Font scaling — starts large, shrinks as conversation grows. Input font also shrinks.
Data export — export all data (conversations, scratchpad, memories, themes, profile, background image) as a zip.
Account management — change password (inline form), export data, delete account.
Single binary — frontend embedded into the Go binary via embed.FS.
Local fonts — EB Garamond, Noto Serif TC, IBM Plex Mono served as woff2.

Quick start

Prerequisites

Go 1.22+
Node 18+
A running Ollama server with at least one model pulled:

Build & run

make build        # builds frontend, embeds it, compiles backend -> backend/syzygy
make run          # runs the server on :7878

Then open http://localhost:7878.

Dev mode (live frontend reload)

make dev-frontend   # terminal 1: Vite dev server on :5173 (proxies /api to :7878)
make dev            # terminal 2: Go server on :7878

Open http://localhost:5173 during development.

Configuration (environment variables)

Variable	Default	Description
`SYZYGY_ADDR`	`:7878`	Listen address.
`SYZYGY_DATA_DIR`	`~/.syzygy`	Where the SQLite DB is stored.
`SYZYGY_JWT_SECRET`	(random ephemeral)	JWT signing secret. Set this in production.
`OLLAMA_URL`	`http://localhost:11434`	Initial Ollama server URL. Can be changed by admin.

First run

On first boot, a default admin is created and the credentials are printed to stderr:

username=admin  password=admin123

Commands

Chat

/new                create a new conversation
/list               list conversations
/switch <n|name>    switch to conversation by index or name
/del <n|name>       delete a conversation
/model [name]       show or set the active model
/models             list available ollama models
/status             toggle status sidebar (token usage, session info)
/map                show conversation graph
/settings           open configuration panel
/clear              clear the terminal
/whoami             show current user
/about              about this system
/help               show all commands
/logout             log out

Scratchpad

/scratchpad list              list items
/scratchpad add <text>        add a new item
/scratchpad del <n>           delete item by index
/scratchpad ask <n>           ask LLM about item in a new session

Memory

/memory list                  list memories
/memory add <text>            add a memory manually
/memory del <n>               delete memory by index
/memory on                    enable automatic memory extraction
/memory off                   disable automatic memory extraction

Account

/account password             change password (opens a form)
/account export               export all data as a zip
/account delete               permanently delete your account
/export                       shorthand for /account export

Theme

/theme list                   list stored themes
/theme use <n|name>           switch to a theme
/theme random                 apply a random stored theme
/theme new <name> <#bg> <#fg>  create a theme
/theme del <n|name>           delete a theme

Admin (admins only)

/settings                     show current settings
/set <key> <value>            update a setting
/users                        list all users
/user new <name> <pass> [role] create a user
/user del <username>          delete a user
/promote <username>           promote user to admin
/demote <username>            demote admin to user
/admin                        show admin commands

Keyboard shortcuts

ctrl+up/down — navigate between messages
ctrl+click — select a message for actions (copy/retry/revert/fork)
esc — deselect message or close overlay/sidebar
enter — send message (shift+enter for newline)

Configuration panel

Click the ⚙ button (top-right) or type /settings.

appearance — theme picker, color picker with live preview, LLM theme generator, background image + opacity, font sizes, log width/alignment
chat — model selection, custom system prompt, self-introduction
scratchpad — view, edit, add, ask LLM about items
memory — toggle memory, view, edit, add, delete memories
account — change password, export data, delete account
admin (admins only) — server settings, user management with password reset

How the onboarding palette works

After registering, the new user enters onboarding.
The LLM asks 4 questions, one at a time (3 personal + 1 "anything else to add?").
The answers generate 4 named color palettes via LLM (with hash-based fallback).
The first palette is applied as the active theme.

Memory system

After each conversation reply, a background LLM call extracts memorable facts about the user.
Memories are injected into the system prompt for future conversations.
Explicit requests like "remember that I'm learning guitar" are honored.
Toggle on/off in the config panel or with /memory on|off.
View, edit, add, delete memories via the config panel or /memory commands.

Project layout

backend/
  main.go                          # router, embedding, server bootstrap
  frontend-dist/                   # embedded built frontend (generated)
  internal/
    auth/                          # JWT auth, middleware, handlers
    admin/                          # admin-only settings & user management
    conversation/                  # conversations + messages (with SSE streaming)
    memory/                        # memory extraction + CRUD endpoints
    onboarding/                    # 4-question interview + palette completion
    ollama/                        # Ollama API client wrapper
    palette/                       # palette generation (LLM + hash fallback)
    profile/                       # profile, scratchpad, background image, export, account
    theme/                         # theme CRUD + LLM theme generation
    db/                            # SQLite store, migrations, models
frontend/
  src/
    App.svelte                     # mounts the terminal
    lib/
      api.js                       # API client + SSE streaming
      stores/user.js               # user store + palette + background theming
      markdown.js                  # markdown renderer with KaTeX + highlight.js
      graph.js                     # git-style conversation graph builder
      commands.js                  # help text, version, about
      selection.js                 # message selection navigation
      treegraph.js                 # TreeGraph SVG library
      components/
        Terminal.svelte            # the whole UI: auth, onboarding, chat, admin
        Sidebars.svelte            # sessions, scratchpad, memory, status sidebars
        ConfigOverlay.svelte       # configuration panel
        GraphOverlay.svelte        # conversation graph overlay
        Throbber.svelte            # braille spinner
  public/
    fonts/                         # woff2 font files + fonts.css

Security notes

Passwords hashed with bcrypt.
Auth via JWT in Authorization: Bearer <token>, stored in localStorage.
Default admin password is admin123 — change it.
SQLite used for simplicity; schema in internal/db/db.go.

License

MIT