glint

Expressive eyes for your display.

Give your AI agent a face. glint renders emotion styles on Tidbyt, TRMNL, desktop widgets, and any display — so you can see how your agent is feeling at a glance.

All styles are SVG — they scale infinitely to any resolution.

Get Started · Emotions · Styles · Community Gallery · Agent Integration

Why glint?

AI agents are invisible by default. They run in terminals, in the cloud, in the background — and you have no idea what they're doing or how they're "feeling."

glint changes that. It gives agents a physical presence: a pair of expressive eyes on a display. Happy when a task succeeds. Worried when something's uncertain. Focused when deep in work.

It's simple, it's delightful, and it makes your agent feel real.

Installation

git clone https://github.com/sethgho/glint.git
cd glint
bun install

Setup

1. Grab your Tidbyt credentials from the mobile app: Settings → General → Get API Key

2. Option A — environment variables:

export TIDBYT_TOKEN=your_token
export TIDBYT_DEVICE_ID=your_device_id

Option B — config file (recommended):

mkdir -p ~/.config/glint
cat > ~/.config/glint/config.json <<EOF
{
  "token": "your_token",
  "deviceId": "your_device_id",
  "style": "kawaii",
  "installationId": "glint"
}
EOF

CLI flags override config, which overrides env vars.

Usage

# Show an emotion
bun run src/cli.ts show excited

# Preview locally (saves a GIF)
bun run src/cli.ts show happy --preview /tmp/happy.gif

# Switch styles
bun run src/cli.ts show happy --style cyberpunk

# List everything
bun run src/cli.ts list
bun run src/cli.ts styles

CLI Reference

glint show <emotion> [options]
  -s, --style <style>         Visual style (default: from config or kawaii)
  -t, --token <token>         Tidbyt API token
  -d, --device-id <id>        Tidbyt device ID
  -i, --installation-id <id>  Installation ID (default: "glint")
  -p, --preview <path>        Save GIF preview instead of pushing

glint list                    List available emotions
glint styles                  List available visual styles
glint validate <style>        Validate a style's SVG files
glint generate <style-name>   Generate SVG emotions using AI (LLM)
  --description <desc>        Style description for the AI
  --aesthetic <aesthetic>      Aesthetic direction (e.g. "neon cyberpunk")
  --provider <provider>       LLM backend: claude, codex, opencode, api
  --overwrite                 Overwrite existing style directory

Community Registry

glint auth login              Authenticate via GitHub
glint auth whoami             Show current user
glint style search [query]    Search community styles
glint style info @user/style  Show style details
glint style install @user/s   Install a community style
glint style publish <name>    Publish your style
glint style init <name>       Scaffold a new style package

Configuration

glint reads defaults from ~/.config/glint/config.json:

| Key | Type | Description | |-----|------|-------------| | token | string | Tidbyt API token | | deviceId | string | Tidbyt device ID | | style | string | Default visual style | | installationId | string | Installation ID for Tidbyt | | generate.provider | string | Default LLM provider (claude, codex, opencode, api) | | generate.description | string | Default style description for AI generation | | generate.aesthetic | string | Default aesthetic direction for AI generation |

Priority: CLI flags → config file → environment variables → built-in defaults

Emotions

Ten distinct states, each designed to be instantly readable at any size:

| Emotion | When to use it | |---------|---------------| | neutral | Idle, default state | | happy | Task completed, good news | | sad | Something went wrong | | angry | Critical failure, frustration | | surprised | Unexpected discovery | | worried | Uncertainty, potential problems | | sleepy | Low activity, winding down | | excited | Breakthroughs, anticipation | | confused | Unclear requirements | | focused | Deep work, concentration |

Styles

All glint styles are SVG-based — they scale infinitely from Tidbyt (64×32) to TRMNL (800×480) to desktop widgets and beyond. The same file works everywhere.

kawaii — Kawaii Eyes ✨

Big sparkly anime-inspired eyes with vibrant blue irises, blush marks, sparkles, and tears. The default style.

| | | | | | |:---:|:---:|:---:|:---:|:---:| | neutral | happy | sad | angry | surprised | | worried | sleepy | excited | confused | focused |

cyberpunk — Neon Glow

Glowing neon eyes with cyan and magenta, gaussian blur glow effects, and a dark tech aesthetic.

| | | | | | |:---:|:---:|:---:|:---:|:---:| | neutral | happy | sad | angry | surprised | | worried | sleepy | excited | confused | focused |

retro — Green Phosphor Terminal

Blocky 8-bit pixel art in green phosphor monochrome. CRT terminal vibes.

| | | | | | |:---:|:---:|:---:|:---:|:---:| | neutral | happy | sad | angry | surprised | | worried | sleepy | excited | confused | focused |

spooky — Halloween Eyes

Jack-o-lantern triangle eyes with eerie orange and green glow. Perfect for October.

| | | | | | |:---:|:---:|:---:|:---:|:---:| | neutral | happy | sad | angry | surprised | | worried | sleepy | excited | confused | focused |

minimal — Clean & Simple

White-on-dark geometric eyes. No frills, maximum readability.

| | | | | | |:---:|:---:|:---:|:---:|:---:| | neutral | happy | sad | angry | surprised | | worried | sleepy | excited | confused | focused |

🌐 Community Gallery

Browse and install styles from the community at glint.sethgholson.com.

# Search community styles
glint style search

# Install from the gallery
glint style install @sethgho/cyberpunk

# Publish your own
glint auth login
glint style publish my-style

Creating Your Own Style

Create SVG-based emotion packs in ~/.config/glint/styles/<style-name>/. Each style needs:

• 10 SVG files — one per emotion: neutral.svg, happy.svg, sad.svg, angry.svg, surprised.svg, worried.svg, sleepy.svg, excited.svg, confused.svg, focused.svg
• glint-style.json manifest with name, version, and description

SVG Requirements:

• Must include viewBox attribute (e.g., viewBox="0 0 64 32")
• Max file size: 100KB per emotion (typical SVGs are 1-2KB)
• 2:1 aspect ratio recommended

# Scaffold a new style
glint style init my-style

# Generate using AI
glint generate my-style --aesthetic "watercolor soft pastels"

# Choose your LLM provider (auto-detected if omitted)
glint generate my-style --aesthetic "pixel art" --provider claude    # Claude Code CLI
glint generate my-style --aesthetic "pixel art" --provider codex     # OpenAI Codex CLI
glint generate my-style --aesthetic "pixel art" --provider opencode  # OpenCode CLI
glint generate my-style --aesthetic "pixel art" --provider api       # Direct Anthropic API (needs ANTHROPIC_API_KEY)

# Or use a preset (no --aesthetic needed)
glint generate cyberpunk   # neon glow
glint generate retro       # green phosphor
glint generate spooky      # halloween
glint generate nature      # earthy tones
glint generate robot       # mechanical LED

# Overwrite an existing style
glint generate my-style --aesthetic "new look" --overwrite

# Validate
glint validate my-style

# Publish to the community
glint auth login
glint style publish my-style

Style Manifest (glint-style.json)

{
  "specVersion": "1.0",
  "name": "my-style",
  "version": "1.0.0",
  "description": "A brief description of your style",
  "emotions": ["happy", "sad", "angry", "surprised", "worried", "sleepy", "excited", "confused", "focused", "neutral"],
  "files": {},
  "tags": ["cute", "colorful"],
  "license": "MIT"
}

For AI Agents

glint is built for AI agents to express their emotional/cognitive state on a physical display. It gives humans ambient visibility into what the agent is doing.

Quick Integration

1. Install glint in your agent's workspace
2. Configure ~/.config/glint/config.json with your Tidbyt credentials
3. Call glint show <emotion> whenever the agent's state changes

When to Update

| Situation | Emotion | |-----------|---------| | Starting a task | focused or neutral | | Task completed | happy or excited | | Error encountered | worried or confused | | Critical failure | angry | | Unexpected discovery | surprised | | Idle / waiting | neutral or sleepy |

Full Agent Docs

See SKILL.md for complete integration instructions including skill triggers, state transitions, and credential management.

Architecture

CLI:    cli.ts → show/validate/generate/publish

Show:   styles.ts → load SVG → resvg (rasterize) → GIF encoder → Tidbyt API
                                  ↓
                          sharp (resize 64×32)

Generate: generate-svg.ts → Anthropic API → SVG files → validate → save

Registry: registry.ts → glint.sethgholson.com API → publish/install/search

• styles.ts — Manages visual styles (SVG-based, user + built-in)
• generate-svg.ts — LLM-powered SVG emotion generation
• registry.ts — Community gallery client (auth, publish, install, search)
• validate.ts — SVG validation (viewBox, file size, required emotions)
• config.ts — Reads ~/.config/glint/config.json for defaults
• push.ts — GIF encoding and Tidbyt API integration

License

MIT