What you need before you start
Deskmate Live runs on Windows and on Debian- or Ubuntu-based Linux. A macOS build is planned, with a waitlist on the download page. The rest of the setup is ordinary hardware plus one decision about who supplies the AI voice.
If your computer can handle a video call, it already has most of what the pet needs. The only unfamiliar part may be the provider key, which sounds like a machine-room credential and behaves like a private password. We will get to it after the character has moved in.
- A microphone and speakers or headphones. A headset gives the cleanest conversation.
- An internet connection, because voice runs through a real-time AI provider.
- Either your own API key from Google (Gemini), OpenAI, or Alibaba Cloud (Qwen), or a Deskmate Plus or Pro plan with included voice minutes.
Step 1: Download and install Deskmate Live
Start at the Deskmate Live download page, not at a mirror or a search ad. This is the least glamorous step and the one most worth getting right. On Windows, the button opens the Microsoft Store so installation, signing, and updates stay in the operating system's normal channel.
On Linux, download the .deb package. Open a terminal in the download folder and run sudo apt install ./Deskmate-*.deb, or use your distribution's graphical software installer. The wildcard avoids baking an old version number into the command. Launch Deskmate Live from the applications menu when installation finishes.
Step 2: Get to know the toolbar
The app does not greet you with a giant chat window. It opens as a compact floating toolbar with three controls, plus title-bar options for minimizing it and switching between light and dark themes. The small surface is deliberate: the desktop remains the main interface.
- Talk starts and stops a live voice conversation.
- Share turns optional screen context on and off.
- The Deskmate logo opens the portal, where you choose avatars and change settings.
Step 3: Choose how your pet talks
A moving character is local animation. A conversation needs a real-time AI provider. On the Free plan, open the portal, go to Configurations, choose Gemini Live, OpenAI Realtime, or Qwen Realtime, and add your own API key. The provider bills that usage under its own terms. Treat the key like a password: create it in the provider's official console and never paste it into a random setup guide or chat.
If you would rather not manage provider keys, the current Plus plan is $7.99 with 150 voice minutes each month, and Pro is $24.99 with 750 minutes plus additional personality, theme, and avatar features. Prices and allowances can change, so the portal is the source of truth. A personal provider key takes priority when you add one to a paid plan.
Step 4: Check your microphone
Before blaming the AI, test the plumbing. In Audio settings, choose the microphone and output device, press Test microphone, and speak. A moving input level confirms that the app can hear the selected device. Picking devices explicitly prevents a Bluetooth headset or monitor from silently becoming the new system default later.
Step 5: Put a pet on your desktop
Open Deskmate Market in the portal. Every install includes Cardio, so there is no need to shop before the first conversation. Select the avatar, press Add avatar, and the character appears in its own desktop layer. Drag it somewhere that does not cover the controls you use and adjust its size.
Plus includes Doggy, Kitty, and Bunny, and the market also carries work from independent creators. Switching an avatar changes the visible companion, not the underlying voice configuration. Removing one takes the character off the desktop without deleting your account or provider settings.
Step 6: Say hello
Press Talk and speak at a normal pace. The control reports whether Deskmate is connecting, listening, or speaking, while the avatar reacts to the conversation. Press Talk again to end the session. Start with a request that makes success obvious:
The first answer is the useful checkpoint. If you can hear it clearly and the avatar reacts, the microphone, provider, account, and output device have all crossed the same little bridge. Resist the urge to customize everything until that bridge works.
- "Help me practice small talk in Spanish for five minutes."
- "Quiz me on the main causes of the French Revolution."
- "Help me plan the next hour so I finish this report."
- "Explain what a Python list comprehension is, with an example."
Step 7 (optional): Turn on screen context
Voice does not require screen access. Turn on Share only when the visible context would improve the answer, such as an error message, chart, or paragraph you want explained. Screen context is off by default. Press Share to begin and press it again to stop. The current default samples the primary display at roughly one frame per second, and those screenshots are not saved by Deskmate.
Screen Context settings let you choose the display, set the default state, and control automatic start. The privacy-conservative setup is simple: leave automatic sharing off and activate it only for the question that needs it. A companion can be convenient without becoming ambient surveillance.
Make it yours
Once the first conversation works, tune the surface rather than changing five variables at once. Resize and place the avatar, choose a toolbar theme, then adjust audio or provider settings only if something needs improvement. Plus and Pro add toolbar colors, button colors, and voice-personality controls that change how the assistant speaks.
Give the character a place that feels intentional: near the edge of a second monitor, above an empty patch of wallpaper, or beside the app where you usually need help. A good desktop pet should feel present, not parked in the middle of your work.
Troubleshooting common setup issues
When the first hello produces silence, resist the urge to blame the heart-shaped creature. Most setup problems come down to a missing key, the wrong audio device, or used-up minutes. Check the plain machinery first.
- "Add an API key" when you press Talk: open Configurations and add a key for the selected provider, or choose a provider you have a key for.
- Deskmate does not hear you: in Audio, select your microphone explicitly and run Test microphone again.
- No sound back: check the output device in Audio and your system volume.
- Monthly voice minutes are used up on Plus or Pro: add more minutes from the portal, or add your own provider key.