OpenCouch
OpenCouch is a free, open-source chat companion for emotional support, self-reflection, and practical coping.
What OpenCouch is
OpenCouch is a free, open-source chat companion for emotional support, self-reflection, and practical coping. Its memory carries semantic facts, episodic arcs, and procedural rules between sessions. The project includes 13 guided exercises that track state across turns while preserving consent and progress. A safety classifier checks each turn before a response and can route a conversation to a specialist crisis agent, with a durable audit log. OpenCouch provides a Next.js web chat, text terminal interface, and FastAPI backend with REST and WebSocket access. The text runtime uses the OpenAI Agents SDK, and real model runs require an OpenAI API key. Postgres is the only supported durable backend for memory, sessions, crisis logs, and related state; guest and incognito runs are temporary. The project is pre-beta and actively stabilizing. It is licensed under the GNU Affero General Public License v3.0. OpenCouch states that it is not a therapist, diagnostic tool, emergency service, or replacement for professional care or medical advice.
Good
- Carries three forms of memory across sessions
- Includes 13 guided, state-tracked coping exercises
- Checks each turn for safety before responding
- Provides web, terminal, and API interfaces
Watch out
- Project is pre-beta and still stabilizing
- Real model runs require an OpenAI API key
- Postgres is the only durable backend
- Not a substitute for professional or emergency care
Who it suits
OpenCouch may suit people seeking a self-reflection companion with guided coping exercises and persistent memory. It is not a replacement for professional mental health care or emergency support.
Verdict
OpenCouch combines guided exercises, persistent memory, and safety routing in a pre-beta project. Its Postgres requirement and care limitations are important considerations before use.
The facts
Each one read from OpenCouch's own pages, with the date it was checked.
What it does
- Care limitation
- OpenCouch states that it is not a therapist, diagnostic tool, emergency service, or substitute for professional mental health care or medical advice.checked 8 Oct 2026
- Compliance
- The repository pages reviewed do not state any compliance certification.checked 8 Oct 2026
- Data persistence limit
- Postgres is the only supported durable backend; guest and incognito runs are ephemeral.checked 8 Oct 2026
- Deployment
- The documented local stack uses Docker Compose with Postgres and a FastAPI backend, with an optional web container.checked 8 Oct 2026
- Guided exercises
- It includes 13 state-tracked, multi-turn coping exercises, with consent and progress preserved across turns.checked 8 Oct 2026
- Integrations
- The text runtime uses the OpenAI Agents SDK, real model runs require an OpenAI API key, and durable persistence uses Postgres.checked 8 Oct 2026
- Intended users
- The maker describes OpenCouch as a pre-beta AI companion for self-reflection and guided wellness exercises with persistent memory and safety routing.checked 8 Oct 2026
- Interfaces
- The project provides a Next.js web chat, a text terminal interface, and a FastAPI REST and WebSocket backend.checked 8 Oct 2026
- License
- OpenCouch is released under the GNU Affero General Public License v3.0.checked 8 Oct 2026
- Limitations
- OpenCouch says it is not a therapist, diagnostic tool, emergency service, or substitute for professional mental health care or medical advice.checked 8 Oct 2026
- Observability
- Tracing supports structured logging, state diagnostics, and OpenTelemetry/OTLP export.checked 8 Oct 2026
- Persistence requirement
- Postgres is the only supported durable backend for thread state, long-term memory, active sessions, crisis logs, and feedback; guest or incognito runs are ephemeral.checked 8 Oct 2026
- Persistent memory
- Its three-layer memory stores semantic facts, episodic arcs, and procedural rules across sessions.checked 8 Oct 2026
- Project status
- The project describes itself as pre-beta and actively stabilizing, with a closed beta planned.checked 8 Oct 2026
- Purpose
- OpenCouch is a chat companion for day-to-day emotional support, self-reflection, and practical coping.checked 8 Oct 2026
- Safety
- Every turn is safety-classified before response generation, with a specialist crisis agent and durable crisis audit log.checked 8 Oct 2026
- Safety routing
- A safety classifier evaluates each turn before response generation and can hand off to a specialist crisis agent with a durable audit log.checked 8 Oct 2026
- Security and privacy
- The project describes privacy-safe tracing and recommends keeping real environment files local and out of version control.checked 8 Oct 2026
- Support
- The project directs bug reports and feature requests to GitHub Issues and asks users to report safety concerns privately.checked 8 Oct 2026
- Voice status
- The voice path is described as pre-beta and dogfood-oriented, with the product voice experience still being stabilized.checked 8 Oct 2026
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