“I built this for my son Rick. I’m sharing it in case it helps yours.”
My son Rick is 19. He has autism. He’s funny, passionate about Roblox, and has an encyclopedic knowledge of the alphabet. Like a lot of people on the spectrum, social connection doesn’t come naturally — not because he doesn’t want it, but because the path there isn’t obvious.
I’m a developer. So I built something.
RICK is an open source AI companion that helps neurodivergent individuals build social confidence the way real relationships actually form — gradually, organically, and entirely on their terms.
I named it after him.
RICK meets users where they are and advances only when they’re ready. No pressure. No rushing. Just connection at a pace that feels safe.
Phase 1 — Pen Pal
The AI writes emails. The user writes back.
Low pressure. Async. Their favorite topics lead the way.
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Phase 2 — Texting
Shorter messages. Faster back and forth.
Learning the rhythm of real conversation.
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Phase 3 — Game Companion
A "come play with me" sidebar experience.
Social scenarios practiced inside games like Roblox.
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Phase 4 — Real Peer Matching
Connect with another real person who took the same journey.
Same interests. Same pace. Already knows how to do this.
The AI tracks readiness signals over time — response speed, message length, unprompted initiation, reciprocal questions — and suggests phase transitions only when the data supports it. Parents or guardians approve every transition.
- Interest-led — Every interaction is built around what the user actually cares about
- No fixing — RICK doesn’t treat autism as a problem to solve. It builds a bridge.
- Transparent — Users always know they’re talking to an AI
- Private — Your family’s data never leaves your home
- Open — Free to self-host forever. No subscriptions. No data selling. Ever.
[ iPad / Device App ]
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[ FastAPI Backend — Python ]
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[ Ollama — Local LLM Inference ]
[ PostgreSQL + pgvector — Memory & Logs ]
[ Readiness Engine — Phase Progression Logic ]
[ Parent Dashboard — Progress & Approvals ]
Key design decisions:
- Local-first — Runs entirely on your own hardware via Docker/Unraid
- pgvector — Semantic memory so RICK actually remembers and learns about the user over time
- Ollama — No cloud API required. Runs models like Llama 3.1 or Mistral locally
- Readiness Engine — Deterministic logic (not vibes) decides when a user is ready to level up
Full architecture documentation lives in /docs/architecture.md
RICK is designed to run on a home server or NAS. Unraid users get a community app template out of the box.
Minimum requirements:
- Docker + Docker Compose
- 16GB RAM
- GPU with 12GB+ VRAM recommended (RTX 3060 or better) for local LLM inference
- PostgreSQL-compatible storage
git clone https://github.com/rick-companion/rick
cd rick
cp .env.example .env
docker compose up -dFull setup guide: /docs/self-hosting.md
- Project scaffolding and repo structure
- PostgreSQL + pgvector schema
- FastAPI backend skeleton
- Ollama integration and base prompt architecture
- User profile and persistent memory layer
- Email interaction module
- Interest-based conversation system
- Basic readiness signal tracking
- Parent dashboard v1
- SMS-style interface
- Faster response loop
- Readiness engine v1
- Roblox custom experience (Lua + HttpService)
- Social scenario library (greetings, joining, goodbyes)
- Real-time AI NPC integration
- Anonymized peer matching algorithm
- Shared interest compatibility scoring
- Moderated introduction system
RICK needs more than code. We’re looking for:
| Role | What You’d Do |
|---|---|
| Developers | Features, bugfixes, integrations, testing |
| Prompt Engineers | Refining autism-informed interaction styles |
| SLPs & Clinicians | Validating the progression model |
| Designers | UX/UI — this has to be exceptional for our users |
| Families | Beta testing, lived experience feedback |
| Hardware Donors | GPU nodes and compute for families who can’t self-host |
| Researchers | Outcome studies and clinical validation |
Read CONTRIBUTING.md to get started.
All contributors are recognized in CONTRIBUTORS.md.
RICK runs locally — but not every family has a homelab. We’re building a community compute network so families who can’t self-host can still access RICK for free.
If you have hardware to donate or want to contribute a compute node, open an issue tagged hardware-donation.
GNU General Public License v3.0 — see LICENSE
This means anyone can use, study, modify, and distribute RICK. Nobody can take it proprietary. Ever.
- GitHub Issues — bugs, features, questions
- GitHub Discussions — community conversation
- Coming soon: Discord
RICK started with one dad and one kid. Let’s see how far it goes.