Rick v6 is an always-on AI agent that builds and ships digital products toward $100K MRR. It runs on a dedicated Mac Studio with SQLite persistence, multi-provider LLM routing, Telegram founder control, and OpenClaw integration.
- Queues product ideas via Telegram or CLI
- Executes a gold path: research → offer → outline → scaffold → landing page → newsletter → social → approval → publish
- Processes payments via Stripe with real checkout enforcement (blocks placeholder URLs)
- Delivers products with post-purchase fulfillment, customer memory, and follow-up sequences
- Reports status through Telegram with approval gates for irreversible actions
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Mac Studio (always-on) │
│ │
│ ┌──────────┐ ┌──────────────┐ ┌───────────────────┐ │
│ │ Daemon │ │ Telegram │ │ Cron (heartbeat, │ │
│ │ (120s) │ │ Bridge │ │ nightly, weekly) │ │
│ └────┬─────┘ └──────┬───────┘ └────────┬──────────┘ │
│ │ │ │ │
│ └───────────────┼───────────────────┘ │
│ │ │
│ ┌────────▼────────┐ │
│ │ SQLite Runtime │ (workflows, jobs, │
│ │ rick-runtime.db│ approvals, artifacts)│
│ └────────┬────────┘ │
│ │ │
│ ┌──────────────────┼──────────────────┐ │
│ │ │ │ │
│ ▼ ▼ ▼ │
│ OpenAI Anthropic Google/xAI │
│ (strategy, (writing, (analysis, │
│ coding) review) heartbeat,research)│
│ │
│ ~/rick-vault/ ← Obsidian memory (PARA structure) │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
See SETUP.md for the complete deployment runbook. The short version:
# 1. Install deps
brew install node@22 python@3.12 tmux jq gh himalaya
brew install stripe/stripe-cli/stripe
# 2. Setup Rick
bash scripts/setup.sh --yes
# 3. Configure
# Edit config/rick.env with your real API keys and domains
# 4. Verify
bash scripts/doctor.sh
python3 runtime/runner.py status
# 5. Deploy (cron-first approach, recommended)
bash scripts/install-crons.sh
# 6. Start Telegram bridge
bash scripts/run-telegram-bridge.sh
# 7. Queue first product
# In Telegram: /queue "My First Guide" --price 29 --type guide| Mode | Command | Use When |
|---|---|---|
| Cron (recommended first) | bash scripts/install-crons.sh |
Starting out — heartbeat every 30 min |
| Daemon | bash scripts/run-daemon.sh |
After cron is stable — continuous 120s loop |
| launchd (survives reboots) | bash scripts/install-launchd.sh |
Production — auto-start on boot |
| Telegram bridge | bash scripts/run-telegram-bridge.sh |
Always — founder control surface |
| Command | What it does |
|---|---|
/help |
Show available commands |
/status |
Current workflows, lanes, spend |
/lanes |
Lane utilization |
/queue "idea" --price 29 --type guide |
Queue a new info product |
/work 3 |
Process up to 3 jobs |
/approve <id> note |
Approve a pending action |
/deny <id> note |
Deny a pending action |
/publish <wf_id> newsletter,linkedin,x |
Publish to channels |
| Route | Default Model | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
strategy |
gpt-5.4 | Planning, decisions (strategy panel: 3 models) |
coding |
gpt-5.4-pro | Code generation |
writing |
claude-sonnet-4-6 | Content, marketing copy |
review |
claude-opus-4-6 | Red-team, QA |
analysis |
gemini-3.1-pro-preview | Data, context synthesis |
heartbeat |
gemini-3.1-flash-lite-preview | Lightweight status checks |
research |
grok-4-latest | Web research, fact-checking |
Daily spend cap: $50/day (configurable via RICK_LLM_DAILY_CAP_USD). Heartbeat is always exempt.
rick-v6/
├── config/
│ ├── rick.env.example # All configuration (copy to rick.env)
│ ├── model-pricing.json # Per-model cost rates
│ ├── lane-policy.json # Concurrent lane limits
│ └── approval-policy.json # What needs founder approval
├── runtime/
│ ├── runner.py # CLI entry point
│ ├── engine.py # Workflow state machine
│ ├── db.py # SQLite persistence (WAL mode)
│ ├── llm.py # Multi-provider LLM router
│ └── telegram_bridge.py # Telegram poller
├── scripts/
│ ├── setup.sh # First-run bootstrap
│ ├── doctor.sh # Health check
│ ├── install-crons.sh # Felix-style cron jobs
│ ├── install-launchd.sh # macOS service install
│ ├── run-daemon.sh # Always-on loop
│ └── run-telegram-bridge.sh # Telegram listener
├── skills/ # 31+ modular capabilities
├── deploy/launchd/ # Plist templates
├── templates/ # Vault structure, OpenClaw config
└── ~/rick-vault/ # Obsidian memory (created by bootstrap)
- Approval gates: Irreversible actions (spend, publish, delete) require
/approvevia Telegram - Launch enforcement:
launch-readyblocks unless checkout URL or waitlist is real (no placeholders) - Daily LLM budget: Hard cap prevents runaway API spend
- SQLite WAL + busy_timeout: Safe concurrent access across daemon, bridge, and cron
- Watchdog: Auto-restart with cooldowns and daily caps
| Doc | Purpose |
|---|---|
| SETUP.md | Step-by-step Mac Studio deployment |
| IDENTITY.md | Rick's operating mandate |
| ANALYSIS.md | Felix comparison, what v6 fixes |
| HEARTBEAT.md | Monitoring and escalation |
| ANTI_PATTERNS.md | Failure modes to avoid |
| PROVIDER_SAFETY.md | API usage compliance |
Ready for Mac Studio deployment. All deployment blockers resolved:
- Python deps auto-installed during setup
- Daemon logs to file (no silent failures)
- SQLite concurrent access protected
- LLM daily spend cap enforced
- launchd installer with proper PATH and crash protection
.gitignoreprevents secret commits