🌿 Side Quest: An Open-Source AI Agent That Turns Screen Time into Real-World Adventures
🌿 Side Quest: An Open-Source AI Agent That Gets You Off Your Screen This is a submission for the Hacktoberfest Open-Source AI Challenge Week 1: Touch Grass . What I Built We spend hours staring at screens, often forgetting to step outside, take a walk, or notice the world around us. Side Quest is
This is a submission for the Hacktoberfest Open-Source AI Challenge Week 1: Touch Grass.
We spend hours staring at screens, often forgetting to step outside, take a walk, or notice the world around us.
Side Quest is an open-source AI-powered outdoor companion that turns excessive screen time into small real-world adventures.
Instead of simply telling you to take a break, Side Quest creates a personalized 20-minute quest based on your local weather, sunset time, and nearby green spaces.
When outdoor conditions aren't suitable, Side Quest suggests a safer indoor-adjacent alternative, such as a balcony or covered area.
The goal is simple: less scrolling, more exploring.
🎥 Watch the Demo: Side Quest — Video Demo
🌐 GitHub Repository: Tusharkhadde/side-quest
💻 GitHub Repository: Tusharkhadde/side-quest
The project is open source under the MIT License. You can run it locally, experiment with different open-weight models, or self-host the inference layer.
Side Quest is built with Next.js, TypeScript, browser APIs, and an AI agent pipeline designed to work with multiple model providers.
The application uses Open-Meteo for weather information and OpenStreetMap data for nearby places.
It also includes a lightweight desktop watcher that detects extended periods of computer activity without sending activity data to a remote server.
For a project focused on personal habits and privacy, having control over the AI stack matters.
Open-weight models make it possible to experiment with different inference providers, change models without rebuilding the application, and eventually run inference entirely on local hardware.
One important distinction: open weights don't automatically make hosted inference private. When a hosted provider is used, some information is sent to that provider. Side Quest documents these data flows and provides configuration options for developers who want more control.
Open innovation makes this project adaptable, inspectable, and easier for the community to build upon.
The agent pipeline, provider fallback logic, and quest-generation implementation are available in the repository.
Explore the implementation: Side Quest on GitHub
This project is submitted for the Hacktoberfest Open-Source AI Challenge — Week 1: Touch Grass.
Additional partner prize categories should be listed here only if Side Quest meets their specific eligibility requirements.
Built with open-source AI, a little curiosity, and the belief that the best quest sometimes starts by putting your phone down. 🌿
Some comments may only be visible to logged-in visitors. Sign in to view all comments.