Build an AI Passport app with WorkBuddy

WorkBuddy is Tencent's AI workspace for everyday work. Besides documents and data, it has a Code development mode: give it a local project and the agent reads code, edits files, and runs commands.

• Developer: Tencent
• Platforms: macOS, Windows 10 or later
• Requirements: a WorkBuddy account; the personal plan has a free tier, each model's rate appears in the model menu, and more usage follows the official pricing
• Version used in this guide: 5.3.14

Download the installer from the official site: workbuddy.cn↗. Use only the official download, not repackaged builds from other sources.

• On the official site, select the download button and choose macOS or Windows.
• macOS: open the .dmg and drag WorkBuddy into Applications.
• Windows: run the installer and follow the steps.

Sign in to WorkBuddy the first time you open it. Select New task, choose Code development on the home screen, and check the model next to the message box. This guide used DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash with the default permissions.

In a Code development task, select Choose workspace below the message box, then Open local folder, and open the AI Passport project folder in the file picker.

Start a new conversation, paste the prompt below, replace [ENTER APP REQUIREMENTS] with the app you want, and send it. This guide used the following example:

Build  using the complete project at https://gitee.com/FoloToy/ai-passport; reuse a local checkout if available.
Read AGENTS.md and docs/README.md first, then consult relevant documentation, hardware interfaces, and examples as needed. Prepare the environment and install the Skills required by the project.
Preserve existing changes and develop on a new branch. Reuse the BSP and design a fresh application UI instead of copying the demo; check font coverage for Chinese text. Ask when key requirements are unclear and handle the rest autonomously.
Run project validation and deliver merged firmware flashable from 0x0. Report test results and anything unverified. When finished, proactively ask whether to test on hardware; do not flash without confirmation.

• a Pomodoro timer: start with a 25-minute focus countdown; Confirm starts or pauses it; before it starts, Up and Down change the length from 5 to 60 minutes in 5-minute steps; when time is up, show a clear alert and play a sound, and Confirm resets the timer

WorkBuddy checks the project state and required Skills, reads the docs and reference code, then creates a feature/pomodoro-timer branch, writes the code, generates Chinese fonts, and runs the full validation. The top of the reply shows the estimated and used credits for the task.

This example took about 24 minutes. WorkBuddy reported a passing build and full host validation, delivered merged firmware at build/FoloToy-AI-Passport-full.bin (781,904 bytes, written at 0x0), and explained two product decisions it made on its own plus what still needs testing on the device.

• The font coverage test catches missing Chinese glyphs. This time it found and fixed a missing character.
• Read the decisions the agent made on its own, such as keeping the last chosen length after the countdown ends, and ask for changes if they don't match what you want.
• When it detects a connected device, it only probes it read-only and asks before flashing. Reply that you don't want to flash yet if your device isn't ready.

Open the web flasher↗, choose the merged firmware the agent delivered (the .bin file written at 0x0), connect AI Passport with a USB-C data cable, and install it. The device restarts when it finishes. Then check the display, buttons, and sound one by one.

• Installing a new app overwrites everything currently on the device. You can restore the default firmware at any time.
• Don't unplug the cable or close the page during installation.
• Describe anything that doesn't look or respond as expected, and ask the agent for another build.

Here are issues you may run into when building AI Passport apps with WorkBuddy:

• Without a workspace, the agent can't change the AI Passport project. Make sure the project folder appears below the message box.
• The build environment is missing: ask the agent to set up ESP-IDF 5.5.3 from the project docs. If it's already installed, point the agent to the existing Python environment with IDF_PYTHON_ENV_PATH.
• On macOS, the linker rejects --gc-sections: this is a known macOS difference in the project's host tests. The agent switches to -dead_strip and keeps testing, and the firmware build isn't affected.
• You've used up your quota: see WorkBuddy's official pricing page.