IMPERIAL

Everything Opal remembers, and nothing else. Tap an item to edit it, or ask Opal to forget something.

Remember automaticallyOpal saves lasting facts you tell her straight away, with an Undo. Turn off to approve each one.

Opal's own notes: running jokes, opinions she's shared and your history together.

Remember whyWhen a chat goes quiet, Opal notes each decision you made in it and the reason, and brings them back in later chats on the same subject.

Decisions Opal remembers, newest first.

None yet. They appear about 15 minutes after a chat goes quiet.

Routines Opal runs when you say their name, by text or voice. For example, "Morning protocol": the weather, what I've got on today and three headlines.

Put a protocol on your home screen

Tap Copy for Shortcuts on the protocol below.
In Shortcuts, tap + and name it after the protocol, for example Morning protocol.
Add a Text action and paste in what you copied.
Add Get Contents of URL exactly as in the Siri steps further down (same address, POST, the two headers, Request Body set to File with the Text).
Add Get Dictionary Value with the key choices.1.message.content, then Speak Text or Show Result.
On your home screen, press and hold, tap Edit then Add Widget, choose Shortcuts, and pick the protocol. You can also say "Hey Siri, Morning protocol".

The widget runs on Groq's web search, so it can check the weather and news, but it can't see your to-dos inside IMPERIAL.

When you tell Opal you need to do something, she adds it here and reminds you when it's due.

Morning briefThe first time you open IMPERIAL each day: weather, what you said you'd do, and news.

Lock with Face IDAsks for Face ID when you open IMPERIAL. To lock a single chat instead, press and hold it in your chats list.

The code that makes IMPERIAL and Opal work, for you to read. It opens with Face ID, can't be changed from here, and is never shown to Opal.

Your iPhone can clear a web app's data if it runs short of space. Save a backup to iCloud Drive now and then: tap Back up, then Save to Files.

Include my API keysOnly if the backup stays in your own iCloud Drive.

Give Opal your real schedule and step count, from your iPhone's Calendar and Health apps, through a free Shortcut that copies them for her. Nothing leaves your phone except to the brain answering you.

Show the steps

In Shortcuts, tap + and name it Opal Sync.
Add Find Calendar Events: Start Date is in the next 2 days, sorted by Start Date.
Add Repeat with Each on those events. Inside it, add a Text action: the Repeat Item's Title, a dash, then its Start Date.
After the repeat, add Find Health Samples where Type is Steps and Start Date is today, then Calculate Statistics set to Sum. (Optional: do the same for Sleep over the last day.)
Add a Text action that starts with the words OPAL SYNC, then a new line with Calendar: and the Repeat Results, then a line Steps today: with the Statistics.
Add Copy to Clipboard.
Run it (or make a morning automation in the Automation tab), open IMPERIAL and tap Paste from Opal Sync below, or the sync button on the chats screen.

Deep memory searchOpal finds things from any past chat by meaning, not just exact words. Downloads a small 25 MB model once, and works on your iPhone.

Evening debriefAfter 7pm, Opal offers to go over your day and set up tomorrow. Weekly recapOn Sundays, a look back at your week with Opal. Speak upWhile IMPERIAL is open, Opal mentions rain on the way, things starting soon, clashes and news on what she's watching. Say it out loudOpal says those out loud as well as showing them. Learn my routinesOpal notices patterns in your days (the gym on Tuesdays, takeaway on Fridays) and uses them to see what's coming. Only kept on this iPhone, and on your worker if the mainframe is on.

Nothing noticed yet. It takes a week or two of using IMPERIAL.

Take the libertyOpal prepares for what's coming up without being asked: research before an interview, a packing list before a trip.

Ask Opal to run your smart home: "lights off", "movie time", "heating to 20". Each one is a Shortcut you make once, and Opal runs it by name.

Show the steps

In Shortcuts, tap + and add Control Home (or Set Scene). Pick the scene or devices and what they should do.
Name the shortcut what you'll say, for example Lights off.
Add the same name below. Opal opens Shortcuts to run it, then you swipe back.

Opal can message you first: a heads-up before things you said you'd do, "how did it go?" afterwards, your reminders, habits still to do at 8pm, a nudge for your debrief, and what she finds while watching for you. Something on the internet has to send them, so you set up a small free Cloudflare Worker once. It only ever sees the short notification texts.

Show the steps

Sign up free at dash.cloudflare.com (no card needed).
Open Storage & Databases › KV, tap Create, and name it opal.
Open Workers & Pages › Create › Create Worker, name it opal-push, and tap Deploy.
Tap Edit code. Tap Copy the worker below, select everything in the editor, paste over it, and tap Deploy.
In the worker's Settings › Bindings, add a KV namespace: variable name OPAL, namespace opal.
In Settings › Trigger Events, add a Cron Trigger that runs every 5 minutes (*/5 * * * *).
Copy the worker's address (it ends in .workers.dev), paste it below, and tap Turn on notifications.

Watch in the backgroundThe worker checks what you've asked Opal to watch for every few hours, even when IMPERIAL is closed. It uses your Groq key, which is sent to your worker.

Reminders when you get home

In Shortcuts, open Automation, tap +, and choose Arrive.
Choose your home as the location, and pick Run Immediately.
Add Get Contents of URL and paste the address below. When you arrive, Opal sends anything you asked her to remind you about there. (This needs notifications on.)
For work, make another automation and change place=home at the end to place=work.

Give people this link and they can leave you a message with Opal. You get a notification straight away, and she passes it on next time you open IMPERIAL. It needs notifications on. If you set the worker up before version 1.46, copy the worker again and paste it over the old one.

Let Opal think while IMPERIAL is closed, on your notification worker: a morning briefing and an evening wrap-up as notifications, a warning before rain, missions she finishes in the background, answers she finishes when you leave the app mid-reply, and "Hey Siri, Opal". Your Groq key and a short summary of your day (memories, plans, habits) are sent to your worker. If you set the worker up before version 1.31, copy the worker again and paste it over the old one.

Mainframe Briefing at Wrap-up at

Talk to Opal through Siri, from the lock screen, CarPlay or your AirPods, with the app closed. She knows your day, keeps the conversation going for a few minutes, and can set reminders, add to lists and start missions. It needs the mainframe on.

Show the steps

In Shortcuts, tap + and name the shortcut Opal.
Add Dictate Text.
Add Get Contents of URL and paste the address below. Tap Show More: set Method to POST, Request Body to JSON, and add a text field called q set to the Dictated Text.
Add Speak Text, speaking the Contents of URL.
Say "Hey Siri, Opal", then talk. For a back-and-forth, add Run Shortcut: Opal at the end, so she listens again.

Give Opal real hands: your music, your home and your inbox. Each one uses your own free developer account, so nothing goes through anyone else.

Spotify

At developer.spotify.com/dashboard, sign in and tap Create app. Any name works. Tick Web API.
Add this as the Redirect URI:
Save, open the app's Settings, copy the Client ID, paste it below and tap Link Spotify. Controlling playback needs Spotify Premium.

Home Assistant

In Home Assistant, open your profile, then Security › Long-lived access tokens, and create one called IMPERIAL.
Your Home Assistant needs an https address reachable from your phone (Nabu Casa works), and this in configuration.yaml, then a restart:
http: cors_allowed_origins: -
Paste the address and token below. Opal sees your lights, locks, heating and sensors, and can control them.

Gmail and Google Calendar

Notifications need to be on (above), because your worker keeps Google's keys, never the app.
At console.cloud.google.com, create a project. Under APIs & Services › Library, enable the Gmail API and the Google Calendar API.
Under OAuth consent screen, choose External, fill in the app name and your email, then Publish app (otherwise Google unlinks it every 7 days).
Under Credentials › Create credentials › OAuth client ID, choose Web application, and add this as an authorised redirect URI:
In your Cloudflare worker's Settings › Variables and Secrets, add two secrets: GOOGLE_ID (the client ID) and GOOGLE_SECRET (the client secret).
Tap Link Google. Google warns that the app isn't verified, because it's your own: tap Advanced, then continue. Opal can read your email and write drafts (she never sends), and read and add to your calendar.

Web apps can't use the Dynamic Island, but your Clock timer can. Say "pasta's on for 12 minutes" or "I'm leaving in 20" and Opal starts a countdown there through a Shortcut you make once.

Show the steps

In Shortcuts, tap + and name the shortcut exactly Opal Countdown.
Tap the i button and make sure it can receive Text as input. Set "If there's no input" to Stop and Respond.
Add Get Numbers from Input, using the Shortcut Input.
Add Start Timer. Tap its duration, choose the Numbers variable, and set the unit to minutes.
Turn on the switch below and tap Test it: a one-minute timer should appear in your Dynamic Island. Swipe back to IMPERIAL afterwards.

Countdowns in the Dynamic IslandOpal can start timers there when you mention one.

Web apps can't send notifications by themselves, so Opal hands reminders to your iPhone's Reminders app, which alerts you even when IMPERIAL is closed. You build a free Shortcut once.

Show the steps

Open Shortcuts, tap +, and name it exactly Opal Reminder.
Tap the i button (or the shortcut's name) and make sure it can receive Text as input. Set "If there's no input" to Stop and Respond.
Add Split Text. Split the Shortcut Input by Custom, and type a single |.
Add Get Item from List set to First Item, then another set to Last Item, both from Split Text.
Add Add New Reminder. Set the reminder text to the first item. Turn on Alert, and set the date to the last item.
Come back here and turn on the switch below. Tap Test it to check.

Use the Opal Reminder shortcutReminders and the things you say you'll do go to the Reminders app. When it's off, they go to Calendar instead.

Ask Opal with "Hey Siri, Ask Opal", or share text and web pages to her from other apps. You build a free Shortcut once. Answers appear in Siri, not in your chats.

Show the steps

Open the Shortcuts app, tap +, and name the shortcut Ask Opal.
Add Dictate Text. (For the share sheet, skip this and use Shortcut Input instead.)
Add a Text action. Tap Copy the request below and paste it in. Then select the word QUESTION and replace it with the Dictated Text variable.
Add Get Contents of URL with the address https://api.groq.com/openai/v1/chat/completions. Set Method to POST. Add two headers: Authorization set to Bearer, a space, then your key (Copy your key below), and Content-Type set to application/json. Set Request Body to File and choose the Text from step 3.
Add Get Dictionary Value, set the key to choices.1.message.content.
Add Speak Text (or Show Result).
For the share sheet: open the shortcut's settings (the i button) and turn on Show in Share Sheet.

Opal's colour, for the orb, buttons and glow. Time of day moves from gold in the morning through ice and ruby to purple at night.

Light modeA white background instead of black.

Read replies aloud HapticsA light tap you can feel on buttons and gestures. SoundsQuiet interface tones. Follows your iPhone's silent switch. Use toolsCalculator, Wikipedia, weather and web search. Lookups go to those services. Think deeplySlower, better on hard problems. Plan and checkFor bigger tasks Opal makes a short plan, works through it a tool at a time, and has a second brain check her answer. Uses a little more of the free allowance. Always listeningWhile IMPERIAL is open, say "Hey Opal" on any screen and she answers. Listening for her name happens on your iPhone, so nothing is sent anywhere until you call her. iPhone only lets web apps use the microphone while they're open on screen, so she stops listening when you leave IMPERIAL or lock the phone, and your iPhone shows the microphone is in use. Use my locationWhile IMPERIAL is open, Opal knows which town you're in, for local weather and "nearest pharmacy open now". Places come from OpenStreetMap.

VoiceNeural voices run on your iPhone and sound most human; the first use downloads about 90 MB. The others are your iPhone's own voices (download better ones in Settings, Accessibility, Spoken Content, Voices). Opal's own voiceOpal speaks in a voice made just for her (four to choose from below, Crisp is closest to Jarvis), plus a few other human-sounding voices. They run on your iPhone and work offline. Still being tested: if one can't keep up, Opal uses the iPhone voice.

Live conversationIn voice mode, Opal hears you through Groq's Whisper and starts answering at her first sentence, like a phone call. Needs your Groq key. The microphone stays on while voice mode is open. Talk over herIn a live conversation, start talking and she stops to listen. Turn off if she cuts herself off on speaker. Speed Pitch

Use the server brainRuns Opal on a bigger brain. Chats are sent to that server.

For books and other long files. Paste a free Gemini key from aistudio.google.com (no card needed), and Opal reads whole files at once. Files are sent to Google, which may use free-tier content to improve its products.

NVIDIA's biggest free models (Nemotron Ultra 550B, Mistral Large 3) answer every chat, with Groq behind them. Paste a free key from build.nvidia.com (no card, no daily cap). Requests go to NVIDIA; if Safari won't send them directly, they pass through your notification service.

The biggest free open models, like Nemotron Ultra, through OpenRouter. Paste a free key from openrouter.ai (no card needed). Opal uses them for hard problems, second opinions and when Groq's allowance runs out, about 50 times a day. Add $10 of credit to your OpenRouter account once (free models don't spend it) and the allowance becomes 1,000 a day, so the biggest one answers every chat. Free models may keep what's sent to them.

Opal-2, the on-phone brain that learns from your chats, is kept private on your Hugging Face account. Paste a read key from huggingface.co › Settings › Access Tokens so this iPhone can download her. It stays on this iPhone.

Learn from my chatsOnce a week, your chats go to a private dataset on your Hugging Face account, and Opal-2 is retrained on the replies you kept (only from open brains whose terms allow it, never Gemini or Llama, and never your redos). Locked chats, photos and files stay on this iPhone. Needs a key with write access. Answer with Opal CloudOpal's own brain, trained on your chats, running free on Cloudflare. Works anywhere, with no download, using the Hugging Face key above. While it's on it answers instead of your server brain, which keeps its settings for when you turn this off.

IMPERIAL

IMPERIAL

Name

Instructions

Files

Memory

Protocols

Promises

Morning brief

Privacy

Vault

Backup

Calendar and health

Memory search

Companion

Home

Notifications

Messages through Opal

Opal's mainframe

Hey Siri, Opal

Links

Dynamic Island

Alerts on your iPhone

Siri and share sheet

Appearance

Instructions

Settings

Opal's voice

Server brain

Long reading

Bigger brains

Usage

Brain