Duma - Async questions from AI agents to you, via MCPAnswer by text or voice

"Duma" - Hungarian for "talking"

Duma is a local macOS app. Agents send questions through MCP, you answer in a native window whenever you get to it, and agents poll back for the response.

Demo

Related MCP server: MCPing

Prerequisites

• macOS (tested on macOS 15+)

• Homebrew

Setup

1. Install dependencies

brew install python           # 3.12 or newer
brew install portaudio        # required for audio recording
brew install uv               # Python package manager

2. Clone and set up the project

git clone https://github.com/zoltanpetrik/duma.git
cd duma
uv venv                 # creates an isolated Python environment for Duma
uv sync                  # installs all dependencies into that environment

Voice transcription requires an OpenAI API key - see Configuration below. The app works without it; recordings just won't be transcribed.

Running

source .venv/bin/activate
python -m duma

With debug mode (enables developer tools and verbose logging):

python -m duma --debug

When running from the command line, the menu bar icon and microphone TCC prompt will show Python instead of Duma. Use the distribution build for full macOS integration.

Try it out

The app opens empty. To see it in action without setting up MCP, start the app in debug mode (python -m duma --debug) and create a test question from another terminal:

curl -X POST http://localhost:31299/api/questions \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "agent_id": "test-agent",
    "short_description": "Pasta or rice?",
    "question_body": "Should we make pasta or rice tonight?",
    "proposed_answers": ["Pasta", "Rice", "Something else"],
    "high_priority": false
  }'

A notification pops up, the question appears in the sidebar, and you can answer it. This endpoint is only available in debug mode - in production, questions come through MCP.

CLI options

MCP Configuration

Make sure Duma is running before you connect any MCP client.

Claude Code

Add Duma as a global MCP server so it is available in every project:

claude mcp add --transport http --scope user duma http://localhost:31299/mcp

Then verify that it was added:

claude mcp list

Encouraging Claude to use Duma

Claude will not proactively use Duma unless you tell it to. Add this to your project's CLAUDE.md (or ~/.claude/CLAUDE.md to apply it globally):

## Duma (async questions)

When you encounter a question or decision that doesn't need an immediate answer
(approvals, preferences, non-blocking clarifications), use the Duma MCP tools
instead of asking in the chat. This lets me answer on my own time while you
continue working.

Use agent_id "claude-code" for all Duma calls. Before asking a new question,
call list_my_pending_questions to check if you already have unanswered questions
on the same topic. After asking, continue with other work and poll get_response
later - don't wait for an answer.

Other MCP clients

Add Duma to your MCP client config:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "duma": {
      "url": "http://localhost:31299/mcp"
    }
  }
}

Distribution build

For proper macOS integration (Dock name, notification identity, microphone permission prompt all showing "Duma" instead of "Python"), build the standalone app:

./build.sh
open dist/Duma.app

This runs PyInstaller and bundles the Python interpreter, dependencies, application code, and static files into a self-contained app at dist/Duma.app. The script handles code signing automatically. The app icon lives at static/icon.icns (generate one at icon.kitchen if you need to replace it).

The output can also be copied to another Mac and launched directly - no Python, venv, or Homebrew needed on the target machine.

Configuration

To enable voice transcription, create a config file with your OpenAI API key:

mkdir -p ~/.duma
cat > ~/.duma/config.json << 'EOF'
{
    "OPENAI_API_KEY": "your-api-key-here"
}
EOF

The app works without this - voice recordings are saved but not transcribed. Transcription language (Hungarian/English) can be switched in the app via the toggle next to the record button.

Development

See DOCS.md and SPECS.md for the full picture.

Tests

uv sync --group test
.venv/bin/python -m pytest

66 tests covering the database, service, REST API, and transcription layers. macOS-native integration (menu bar, notifications, audio recording) is tested manually - see the QA checklist in SPECS.md.

Data

All Duma data stays local:

• Configuration: ~/.duma/config.json

• Database: ~/.duma/duma.db

• Audio recordings: ~/.duma/audio/

• Logs: ~/.duma/duma.log