HelmdeckHelmdeck vs Pinokio
They solve different problems, and plenty of people use both. Pinokio is an installer for ready-made open-source AI apps. Helmdeck is the place you run and watch everything, including the bots and scripts you build yourself.
The short version
Pick Pinokio if you mainly want to try popular AI apps (image, video or music generators and chatbots) without touching a terminal. It's free and has a large catalog of one-click installs.
Pick Helmdeck if you build your own things with AI, like trading or Discord bots, scrapers, agents or game tools, and you're tired of hunting through terminals to see what's running. Helmdeck also installs popular AI apps, finds the ones you already have, and keeps all of it on one screen.
Side by side
| Helmdeck | Pinokio | |
|---|---|---|
| One-click installs of open-source AI apps | Yes | Yes, a bigger catalog |
| Runs your own scripts, bots and folders | Yes | Through scripts written for Pinokio |
| Live status on each tile (profit, progress, "needs you") | Yes | Not listed |
| Restart after a crash, start with your PC, run on a schedule | Yes | Not listed |
| Phone alerts when something crashes or needs you | Yes (Pro) | Not listed |
| One safe place for AI keys, shared with your builds | Yes | Not listed |
| Finds Ollama, LM Studio and ComfyUI already on your PC | Yes | Not listed |
| Works with Claude Code and other AI coding tools | Yes | Not listed |
| Share builds with friends, or sell them | Yes | Not listed |
| Price | Free for 3 builds. Pro is $39 once. | Free |
"Not listed" means we couldn't find it in Pinokio's public description as of October 2026, not that it's impossible. If something here is out of date, tell us at the feedback board and we'll fix it.
Where Helmdeck is different
It's built for the things you make
Point Helmdeck at any folder or command and it becomes a tile. Two lines of code from your build put a live number on that tile: today's P/L, a progress bar, or a "needs you" flag when it's waiting on a decision.
It keeps things running
Turn on "Restart if it stops" and a crashed bot is back in seconds. Builds can start with your PC or run on a schedule, and with phone alerts you hear about problems while you're out.
It ships with real starter builds
Browse opens with official starter builds, like a daily AI news digest, chat with your files, a price tracker and an uptime monitor. Press Make it and they're running.
Try Helmdeck free
Free for 3 builds on Windows, Mac and Linux. No account needed.