Fazm vs Sky
A voice-first AI agent for your entire desktop vs an AI shortcuts assistant from the creators of Apple Shortcuts. Two macOS-native approaches - here's how they compare.
Open-ended agent vs structured shortcuts
Sky brings the Shortcuts philosophy to AI - build tools, chain actions, capture context with Skyshots. Fazm skips the tooling layer entirely and just controls your computer.
Sky
Structured, tool-based approach
- 1Capture a Skyshot (both Cmd keys) of your frontmost window
- 2Sky reads the screenshot + textual representation
- 3Ask questions or request actions via text chat
- 4Actions run through built-in integrations (Calendar, Messages, Notes, etc.)
- 5Create custom tools with natural language, shell scripts, or AppleScript
- 6Supports GPT-4.1 or Claude as the underlying model
Predictable. Structured. Limited scope.
Great for repeatable workflows, but you need to build tools for each task and manually capture context.
Fazm
Open-ended, voice-driven agent
- Press one shortcut and speak your task naturally
- Fazm sees your entire screen via the accessibility API
- Controls mouse, keyboard, and any app directly
- No tools to build, no integrations to configure
- Handles open-ended tasks that don't fit a workflow
- Indexes local files and builds persistent context
One prompt. Any task. Done.
No tool-building step. Just say what you need and Fazm figures out how to do it across any app.
Sky gives you building blocks. Fazm gives you results.
Sky is powerful for people who want to craft custom AI workflows. Fazm is for people who want to describe a task and have it done - no assembly required.
Feature-by-feature comparison
How Fazm and Sky stack up across every dimension.
Full desktop agent, not just integrations
Sky works through built-in integrations for Calendar, Messages, Notes, Safari, Finder, and Mail - plus custom tools you create. Fazm controls your entire desktop directly via the accessibility API. No integrations to set up, no tools to build.
- Controls any macOS app directly
- No setup or integrations needed
- Handles open-ended tasks
- Mouse, keyboard, and DOM control
- Limited to built-in integrations
- Custom tools require setup
- Structured workflow approach
- Actions through app-specific hooks
Speak naturally. Fazm acts instantly.
Fazm is built around voice - push-to-talk with one keyboard shortcut. Sky uses a text chat interface with Skyshots (special screenshots you capture by pressing both Command keys) to provide context.
- Push-to-talk voice input
- Natural language commands
- One keyboard shortcut to activate
- Hands-free operation
- Text-only chat interface
- Skyshots for context (manual capture)
- Type every instruction
- No voice input
Always aware vs capture-on-demand
Fazm continuously understands what is on your screen across all apps and indexes your local files. Sky requires you to manually capture a Skyshot of your frontmost window to give it context.
- Continuous screen awareness
- Local file indexing
- Persistent knowledge graph
- Cross-app context
- Manual Skyshot capture required
- Frontmost window only
- Session-based context
- No persistent file indexing
Local-first vs cloud-dependent
Fazm processes screen data locally before sending only the intent to AI models. Sky captures Skyshots - screenshots plus textual window representations - and sends them to your chosen LLM provider (OpenAI or Anthropic).
- Local screen processing
- Only intent sent to AI
- Open source & auditable
- No data collection
- Skyshots sent to LLM provider
- Window content shared with cloud
- Proprietary & closed source
- Acquired by OpenAI
About each product
Sky
by Software Applications Inc. (acquired by OpenAI)
Sky was created by Ari Weinstein and Conrad Kramer - the original creators of Workflow, which Apple acquired and turned into Shortcuts. Sky brings the same philosophy to AI: capture what is on your screen with a Skyshot, ask questions, and take actions through built-in integrations for Calendar, Messages, Notes, Safari, Finder, and Mail. You can create custom tools using natural language, shell scripts, and AppleScript. Sky supports GPT-4.1 or Claude as its underlying model. In October 2025, OpenAI acquired the company and the team joined OpenAI to bring Sky's macOS integration into ChatGPT.
Fazm
Open source
An AI computer agent for macOS that goes beyond integrations and shortcuts. Controls your mouse, keyboard, browser DOM, and native apps - all triggered by voice. Indexes local files, builds a knowledge graph, and integrates with Google Workspace. Screen analysis runs locally for privacy. The entire project is open source.
Shortcuts-style tools vs direct desktop control
Sky inherits the Shortcuts philosophy - build reusable tools that the AI can chain together. Fazm takes a fundamentally different approach: control the desktop directly, no tool-building required.
Sky's approach
Skyshots + tools + integrations
- Capture context manually with Skyshots
- Built-in integrations for select Apple apps
- Custom tools via natural language or scripts
- Predictable, repeatable workflows
- Requires tool-building for new use cases
- Text-based chat interface
Fazm's approach
Voice + accessibility API + direct control
- Continuous screen awareness via accessibility API
- Controls any app - no integrations to configure
- Handles open-ended tasks out of the box
- Voice-first - speak and it acts
- No tool-building step for new use cases
- Local file indexing and persistent context
Sky's Shortcuts heritage makes it great for building structured, repeatable AI workflows. But when you need to handle a novel task - something you haven't built a tool for yet - Fazm's direct desktop control means you just say what you need and it figures out the rest.
When to use which
Choose Fazm if you...
- Want voice-first control over your entire computer
- Handle open-ended tasks that don't fit a workflow
- Work across many apps, not just Apple's built-in ones
- Prefer open source software you can inspect
- Don't want to build tools before getting things done
Choose Sky if you...
- Love building custom workflows and tools
- Primarily use Apple's built-in apps
- Want to choose between GPT-4.1 and Claude
- Prefer structured, predictable automation
Ready to try the agent approach?
Download Fazm for macOS and see what a voice-first desktop agent can do. Free and open source.