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The Viola Blog

Notes from building Viola

How to get the most out of Viola, the parts that were genuinely hard to build, and where it is all headed. Written plainly, by the people building it.

Breaking Viola Out of Her Box

The hard part of building Viola was not the code. It was getting the AI agents I direct to trust AI, instead of turning judgment into regex and blaming the model for my bugs. That fight is what finally let me give her hands and eyes.

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How we build Viola

We build Viola by orchestrating fleets of AI coding agents. How that works, what it taught us, and the stop hooks we built to keep our own builders honest.

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Build, Buy, or Borrow

Some of Viola we built, some we pay for, and some we borrowed. An honest map of which is which, and the reasoning behind each call, including the day production wedged five times.

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What Viola stands for

Four beliefs Viola is built on: privacy by default, local and free forever, no walled garden, and maximum capability. Including where we do not fully live up to them yet.

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Where Viola is headed

The near-term roadmap and the bigger vision: more platforms (Mac, iPhone, Linux), a growing community, sturdier phone calls, multi-room polish, and where it all leads.

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How to get multi-room audio sync on any device

Play the same music, in time, across any device with a browser: your phone, a kitchen tablet, an old laptop. No matching speakers, no extra hardware, and an honest word on the one rough edge.

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How to get your AI to make a phone call for you

Viola dials, talks to the person who answers, sits on hold, and hands you a summary. Here is how to do it, and exactly what is required first.

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About the author

I'm Jihad Shkoukani, though most people online know me as Gigi. I'm 28, I work in finance, and I'm a brand-new dad, so Viola gets built in the margins: early mornings, late nights, and the odd quiet hour in between. I'm making the assistant I actually wanted, and writing down what I learn along the way. Say hi on Reddit or TikTok, or join the community at r/useviola.