Hugging Face Opens Robot App Store: Anyone Can Now Create and Share Software for Reachy Mini
Hugging Face, known for its open-source AI models, has launched a dedicated app store for its Reachy Mini desktop robot. This store hosts over 200 community-built applications, all free to download, and allows owners—even those without coding experience—to create their own apps using natural language. Below, we answer key questions about this groundbreaking move that aims to make robotics as accessible as smartphones.
What exactly is the Reachy Mini App Store, and who created it?
The Reachy Mini App Store is a new platform from Hugging Face, the New York City startup that hosts open-source AI models. It’s designed exclusively for the Reachy Mini robot—an affordable, open-source desktop robot that costs $299 and features camera eyes, a speaker, and a microphone. The store launched with over 200 applications built by the community, and owners can download them free of charge. Hugging Face acquired the robot’s original developer, Pollen Robotics, in 2025 and has now built an app ecosystem around it.
How many Reachy Mini robots have been sold, and who is the target audience?
Since its debut in July 2025, approximately 10,000 Reachy Mini units have been sold. The target audience is broad: from hobbyists and educators to AI researchers and curious non-engineers. Hugging Face CEO Clément Delangue emphasized that the robot’s app store is designed to be used by “anyone,” removing the traditional requirement of being a roboticist or programmer. The store’s primary goal is to make robot programming as simple as using a PC or smartphone.
Are the apps really free? Can app creators earn money?
Yes, all 200+ apps in the Reachy Mini App Store are completely free to download and use. However, unlike smartphone app stores, there is currently no monetization option for creators. Hugging Face has not yet introduced in-app purchases, subscriptions, or payment systems. The company may add such features in the future, but for now, the focus is on building a vibrant, open community where sharing and collaboration come first.
How does Hugging Face make it possible for non-coders to build apps?
Hugging Face provides an agentic toolkit that acts as a bridge between humans and robot hardware. Instead of learning robotics SDKs or firmware details, a user can simply describe what they want in plain English—for example, “wave when someone says good morning.” An AI agent called ML Intern then writes the necessary code, tests it against the robot’s constraints, and packages it as a downloadable app. This process often takes less than an hour and requires no prior engineering background.
Why has building robot software been so hard until now?
The main bottleneck has been a scarcity of high-quality training data specific to robotics. While large language models (LLMs) learned to code by training on massive repositories like GitHub, the volume of robotics code is comparatively tiny—GitHub has over 17,000 repos, but that’s still small for training robust AI agents. Without enough examples, agents struggled to understand physical abstractions and firmware requirements. Hugging Face’s toolkit solves this by acting as an intelligent intermediary, translating user intent into working robot commands without requiring massive robotics datasets.
What does this mean for the future of robotics and AI model builders?
CEO Clément Delangue predicts that more AI model builders will use Reachy Mini as a test bed for evaluating how well new models handle physical tasks. The app store lowers the barrier to entry so dramatically that anyone can ship functional robotics software—a feat previously reserved for specialists. This democratization could accelerate robotics innovation, much like app stores did for smartphones. In time, the store may also evolve to support monetization, enticing more developers to create high-quality apps.
Where can I learn more or get started with Reachy Mini?
You can visit Hugging Face’s website for purchase details, the robot’s documentation, and the Reachy Mini App Store. The robot itself is open-source, so schematics and software are publicly available. To build apps, explore the ML Intern agent on Hugging Face’s platform. The community is active, with forums and tutorials to help new users. For more information, refer to the official announcement above or check Hugging Face’s blog.