Duck, Duck, Duck! by IDEO

The device acts as an interactive rubber‑duck debugger that is paired with Claude Code. It listens to a developer’s coding session through a built‑in microphone, interprets Claude’s output, and replies aloud with comments, questions, or approvals. When Claude pauses, fails, or asks for permission, the duck can respond verbally, allowing the user to approve actions or supply input without switching contexts.

It is built on ESP32‑S3 hardware with a speaker, MEMS microphone, micro‑servo, and USB‑C connection that supplies power, data, and audio over a single cable. The duck can operate in two modes: Permission mode, which tracks when Claude gets stuck and prompts the user, and Companion mode, which provides a running monologue about the interaction. Voice commands are prefixed with “ducky” and are injected into the development environment via tmux.

A software‑only version is also offered as a desktop widget that runs locally on Apple Silicon (M1/M2/M3) or with a Gemini API key. The solution is experimental and intended for developers who want a spoken, hardware‑augmented debugging companion for Claude‑based coding workflows.