Hey Mint
Basics

The orb at work

While Mint works, its face melts away and the orb becomes the task. When it finishes it shows a ✓ or ✗, and the face comes back. Here is what every animation means.

The orb

Its moods

You seeIt means
Eyes following your pointerAwake and listening
Eyes looking up, the swirl turning fasterThinking
Eyes on a spot on the screenWorking there (where it clicks, scrolls or types)
Happy squintSomething just worked
Dimmed, eyes closedAsleep; only “Hey Mint” wakes it
A small red dotVisible in screen sharing (see Screen sharing)
The orb

The orb becomes the task

For every action the orb morphs into a symbol, with its own little motion, and a caption says what it is doing.

Four actions in a row: searching (a magnifier that looks around), reading a file (a folder), a menu command (a menu glyph on a rounded tile), reading the window (a scan line).
ActionThe orb becomesIts motion
Opening an appA rounded tile with the app's own iconA soft bob
Web pageA globeRocks gently
SearchA magnifierCircles, looking around
ClickA tapping handPresses in, springs back
TypingA text cursorTiny hops
Reading, lookingA viewfinder or an eyeA scan line sweeps
Files, PDFs, notesA folder, a document, a pencilA soft bob
Mail, calendarAn envelope, a calendarA soft bob
Waiting, timersA clockSpins
AppleScript, codeBraces { }Wiggles
MenusA menu glyph—
The orb

Worked, or didn't

A ✓ with a hop when a click worked; a ✗ with a shake (and a tiny rain cloud) when typing failed. Then the face comes back.

The chat lists the same action with a green ✓ or a red ✗, so you can scroll back and see what happened.

The orb

Long tasks

A three-step plan: “Step 1/3”, “Step 2/3”, “Step 3/3” in the caption, a progress ring round the orb, then confetti.

For anything with three or more steps Mint makes a plan first (plan_task), marks each step done as it goes, and celebrates at the end. The chat shows a progress bar too.

The orb

On the screen itself

Only two small things are drawn on your screen, both click-through: a ripple with a paw print where a click lands, and a thin outline round the box being typed into.

A click on “Design review” (ripple and paw print) and typing into the box below (outline).
The orb

A flourish for every action

Beside the orb, each kind of action gets its own small moment.

Ten actions in a row: opening an app, a web page, a search, typing, scrolling, saving a file, an email draft, media keys, AppleScript, a screenshot.
ActionFlourish
Open an appStars fan out
Web pageA paper plane takes off with a sparkle trail
SearchA magnifier circles the orb
TypingLetters float up
Reading, lookingSparkles twinkle
ScrollingChevrons bounce
Files, PDFs, clipboardPapers flutter up
MailAn envelope flies off with a heart
SoundMusic notes
Code{ } floats up
ScreenshotA camera flash ring
Worked / didn'tHearts / a tiny rain cloud

Switch them off in the menu: Cute action flourishes. On-screen ripples and outlines are On-screen effects.

None of this appears in Mint's own screenshots, so it never reads its own animations by mistake.