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Jan

Offline-first AI assistant for local inference

open sourceupdated May 23, 2026

Jan is an open-source offline-first AI assistant with 25K+ GitHub stars running LLMs locally without sending data externally. Features a ChatGPT-like interface with one-click model downloads from Hugging Face, conversation management, customizable prompts, and an OpenAI-compatible local API server. Supports GGUF models via llama.cpp with GPU acceleration on NVIDIA and Apple Silicon. Built with Electron for macOS, Windows, and Linux with full data privacy.

ChatGPT-like experience on local hardware. 25K+ stars, privacy and offline-first.

One-click model downloads, conversation management, model switching. GGUF via llama.cpp.

OpenAI-compatible local API. GPU acceleration on NVIDIA CUDA and Apple Metal.

Cross-platform Electron desktop app. All data stays local.

Pricing

Free and open-source

Platforms

macOS, Windows, Linux

Categories

Tags

Use Cases

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llmfit

Find which AI models actually run on your hardware in one command

llmfit is a Rust-based terminal tool that matches over 200 LLM models from 30+ providers against your exact hardware specs. The interactive TUI scores each model on fit, speed, VRAM usage, and context length, helping you avoid downloading models that won't run on your machine. It supports Ollama, llama.cpp, MLX, Docker Model Runner, and LM Studio backends.

Open Source
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Google AI Edge Gallery

Run open-source LLMs on your phone, fully offline and private

Google AI Edge Gallery is an open-source mobile app that lets you download and run large language models like Gemma directly on Android and iOS devices with zero cloud dependency. Built on MediaPipe and LiteRT, it features AI chat with reasoning mode, multimodal image analysis, real-time audio transcription, and autonomous agent skills—all running entirely on-device for complete privacy. A reference implementation for developers building offline-first AI experiences.

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RamaLama is an open-source tool that containerizes AI model inference using Podman or Docker, eliminating host system configuration complexity. It auto-detects GPUs (NVIDIA, AMD, Intel, Apple Silicon), pulls models from HuggingFace, Ollama, and OCI registries, and runs them in isolated rootless containers with read-only mounts and network isolation. Developed under the Containers project (Red Hat ecosystem), it brings familiar container workflows to local LLM serving.

Open Source

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Comparisons

Ollama vs LM Studio vs Jan — Running Local LLMs on Your Desktop

Running LLMs on your own hardware used to mean fighting Python environments and CUDA toolkits. In 2026, three desktop-class tools dominate that workflow: Ollama, LM Studio, and Jan. All three let you download a model and chat with it offline within minutes, but the philosophies differ. Ollama is a CLI-first engine with a thriving ecosystem and an OpenAI-compatible server. LM Studio is a polished GUI with the best model discovery experience. Jan is open-source and privacy-first with native MCP support. This comparison covers interface, ecosystem, performance, and license — and gives clear signals for which fits which developer.

FAQ

What is Jan?

Jan is an open-source offline-first AI assistant with 25K+ GitHub stars running LLMs locally without sending data externally. Features a ChatGPT-like interface with one-click model downloads from Hugging Face, conversation management, customizable prompts, and an OpenAI-compatible local API server. Supports GGUF models via llama.cpp with GPU acceleration on NVIDIA and Apple Silicon. Built with Electron for macOS, Windows, and Linux with full data privacy.

Is Jan free?

Yes — Jan is open source and free to use. Free and open-source

Is Jan open source?

Yes — Jan is open source.

What are the best Jan alternatives?

The top editor-verified Jan alternatives are llmfit, Google AI Edge Gallery, RamaLama.