Tools · Local AI apps
Jan
thecontinuitylayer.com/tools/local-ai-apps/janPeople who want an open-source ChatGPT-style app that works offline
Desktop app · Jan (janhq)
Jan is an open-source desktop app that works as a local alternative to ChatGPT. It bundles llama.cpp, downloads open models such as Gemma, Qwen and gpt-oss, and can run entirely offline.
It can also connect to hosted models from OpenAI, Anthropic, Mistral and others, so one window covers both. It serves an OpenAI-compatible API at localhost:1337 and supports MCP for tool use.
Specs
| Price | Free and open source (Apache 2.0) |
|---|---|
| Runs | Open models from Hugging Face through bundled llama.cpp; optional hosted models |
| Platforms | Windows 10+, macOS 13.6+, Linux |
| Memory | Maker's guide: 8GB for 3B models, 16GB for 7B, 32GB for 13B |
| Difficulty | Easy: no terminal |
| API | OpenAI-compatible at localhost:1337 |
| License | Apache 2.0 |
Good for
- Offline chat with open-source software only
- Mixing local and hosted models in one app
- MCP tools
Not for
- Households or teams sharing one server (use Open WebUI)
See also
- Open WebUI · Households, teams and tinkerers who want their own ChatGPT in a browser
- AnythingLLM · People who mainly want to chat with their documents and run simple agents
- llama.cpp · Tinkerers who want the most control and the newest features first
We last reviewed Jan on 6 November 2026. Prices and specs change; check jan.ai before you buy or sign up. Figures we could not confirm on the vendor's own page read “not published” or “varies”.
Vendor source: https://github.com/janhq/jan
Sources