Jan – Local AI Assistant

4 months ago 3

Jan banner

GitHub commit activity Github Last Commit Github Contributors GitHub closed issues Discord

Getting Started - Docs - Changelog - Bug reports - Discord

Jan is a ChatGPT-alternative that runs 100% offline on your device. Our goal is to make it easy for a layperson to download and run LLMs and use AI with full control and privacy.

⚠️ Jan is in active development.

Because clicking a button is still the easiest way to get started:

Download from jan.ai or GitHub Releases.

  • Local AI Models: Download and run LLMs (Llama, Gemma, Qwen, etc.) from HuggingFace
  • Cloud Integration: Connect to OpenAI, Anthropic, Mistral, Groq, and others
  • Custom Assistants: Create specialized AI assistants for your tasks
  • OpenAI-Compatible API: Local server at localhost:1337 for other applications
  • Model Context Protocol: MCP integration for enhanced capabilities
  • Privacy First: Everything runs locally when you want it to

For those who enjoy the scenic route:

  • Node.js ≥ 20.0.0
  • Yarn ≥ 1.22.0
  • Make ≥ 3.81
  • Rust (for Tauri)
git clone https://github.com/menloresearch/jan cd jan make dev

This handles everything: installs dependencies, builds core components, and launches the app.

Available make targets:

  • make dev - Full development setup and launch
  • make build - Production build
  • make test - Run tests and linting
  • make clean - Delete everything and start fresh

You can also run with mise, which is a bit easier as it ensures Node.js, Rust, and other dependency versions are automatically managed:

git clone https://github.com/menloresearch/jan cd jan # Install mise (if not already installed) curl https://mise.run | sh # Install tools and start development mise install # installs Node.js, Rust, and other tools mise dev # runs the full development setup

Available mise commands:

  • mise dev - Full development setup and launch
  • mise build - Production build
  • mise test - Run tests and linting
  • mise clean - Delete everything and start fresh
  • mise tasks - List all available tasks
yarn install yarn build:core yarn build:extensions yarn dev

Minimum specs for a decent experience:

  • macOS: 13.6+ (8GB RAM for 3B models, 16GB for 7B, 32GB for 13B)
  • Windows: 10+ with GPU support for NVIDIA/AMD/Intel Arc
  • Linux: Most distributions work, GPU acceleration available

For detailed compatibility, check our installation guides.

When things go sideways (they will):

  1. Check our troubleshooting docs
  2. Copy your error logs and system specs
  3. Ask for help in our Discord #🆘|jan-help channel

We keep logs for 24 hours, so don't procrastinate on reporting issues.

Contributions welcome. See CONTRIBUTING.md for the full spiel.

Friendly reminder: We're not trying to scam you.

  • We won't ask for personal information
  • Jan is completely free (no premium version exists)
  • We don't have a cryptocurrency or ICO
  • We're bootstrapped and not seeking your investment (yet)

Apache 2.0 - Because sharing is caring.

Built on the shoulders of giants:

Read Entire Article