Jan AI

Jan AI

Jan AI is an open-source, self-hosted AI assistant platform that runs 100 % offline on your own machine, keeping every chat on-device and under your control. It delivers a ChatGPT-like interface, plugs in any open-source LLM, and doubles as a local API server for quick integration into dev projects—perfect for teams that demand full data sovereignty and zero external exposure.
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Features of Jan AI

Runs natively on macOS, Windows, and Linux with no external servers
Built-in OpenAI-compatible local API server for instant dev integration
Model Hub lets you download & manage open-source LLMs from Jan Hub or Hugging Face
Headless CLI mode for automated deployment and scripting
Agent tools for reading files and calling external services
Dynamic context window that auto-sizes to your RAM
Upload files and collaborate on code or documents in-chat
Clean UI with starter prompts to get you going fast

Use Cases of Jan AI

Developers who need a private backend for testing AI features without API bills
Users in low-bandwidth or air-gapped environments who still want GPT-level help
Law, healthcare, and education teams that must keep data on-prem
Hobbyists benchmarking different open LLMs side-by-side
Engineering teams dropping project files into Jan for instant code review and generation

FAQ about Jan AI

QWhat is Jan AI?

Jan AI is an open-source, self-hosted AI assistant that works offline on your computer—an alternative to ChatGPT with full data privacy.

QHow does Jan AI protect my privacy?

Everything runs locally: chats, models, and metadata stay on your device; no cloud calls are required.

QIs Jan AI free?

Yes, the core software is open-source and free to download, use, and modify.

QWhich operating systems are supported?

Native desktop apps for macOS (Apple Silicon & Intel), Windows, and Linux.

QHow do I switch or add new models?

Open the built-in Model Hub, pick an LLM from Jan Hub or Hugging Face, click Download, then select it in the chat.

QCan I still use cloud providers like OpenAI?

Absolutely—toggle between local models and remote APIs by adding your keys in Settings.

QWhat hardware do I need?

Any modern CPU works; for larger models an 8 GB+ GPU or 16 GB RAM is recommended. Jan shows per-model memory estimates before you load.

QCan developers extend Jan AI?

Yes, the codebase is MIT-licensed, and the built-in OpenAI-compatible server lets you plug Jan into existing apps with zero code changes.