GPT4All

GPT4All brings language models to personal computers. After installing the app on Windows, macOS, or Linux, you choose a model from a built-in list, download it, and chat without an internet connection. Everything runs on your own CPU or GPU, so your prompts and files do not go to a remote server.

A feature called LocalDocs lets you point the app at folders of your files so the model can answer questions about them using retrieval, which makes it useful as a private research or note assistant. The project is open source and also provides libraries and bindings for developers who want to integrate local models into their own software.

The app is free. Performance depends on your hardware and the model size, and smaller local models are less capable than the largest cloud systems. The project’s pace has varied, and tools like Ollama and LM Studio have drawn many users who want to run local models. Alternatives include LM Studio, Ollama, Jan, Msty, and Open WebUI. GPT4All suits people who want a simple, private local chatbot.