Jan

Jan is an open-source AI ecosystem designed as a private, user-controlled alternative to cloud AI assistants such as ChatGPT and Claude. Its main advantage is local-first AI: users can download compatible models and run them directly on their own computers, allowing conversations and data to remain on-device. Once a model is downloaded, Jan can operate completely offline without requiring an account or recurring API fees.

The desktop application is available for Windows, macOS, and Linux and provides a familiar conversational interface for interacting with local models. Users can browse and download models through Jan's Hub, including Jan's own models and compatible GGUF models. The software uses local inference technologies such as llama.cpp and MLX and can help users determine which models are suitable for their available hardware.

Jan is not limited to local models. Users can connect cloud providers and access models from providers such as OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, Mistral, and others using their own credentials. This creates a flexible environment where local, privacy-focused models can be used for everyday work while more powerful cloud models remain available for demanding tasks. Jan also supports custom OpenAI- and Anthropic-compatible endpoints, reducing dependence on any single AI provider.

The platform extends beyond standard AI chat through Projects, custom Assistants, autonomous Agents, and Model Context Protocol (MCP) integrations. MCP tools can give models additional capabilities such as web search, code execution, browser automation, data analysis, and connections to external services. Jan's agents can also work with files, calendars, and communication channels, enabling more sophisticated local AI automation workflows.

For developers, Jan can function as a local AI infrastructure layer. Jan Server exposes models through an OpenAI-compatible API, while Jan CLI lets developers serve local models and launch AI coding agents directly from the terminal. This makes Jan useful not only as a desktop assistant but also as a backend for applications and development tools that normally depend on cloud AI APIs.

Jan is released under the Apache 2.0 license and its core local platform is free and open source. Its combination of offline operation, model flexibility, MCP extensibility, autonomous agents, and developer APIs makes it particularly attractive to privacy-conscious users, developers, researchers, and organizations that want greater ownership and control over their AI stack.