Forge

Forge / Local & Offline

Jan

Open source

Local chat UI with an OpenAI-compatible server. Cleaner than raw llama.cpp if you just want to talk to a 7B.

No cardMM-friendlySelf-hostableAPI
Official siteGitHub

Free tier

Open-source ChatGPT-style desktop. Models optional, fully local.

Limits

UI is a chat, not an agent. Quality = the GGUF you picked.

Best for

  • Offline chat
  • Private notes Q&A
  • Local OpenAI stand-in

How to use it well

  1. Install Jan, download a 7B from the Hub tab, chat.
  2. Turn on the local API and point lighter tools at it.
  3. Do not load a 70B on a 16 GB laptop. It will swap itself to death.

Myanmar notes

Good offline companion during generator outages in Yangon. English models first; Burmese-capable GGUFs are still a research pick.