# exo

Framework · https://godooo.ai/en/framework/exo

> exo is an open-source AI framework, launched in 2024, made for developers.

A runtime that joins several of your own devices into a cluster to run large models locally.

Main jobs: Model serving, Run models locally. It is open source and free to use. You can use it offline on your own machine, on your own server, as a desktop app, in the terminal and through an API.

## At a glance

- **Type:** [Framework](https://godooo.ai/en/browse#framework)
- **Launched:** 2024
- **Galaxy:** [Models & APIs](https://godooo.ai/en/galaxy/builders)
- **Open source:** Yes · Apache-2.0
- **Source code:** [github.com/exo-explore/exo](https://github.com/exo-explore/exo)
- **GitHub stars:** 47,626
- **How you run it:** Runs offline · Self-host · Desktop · Terminal · API
- **Made for:** Developers
- **Protocols:** [OpenAI-compatible API](https://godooo.ai/en/protocol/openai-compatible-api)
- **Website:** [github.com](https://github.com/exo-explore/exo)
- **Also known as:** exo labs

## What it can do

- **[Model serving](https://godooo.ai/en/capability/model-serving)** — main job, _proposed by a machine, awaiting calibration_. “exo uses MLX as an inference backend and MLX distributed for distributed communication.” (read on [github.com](https://github.com/exo-explore/exo), 2026-09-24)
- **[Run models locally](https://godooo.ai/en/capability/local-inference)** — main job, _proposed by a machine, awaiting calibration_. “exo connects all your devices into an AI cluster.” (read on [github.com](https://github.com/exo-explore/exo), 2026-09-24)
- **[LLM API](https://godooo.ai/en/capability/llm-api)** — supported, _proposed by a machine, awaiting calibration_. “Compatible with OpenAI Chat Completions API, Claude Messages API, OpenAI Responses API, and Ollama API” (read on [github.com](https://github.com/exo-explore/exo), 2026-09-24)

## Alternatives

- **[LocalAI](https://godooo.ai/en/framework/localai)** (Open source, free): Also does: LLM API, Model serving, Run models locally
- **[MLC LLM](https://godooo.ai/en/framework/mlc-llm)** (Open source, free): Also does: Model serving, Run models locally, LLM API
- **[Ollama](https://godooo.ai/en/product/ollama)** (Open source, free): Also does: Run models locally, LLM API, Model serving
- **[llama.cpp](https://godooo.ai/en/framework/llama-cpp)** (Open source, free): Also does: Run models locally, Model serving
- **[WebLLM](https://godooo.ai/en/framework/webllm)** (Open source, free): Also does: LLM API, Run models locally
- **[LMDeploy](https://godooo.ai/en/framework/lmdeploy)** (Open source, free): Also does: LLM API, Model serving
- **[Gemma](https://godooo.ai/en/model/gemma)** (Open source, free): Also does: Run models locally, LLM API
- **[vLLM](https://godooo.ai/en/framework/vllm)** (Open source, free): Also does: Model serving, LLM API
- **[gpt-oss](https://godooo.ai/en/model/gpt-oss)** (Open source, free): Also does: Run models locally, LLM API
- **[Jan](https://godooo.ai/en/product/jan)** (Open source, free): Also does: Run models locally, LLM API; no code needed
- **[LM Studio](https://godooo.ai/en/product/lm-studio)** (Free): Also does: Run models locally, LLM API; no code needed
- **[Phi](https://godooo.ai/en/model/phi)** (Open source, free): Also does: Run models locally, LLM API

## Connections

- **Uses:** [MLX](https://godooo.ai/en/framework/mlx)

## Questions

### What is exo?

exo is an open-source AI framework, launched in 2024, made for developers. A runtime that joins several of your own devices into a cluster to run large models locally.

### Is exo free?

Yes. exo is open source (Apache-2.0) and free to use.

### Is exo open source?

Yes, under the Apache-2.0 license. The source code is at https://github.com/exo-explore/exo.

### Can exo run locally?

Yes. exo can run offline on your own machine. It can also be self-hosted on your own server.

### What can exo do?

Main jobs: Model serving, Run models locally. It can also do: LLM API.

### What are open-source alternatives to exo?

Open-source ones: LocalAI, MLC LLM, Ollama, llama.cpp, WebLLM, LMDeploy, Gemma and vLLM. Others: LM Studio.

## Sources

- [github.com](https://github.com/exo-explore/exo) — checked 2026-09-24

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Last updated 2026-09-24 · sources checked 2026-09-24 · Markdown version of https://godooo.ai/en/framework/exo. Every page on this site has one: add .md to its address.