# Jan

Product · https://godooo.ai/en/product/jan

> Jan is an open-source AI app, launched in 2023, made for people who don't write code and developers.

A desktop app for downloading and running open models offline, with optional cloud models.

Main jobs: Chat and Q&A, Run models locally. It is open source and free to use. You can use it as a desktop app, offline on your own machine, through an API and on your own server.

## At a glance

- **Type:** [Product](https://godooo.ai/en/browse#product)
- **Launched:** 2023
- **Galaxy:** [Assistants](https://godooo.ai/en/galaxy/assistants)
- **Pricing:** Open source, free
- **Open source:** Yes
- **Source code:** [github.com/janhq/jan](https://github.com/janhq/jan)
- **GitHub stars:** 44,633
- **How you run it:** Desktop · Runs offline · API · Self-host
- **Made for:** No-code users · Developers
- **Protocols:** [Model Context Protocol](https://godooo.ai/en/protocol/mcp)
- **Website:** [jan.ai](https://jan.ai)

## What it can do

- **[Chat and Q&A](https://godooo.ai/en/capability/chat)** — main job, _proposed by a machine, awaiting calibration_. “Ask Jan anything” (read on [jan.ai](https://www.jan.ai/), 2026-09-24)
- **[Run models locally](https://godooo.ai/en/capability/local-inference)** — main job, _proposed by a machine, awaiting calibration_. “Run open-source AI models locally or connect to cloud models like GPT, Claude and others.” (read on [jan.ai](https://www.jan.ai/), 2026-09-24)
- **[Find and share models](https://godooo.ai/en/capability/model-hub)** — supported, _proposed by a machine, awaiting calibration_. “Download and run LLMs (Llama, Gemma, Qwen, GPT-oss etc.) from HuggingFace” (read on [github.com](https://github.com/janhq/jan), 2026-09-24)
- **[LLM API](https://godooo.ai/en/capability/llm-api)** — supported, _proposed by a machine, awaiting calibration_. “OpenAI-Compatible API : Local server at localhost:1337 for other applications” (read on [github.com](https://github.com/janhq/jan), 2026-09-24)

## Alternatives

- **[ChatGPT](https://godooo.ai/en/product/chatgpt)** (Free plan + paid upgrades): Also does: Chat and Q&A
- **[LM Studio](https://godooo.ai/en/product/lm-studio)** (Free): Also does: Run models locally, Chat and Q&A, Find and share models
- **[Phi](https://godooo.ai/en/model/phi)** (Open source, free): Also does: Chat and Q&A, Run models locally, LLM API
- **[TextGen](https://godooo.ai/en/product/textgen)** (Open source, free): Also does: Chat and Q&A, Run models locally, LLM API
- **[Llama](https://godooo.ai/en/model/llama)** (Open source, free): Also does: Chat and Q&A, LLM API, Run models locally
- **[Qwen](https://godooo.ai/en/model/qwen)** (Open source, free): Also does: Chat and Q&A, LLM API, Run models locally
- **[GLM](https://godooo.ai/en/model/glm)** (Open source, free): Also does: Chat and Q&A, LLM API, Run models locally
- **[Mixtral](https://godooo.ai/en/model/mixtral)** (Open source, free): Also does: Chat and Q&A, LLM API, Run models locally
- **[WebLLM](https://godooo.ai/en/framework/webllm)** (Open source, free): Also does: LLM API, Run models locally, Chat and Q&A
- **[DeepSeek-V3](https://godooo.ai/en/model/deepseek-v3)** (Open source, free): Also does: Chat and Q&A, LLM API, Run models locally
- **[DeepSeek-V2](https://godooo.ai/en/model/deepseek-v2)** (Open source, free): Also does: Chat and Q&A, LLM API, Run models locally
- **[gpt-oss](https://godooo.ai/en/model/gpt-oss)** (Open source, free): Also does: Run models locally, Chat and Q&A, LLM API

## Connections

- **Built with:** [llama.cpp](https://godooo.ai/en/framework/llama-cpp)

## Questions

### What is Jan?

Jan is an open-source AI app, launched in 2023, made for people who don't write code and developers. A desktop app for downloading and running open models offline, with optional cloud models.

### Is Jan free?

Yes. Jan is open source and free to use.

### Is Jan open source?

Yes. The source code is at https://github.com/janhq/jan.

### Can Jan run locally?

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

### What can Jan do?

Main jobs: Chat and Q&A, Run models locally. It can also do: Find and share models, LLM API.

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

Open-source ones: Phi, TextGen, Llama, Qwen, GLM, Mixtral, WebLLM and DeepSeek-V3. Others: ChatGPT and LM Studio.

## Sources

- [jan.ai](https://www.jan.ai/) — checked 2026-09-24
- [github.com](https://github.com/janhq/jan) — checked 2026-09-24
- [jan.ai](https://jan.ai)

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