Open-source, on device alternative to Claude and ChatGPT
Hob is a free, open-source AI app for Mac, Windows and Linux that works with your files the way ChatGPT and Claude do, except the AI runs on your own computer. It picks the best open model your computer can run and sets it up for you. Hob can read and edit files in folders you choose, turn spreadsheets into charts, fill in PDFs, look at photos and search the web. Your chats and files stay on your computer, and it works offline.
Hey Product Hunt! I'm Christian and Hob is a new open-source project I've been noodling on for the last couple of weeks.
Hob is a free desktop app for Mac, Windows and Linux that works on your files the way the Claude and ChatGPT apps do, except the AI runs on your own computer. Your chats and files never leave your computer, and there's no account or subscription.
Some of what it can do:
Picks the best open model for your computer and sets everything up for you
Reads and edits files in folders you choose (it asks before changing anything, and you can undo)
Turns spreadsheets into charts, fills in PDFs, and works with Word, Excel and PowerPoint files
Looks at photos and screenshots
Searches the web, or you can turn that off and stay fully offline
Connects to your other apps through MCP
Before building this I tried every local AI app I could find, but it seemed each one had different problems. None of them could do what the ChatGPT and Claude apps do with your files, e.g. read a folder, look at an image, draw a chart. Most of them would paste a text file into a small context window, which failed as soon as the file was larger than a few KB. The ones that could do more seemed to default to hosted models, which defeats the entire point of keeping things private, or push you towards a paid plan.
Obviously local models are weaker than the newest frontier models. But for most tasks for most normal people, I'd argue you rarely need the newest frontier model. From my own testing, computers with 16+ GB of memory do really well, and with more memory you get very close to what you'd get from the hosted apps.
Would love to hear what you think and how it runs on your computer!
About Hob on Product Hunt
“Open-source, on device alternative to Claude and ChatGPT”
Hob launched on Product Hunt on October 28th, 2026 and earned 95 upvotes and 7 comments, placing #12 on the daily leaderboard. Hob is a free, open-source AI app for Mac, Windows and Linux that works with your files the way ChatGPT and Claude do, except the AI runs on your own computer. It picks the best open model your computer can run and sets it up for you. Hob can read and edit files in folders you choose, turn spreadsheets into charts, fill in PDFs, look at photos and search the web. Your chats and files stay on your computer, and it works offline.
On the analytics side, Hob competes within Open Source and GitHub — topics that collectively have 110.5k followers on Product Hunt. The dashboard above tracks how Hob performed against the three products that launched closest to it on the same day.
Who hunted Hob?
Hob was hunted by Christian Mathiesen. A “hunter” on Product Hunt is the community member who submits a product to the platform — uploading the images, the link, and tagging the makers behind it. Hunters typically write the first comment explaining why a product is worth attention, and their followers are notified the moment they post. Around 79% of featured launches on Product Hunt are self-hunted by their makers, but a well-known hunter still acts as a signal of quality to the rest of the community. See the full all-time top hunters leaderboard to discover who is shaping the Product Hunt ecosystem.
For a complete overview of Hob including community comment highlights and product details, visit the product overview.
Christian Mathiesen
Hey Product Hunt! I'm Christian and Hob is a new open-source project I've been noodling on for the last couple of weeks.
Hob is a free desktop app for Mac, Windows and Linux that works on your files the way the Claude and ChatGPT apps do, except the AI runs on your own computer. Your chats and files never leave your computer, and there's no account or subscription.
Some of what it can do:
Picks the best open model for your computer and sets everything up for you
Reads and edits files in folders you choose (it asks before changing anything, and you can undo)
Turns spreadsheets into charts, fills in PDFs, and works with Word, Excel and PowerPoint files
Looks at photos and screenshots
Searches the web, or you can turn that off and stay fully offline
Connects to your other apps through MCP
Before building this I tried every local AI app I could find, but it seemed each one had different problems. None of them could do what the ChatGPT and Claude apps do with your files, e.g. read a folder, look at an image, draw a chart. Most of them would paste a text file into a small context window, which failed as soon as the file was larger than a few KB. The ones that could do more seemed to default to hosted models, which defeats the entire point of keeping things private, or push you towards a paid plan.
Obviously local models are weaker than the newest frontier models. But for most tasks for most normal people, I'd argue you rarely need the newest frontier model. From my own testing, computers with 16+ GB of memory do really well, and with more memory you get very close to what you'd get from the hosted apps.
Would love to hear what you think and how it runs on your computer!