πŸ–₯️ Own Your AI β€” a Private, Offline ChatGPT You Install, Not Rent

:cloud: ─ βœ• ─ ─ ─ :play_button: :desktop_computer:

OFF THE CLOUD β€” your AI runs on your own metal Β· 0 cloud Β· 0 keys Β· 0 subs

HELIX turns your own PC into a private ChatGPT β€” install it, pull any open model straight off HuggingFace from inside the app, and chat 100% offline. No account, no API key, no subscription, nothing ever leaves your machine. Built in Rust + Tauri, source on GitHub.

The LM Studio everyone runs is a closed binary. HELIX is the one you can open β€” read the source, run it on any GPU (Vulkan, not just NVIDIA), with agent plugins built in.

:down_arrow: Grab it β€” Windows

file size
HELIX-Setup.exe 11 MB one-click installer
HELIX .msi 18 MB enterprise/silent install
verify β€” SHA256SUMS.txt on the release

:link: Source + releases β†’ github.com/tjcrims0nx/Helix

:green_circle: First chat in 3 clicks (zero skill)

  1. Install β†’ open HELIX
  2. Search a model (try Qwen2.5-7B or Llama-3.2-3B) β†’ one-click download (8-stream, auto-resumes)
  3. Type. Done β€” running on your GPU, fully offline.

:framed_picture: The tour

↳ Model Manager β€” search HuggingFace, parallel chunked pulls, live VRAM + disk analytics


↳ MCP Plugin Manager β€” hand your local model real tools: files, web APIs, agent skills

πŸ”΅ Under the hood β€” for the tinkerers
  • :gear: Vulkan + FlashAttention llama-server (-fa auto, ~3Γ— prompt speed) β€” runs on Intel Arc / AMD, not CUDA-locked
  • :electric_plug: MCP plugins (stdio + SSE) via in-chat /mcp list Β· enable Β· disable Β· open β†’ wire up filesystem / web / agent tools with an auto tool-call + reasoning-trace loop
  • :inbox_tray: Custom .gguf import Β· live model switching Β· real-time CPU/RAM/VRAM monitor
  • :hammer_and_wrench: Build from source β€” Tauri 2 (Rust) Β· Vue 3 + Vite Β· engine = llama.cpp
πŸ– Feed it models β€” where the good GGUFs live
  • HuggingFace Β· GGUF trending β€” the firehose of open models
  • bartowski β€” cleanest quants of nearly every new model, days after release
  • :straight_ruler: quant rule of thumb: Q4_K_M is the sweet spot; rough VRAM β‰ˆ (params-B Γ— 0.7) GB β†’ an 8B model fits in ~6 GB

:balance_scale: HELIX vs the usual

source GPU support agent tools
LM Studio :locked: closed binary CUDA / Metal MCP (recent)
Ollama terminal-first CUDA / Metal via 3rd-party UIs
HELIX :unlocked: open on GitHub Vulkan β€” any GPU built-in /mcp

Cloud AI rents you a seat and reads the room. This one you own β€” on your metal, behind your door.

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