🤖 AI Chat Assistant

A super simple AI chat app that runs on your computer! ✨

No complicated setup, no monthly fees, no data sent to the cloud. Just you, your computer, and powerful AI models running locally.

The beautiful main chat interface - clean, simple, and powerful

🎯 What Does This Do?

Think of this as your personal ChatGPT that:

• 🏠 Runs entirely on YOUR computer (private & secure)
• 🧠 Analyzes your system and recommends the best AI models
• 👁️ Can see and understand images you upload
• 💻 Helps with coding, writing, questions - anything!
• 📁 Handles huge files (up to 500GB!)
• ⚡ Works great on Apple Silicon Macs (M1, M2, M3, M4)

Smart system detection - it knows your hardware and suggests the perfect models

🚀 Super Easy Setup (10 Minutes!)

Step 1: Get the Basic Tools (5 minutes)

1. Install Node.js (if you don't have it):

   • Go to nodejs.org
   • Download the green "LTS" version
   • Install it (just click through the installer)

2. Install Ollama (the AI brain):

   • Go to ollama.ai
   • Click "Download" for your system
   • Install it (drag to Applications on Mac, run installer on Windows)

Step 2: Get This App (2 minutes)

1. Download this app:

   git clone https://github.com/hellogreencow/chat.git
   cd chat
   npm install

   Don't know how to use terminal? No problem!

   • Mac: Press Cmd + Space, type "terminal", press Enter
   • Windows: Press Win + R, type "cmd", press Enter
   • Then copy-paste the commands above one by one

Step 3: Start Everything (3 minutes)

1. Start the AI server:

   ollama serve

   (Keep this window open - it's your AI brain running)

2. In a NEW terminal window, start the app:

   npm run dev

3. Open your browser and go to: http://127.0.0.1:5556

🎉 That's it! You now have your own AI assistant!

Easy model management - the app connects to Ollama automatically

🤖 Getting Your First AI Model

The app will guide you, but here's the super simple version:

1. Click the "System" button in the top right
2. See what the app recommends for your computer
3. Click "Install" on any model you like

Or manually install a model:

ollama pull llama3.2:8b

Confused about which model to choose? Here's the simple guide:

• 🏃‍♂️ Fast & Light: llama3.2:3b (great for quick questions)
• 🎯 Best Balance: llama3.2:8b (perfect for most people)
• 👁️ Can See Images: llava:7b (upload photos and ask about them!)
• 💻 Coding Helper: codellama:7b (writes and explains code)

Different AI models for different tasks - the app explains everything

🎨 Cool Things You Can Do

📸 Upload Images and Ask Questions

• Drag any photo into the chat
• Ask "What's in this image?"
• Get detailed descriptions, identify objects, read text in images

💻 Get Coding Help

• Ask it to write code in any language
• Debug your programs
• Explain complex code concepts

📝 Writing Assistant

• Write emails, essays, stories
• Fix grammar and improve writing
• Translate between languages

🧠 General Knowledge

• Ask about history, science, current events
• Get explanations for complex topics
• Research assistance

📁 Analyze Documents

• Upload text files, PDFs (up to 500GB!)
• Summarize long documents
• Extract key information

🔧 Troubleshooting (If Something Goes Wrong)

"The app won't start"

• Make sure Node.js is installed: type node --version in terminal
• Make sure you're in the right folder: cd chat

"No models available"

• Make sure Ollama is running: ollama serve
• Try installing a model: ollama pull llama3.2:3b

"Can't connect to Ollama"

• Check if Ollama is running: look for it in your system tray
• Restart Ollama if needed

"Images won't upload"

• Make sure you have a vision model like llava:7b
• The app will warn you if your current model can't see images

🍎 Special Notes for Mac Users

If you have an Apple Silicon Mac (M1, M2, M3, M4), you're in luck! This app:

• 🔍 Automatically detects your chip
• ⚡ Runs models super efficiently
• 🧠 Recommends models optimized for your Mac
• 💾 Takes advantage of unified memory

The system analyzer will show your exact chip and recommend the best models for your setup.

🎯 What Makes This Special?

• 🔒 100% Private: Your conversations never leave your computer
• 💰 Free Forever: No subscriptions, no API keys, no limits
• 🚀 Fast: Runs locally, no internet required for chatting
• 🎨 Beautiful: Modern, clean interface that's joy to use
• 🧠 Smart: Automatically optimizes for your hardware
• 👁️ Multimodal: Text, images, documents - it handles everything

📚 Want to Learn More?

• Ollama Models: ollama.ai/library
• Ask Questions: Open an issue on GitHub
• Contribute: Pull requests welcome!

---

Made with ❤️ for everyone who wants powerful AI without the complexity

No PhD in computer science required! 🎓