A Windows app for everyday writing with AI. Chat with a model, translate or rewrite text, or select text in any program, press a hotkey, and get it transformed in place. It works with models running on your own computer (free, private) or with online models.
Your chats, prompts and settings stay on your PC. There is no account, no server of ours and no tracking.
| Page | What it's for |
|---|---|
| Chat | Normal conversations with a model. Chats are saved, you can attach pictures and text files, edit or regenerate messages, and export a chat to Markdown. |
| Translate | Paste text, pick a prompt, get the result. Despite the name it works with any prompt: translate, polish, shorten, simplify. |
| Text Tools | A prompt plus a hotkey. Select text in a browser, Word, a messenger, anything; press the hotkey; the result replaces your selection or appears in a small popup. |
| Character Studio | A workspace for building roleplay character cards together with an AI co-author and an independent critic. Exports a SillyTavern-compatible Character Card V2 (JSON). |
| Prompts | Your library of saved instructions. Every other page picks from it, so you write a prompt once and reuse it everywhere. |
| Home / Settings | Status of your models and balance; provider, model, temperature, fonts, tray and startup options. |
The app has no hard-wired "translate" or "improve" buttons. What each tool does is decided by the prompts you write.
(Sample data for illustration.)
Chat: saved conversations with proper formatting, code and math.
Text Tools: a prompt plus a hotkey, working in any program.
Character Studio: build a character card with an AI co-author; you decide what goes into the card.
Prompts: write an instruction once, use it everywhere.
You need
- Windows 11 (x64)
- Either Ollama with at least one model (local, free) or an OpenRouter account and API key (online, pay per use)
Option A: download the app (easiest)
- Open the Releases page and download
LocalAIHelper-...-win-x64.zip. - Unpack it anywhere and run
LocalAIHelper.exe. No installer and no .NET needed. - Windows may show a SmartScreen warning because the app isn't code-signed. Click More info, then Run anyway. The full source is in this repository.
Option B: build it yourself
Install the free .NET 10 SDK, click the green Code button above, choose Download ZIP, unpack it, then open that folder in PowerShell (click the address bar, type powershell, press Enter) and run:
dotnet build "Local AI Helper.slnx" -c Release
dotnet run --project LocalAIHelper.App -c Release --no-buildFirst run (both options)
- Open Settings, choose Ollama or OpenRouter, pick a model (and paste your OpenRouter key if you use it).
- Open Prompts and create a prompt or two, for example "Translate this into English, return only the translation".
Building from source on a clean machine, step by step: SETUP.md.
- Stored locally. Chats, prompts, Text Tools, Character Studio projects, settings and chat attachments live in a database under
%LOCALAPPDATA%\LocalAIHelperin your Windows profile. - Your OpenRouter key is kept in Windows Credential Manager, not in a file or in the database.
- Ollama: your text never leaves your computer.
- OpenRouter: the request is sent over the internet to OpenRouter and the model's provider. That means your prompt, the conversation and any attachments of that request.
- Other network calls. The app also downloads OpenRouter's public model list, checks your OpenRouter balance (only if a key is set), and reads the public USD/RUB rate from the Bank of Russia for the Home page. None of them carries your texts.
- No telemetry, no analytics, no crash reporting.
To remove everything, close the app and delete the %LOCALAPPDATA%\LocalAIHelper folder and the Credential Manager entry LocalAIHelper/CharacterStudio/OpenRouter.
Is it free? The app is free. Ollama is free. OpenRouter charges per request according to the model you pick.
Do I need to know programming? No. Download, unpack, run. Day to day you use it like any other app.
Local or online models, which one? Local models are private and free to run but need a decent graphics card, and are usually smaller. Online models are stronger and need no hardware, but your text goes to a provider. Many people use both, and you can switch in Settings at any time.
Do I need both Ollama and OpenRouter? No. One is enough.
The Chat page shows an error. It needs Microsoft Edge WebView2 Runtime, which Windows 11 normally includes. If it's missing, install it from Microsoft.
My hotkey does nothing. The app must be running (closing the window keeps it in the system tray by default). Another program may already use that shortcut, and Text Tools can't type into programs started "as administrator".
Can it read my pictures or PDFs? Pictures work on OpenRouter models that can see images. Ollama models can't receive pictures through the app yet. Attachments are limited to images and plain text files; PDF, Word, audio and video aren't supported.
Does it start with Windows? Only if you turn on Launch at Windows startup in Settings.
Can I move my data to another PC? Copy %LOCALAPPDATA%\LocalAIHelper\localaihelper.db to the same place on the other machine. The OpenRouter key must be entered again there.
Mac or Linux? Not supported. It's a Windows-only desktop app.
- A chat is a single line, not a tree: editing or regenerating a message also removes everything after it. The app asks first.
- Long chats are sent to the model in full every time, so very long ones can hit model limits or cost more on OpenRouter.
- Prompt-injection resistance in Translate and Text Tools is best effort, as with any AI model.
- The interface is in English.
Architecture, contracts and the verification harnesses are described in README_DEV.md. To run the checks: .\verify-repository.ps1.
MIT: free to use, change and share, with no warranty.
Active development. Issues and feedback are welcome.