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TextGen

Open-source desktop app for running LLMs on your own computer, with chat, a notebook tab and an OpenAI-compatible API.

Chatbots & LLMsFreeverified Listed on Open source

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Is TextGen free?

Yes, TextGen has a free plan. What you get: Free desktop app to run LLMs on your own computer. To get it: download the portable build for your system from GitHub releases; then unzip it and double-click textgen; then put a GGUF model in the user_data/models folder and start chatting. Verified on github.com.

Free plan at a glance

Includes
  • Free desktop app to run LLMs on your own computer

Free and open source under AGPL-3.0. It runs offline on your own computer with models you download.

Duration
Free forever
Your content
The maker says it isn't used to train AI

How to get it free

Self-host
  1. Download the portable build for your system from GitHub releases
  2. Unzip it and double-click textgen
  3. Put a GGUF model in the user_data/models folder and start chatting

Good to know

  • Training, image generation and extra backends need the full install (about 10GB of disk space)
Get the free plan

github.com, Checked Source

Overview

TextGen, the oobabooga project, runs GGUF and other open models locally on Linux, Windows and macOS. It offers chat and instruct modes, image and file attachments, tool calling, LoRA training and a local API that can stand in for the OpenAI and Anthropic APIs.

Key features

  • Chat, instruct and character modes, plus a notebook tab for free-form text
  • Attach images, PDFs, .docx and text files to ask about their contents
  • Several backends, including llama.cpp, Transformers and ExLlamaV3, switchable without restarting
  • Local API with OpenAI- and Anthropic-compatible endpoints and tool calling
  • LoRA fine-tuning and image generation with diffusers models in the full install
  • Portable builds for Linux, Windows and macOS with no telemetry

Best for

Tasks
Chat with an AI assistant, Use LLM & AI model APIs
People
People who want a private, offline ChatGPT-style app, Developers who need a local OpenAI-compatible API, Hobbyists who fine-tune LoRAs on their own data

Limitations

  • You download model files yourself, for example GGUF files from Hugging Face
  • Training, image generation and extra backends need the full installation, which takes about 10GB of disk space

FAQ

Is TextGen free?
Yes. TextGen has a free plan: Free desktop app to run LLMs on your own computer. We last checked github.com's pricing page on 2026-10-24.
What does the TextGen free plan include?
Free desktop app to run LLMs on your own computer. Source: https://github.com/oobabooga/textgen (checked 2026-10-24).
How do I get TextGen for free?
Steps: Download the portable build for your system from GitHub releases; Unzip it and double-click textgen; Put a GGUF model in the user_data/models folder and start chatting. Start at https://github.com/oobabooga/textgen/releases (checked 2026-10-24).
Do I need an account to use TextGen for free?
Not for the free option: the free route is to self-host TextGen (Download the portable build for your system from GitHub releases). Checked 2026-10-24.
What's the catch with TextGen's free plan?
Training, image generation and extra backends need the full install (about 10GB of disk space). Checked 2026-10-24.
What are free alternatives to TextGen?
Cherry Studio, PocketPal AI and SillyTavern all have free plans. We checked their free offers on 2026-10-25.
Is TextGen the old text-generation-webui?
The old GitHub address, oobabooga/text-generation-webui, now opens the oobabooga/textgen repository.Source: github.com/oobabooga/text-generation-webui
Does TextGen send my data anywhere?
The maker says it is 100% offline and private, with zero telemetry, external resources or remote update requests.Source: github.com/oobabooga/textgen
Can other apps use TextGen as an AI backend?
Yes. It has an OpenAI- and Anthropic-compatible API with Chat, Completions and Messages endpoints, so it can act as a local drop-in for those APIs.Source: github.com/oobabooga/textgen

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Free offer
Verified on github.com/oobabooga/textgen
…desktop app for local LLMs. Open source, no…
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Added by our team. We check that a free option exists and record the date; signing up is between you and TextGen, so read their privacy policy and terms first.

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