AI directory8 picks

AI tools that run on your own machine

Most AI tools send your input to a server. That is fine for a blog draft and a problem for client footage, medical notes, unreleased work or anything covered by a confidentiality agreement. The tools here do the processing on your own hardware.

Local processing usually costs you speed and convenience, and sometimes quality. What you get back is that the question of where your data went does not arise, which for some work is not a trade at all.

How these were chosen

  • Processing happens on your device, not a server
  • The tool says so explicitly rather than leaving it ambiguous
  • Local operation is the normal mode, not a paid enterprise add-on
  1. KwaFlux

    FreemiumVideo

    Video upscaling, restoration and stabilisation on your own GPU. Nothing is uploaded, which matters when the footage is a client's.

    Windows AI video enhancer that upscales, restores and stabilises on your own GPU.

  2. Local-first workspace that keeps documents, notes and AI output together on your machine, with version history for every AI-made change.

    Local-first workspace that gives your AI assistants your real project files.

  3. Dictation transcribed locally on the Mac with Whisper - speech never leaves the device, unlike most dictation tools.

    Use your iPhone as a Mac trackpad, with free on-device dictation.

  4. Image generation entirely on your own hardware, with no per-image cost and no prompt log on someone else's server.

    Open-source image generation you can run locally or in the cloud.

  5. A Chrome extension that checks text for AI writing tells locally, so drafts you are reviewing are not sent anywhere.

    Chrome extension that highlights overused ChatGPT-style cliches as you read or write.

  6. Clinical calculators that compute in the browser with no data upload - the right design for anything touching patient information.

    Bedside clinical scores, care pathways and research tools for licensed clinicians.

  7. Scores your AGENTS.md or .cursorrules in the browser, so a file describing your private repo setup stays with you.

    Scores your AGENTS.md or .cursorrules file and lists what to fix.

  8. Aider

    Open SourceCode

    Runs in your terminal against your local git repository. Your code only goes to whichever model API you choose to point it at.

    Open-source CLI pair programmer that edits your code from the terminal.

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