█

AI/TLDR

AnythingLLM

Private, all-in-one chat app for your documents and AI agents

github.com/Mintplex-Labs/anything-llm★ 61.8kanythingllm.com

Overview

AnythingLLM is an all-in-one AI application for chatting with your own documents and running AI agents. You connect a local or cloud LLM, ingest your files, and start asking questions in a chat UI that cites its sources. It runs locally by default and can also be self-hosted with Docker.

It is aimed at developers and teams who want a private, ChatGPT-style interface over their own data without building the RAG plumbing themselves. The Docker version adds multi-user support and per-user permissioning, so you can share one instance without mixing everyone's data.

As a chat UI, it sits in front of many model providers (OpenAI, Anthropic, Ollama, LM Studio, Mistral, Groq and more) and vector databases, handling document ingestion, embeddings, and retrieval so each provider plugs in through configuration rather than code.

What it does

  • Chat with your documents, with drag-and-drop uploads and inline source citations
  • Multiple document types supported (PDF, TXT, DOCX, and more)
  • Works with many closed and open-source LLM providers, embedders, and vector databases
  • Built-in and custom AI agents that can browse the web and use tools, including MCP-compatible tools
  • Multi-user instance support with per-user access control (Docker version)
  • Full developer API plus an embeddable chat widget for your website

Getting started

There are two main ways to run AnythingLLM: the desktop app for a single user, or Docker for a self-hosted, multi-user instance.

Option A: Install the desktop app

Download the desktop build for Mac, Windows, or Linux from the official site. This is the fastest path for a single-user, local setup.

Option B: Run with Docker

On Mac or Linux, set a persistent storage location and start the container. Your data persists between container rebuilds and image pulls.

bashbash
export STORAGE_LOCATION=$HOME/anythingllm
mkdir -p $STORAGE_LOCATION && \
touch "$STORAGE_LOCATION/.env" && \
docker run -d --rm -p 3001:3001 \
--cap-add SYS_ADMIN \
-v ${STORAGE_LOCATION}:/app/server/storage \
-v ${STORAGE_LOCATION}/.env:/app/server/.env \
-e STORAGE_DIR="/app/server/storage" \
mintplexlabs/anythingllm

Open the app

Once the container is running, open the app in your browser, then configure your LLM provider and create a workspace to start ingesting documents.

texttext
http://localhost:3001

Commands and code are distilled from the project's own documentation — always check the official repo for the latest.

When to use it

  • Build a private, ChatGPT-style assistant over your own internal documents and knowledge base
  • Self-host a multi-user chat instance for a team, with separate access per user
  • Run AI agents that browse the web or call MCP tools from inside a workspace
  • Embed a document-aware chat widget on your website or integrate via the developer API

How AnythingLLM compares

AnythingLLM alongside other open-source chat uis tools AI/TLDR tracks, ranked by GitHub stars.

ToolStarsWhat it does
Open WebUI★ 142kA self-hosted web interface for chatting with local and API-based LLMs (Ollama, OpenAI-compatible) that adds RAG, web search, image generation, and multi-user access.
Lobe Chat★ 78.9kAn open-source chat UI with a plugin and agent marketplace, multi-model support, voice, vision, and one-click self-hosting.
AnythingLLM★ 61.8kPrivate, all-in-one chat app for your documents and AI agents
Cherry Studio★ 47.5kA cross-platform desktop chat client that connects to many cloud and local model providers and ships with hundreds of preset assistants and MCP support.
Chatbox★ 40.6kA desktop and web chat client for ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Ollama, and other models, with local message storage and multi-provider switching.
LibreChat★ 39.5kA self-hostable ChatGPT-style chat app that unifies many AI providers and adds agents, MCP support, artifacts, a code interpreter, and multi-user authentication.
Onyx★ 30.4kOnyx is a self-hostable AI chat platform that adds RAG, web search, custom agents, code execution, and deep research on top of any major LLM provider.
Vercel AI Chatbot★ 20.5kAn open-source Next.js starter template for building a full-featured AI chatbot with the Vercel AI SDK, auth, and multi-model routing.