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AI/TLDR

Cherry Studio

One desktop chat app for cloud and local LLM providers

github.com/CherryHQ/cherry-studio★ 47.5kcherry-ai.com

Overview

Cherry Studio is a desktop chat client that talks to many large language model providers from a single app. It runs on Windows, Mac, and Linux, and connects to cloud services like OpenAI, Gemini, and Anthropic, as well as local models served through Ollama or LM Studio.

It is aimed at people who use several models and want one place to manage them instead of juggling separate web tabs and tools. It ships ready to use with no environment setup, and includes 300+ preset assistants plus the ability to create your own.

As a chat UI, it focuses on day-to-day work: multi-model conversations, document and image input, Markdown and code rendering, global search, and Model Context Protocol (MCP) server support for connecting external tools.

What it does

  • Connects to cloud providers (OpenAI, Gemini, Anthropic) and local models via Ollama and LM Studio
  • 300+ pre-configured AI assistants, custom assistant creation, and multi-model simultaneous conversations
  • Handles text, images, Office files, and PDFs, with Mermaid charts and code syntax highlighting
  • Model Context Protocol (MCP) server support for connecting external tools
  • Global search, topic management, AI translation, and WebDAV backup
  • Cross-platform desktop app with light/dark themes and full Markdown rendering

Getting started

Most people install the prebuilt desktop app; developers can also build it from source. It is an Electron app written in TypeScript and React, and uses pnpm.

Install the app

Download the build for your operating system (Windows, Mac, or Linux) from the project's releases page or homepage. No environment setup is required to use it.

Add a provider and start chatting

Open the app, go to settings, add an API key for a cloud provider (such as OpenAI) or point it at a local Ollama or LM Studio endpoint, then pick a model and begin a conversation.

Build from source (optional)

Clone the repo, install dependencies with pnpm, and run the dev build. Enable corepack first if needed.

bashbash
pnpm install
pnpm dev

Package a release (optional)

Build a distributable for your target platform.

bashbash
pnpm build:win
pnpm build:mac
pnpm build:linux

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

When to use it

  • Compare answers from several models side by side in one window without switching between web apps
  • Chat with local models through Ollama or LM Studio to keep data on your own machine
  • Use preset or custom assistants for recurring tasks like translation, writing, or coding help
  • Connect external tools to the chat through MCP servers for more capable workflows

How Cherry Studio compares

Cherry Studio 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★ 61.8kA desktop and self-hosted chat app focused on document Q&A and agents, letting you build private RAG workspaces over your own files and data sources.
Cherry Studio★ 47.5kOne desktop chat app for cloud and local LLM providers
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.