Hob

// Overview

Hob is a free, open-source desktop app from Frigade that gives you an AI assistant for real work on your own computer. Like the Claude and ChatGPT desktop apps, it reads the files and folders you give it, plans the steps for a task and hands back finished work such as a chart, a cleaned-up spreadsheet or a filled-in PDF form. The difference is that the model runs locally, so chats and files stay on the machine and the project states that it has no telemetry.

On first run Hob checks the computer's hardware and downloads the best open-weight model it can run well: Google Gemma 4 in several sizes for most computers, and OpenAI gpt-oss 120B for workstations. Inference runs through llama.cpp in its own process, using Metal on Mac and CUDA or Vulkan elsewhere. A small Qwen3-VL model reads photos and screenshots, and a local Whisper model handles dictation.

Hob can run Python in a sandbox that may only write to the current chat's folder, search the web through a locally running metasearch engine (which can be turned off), and connect to any MCP server. Plugins are plain folders with a hob-plugin.json file that can add skills, Python tools and connectors, and a finished task can be saved as a reusable skill. The app is built with Electron and released under the MIT licence.

// What it does

• Picks and downloads a model that fits your hardware: Gemma 4 for most computers, gpt-oss 120B for workstations
• Works on attached files or on project folders with their own instructions
• Sandboxed Python with pandas, numpy, openpyxl, python-docx, pypdf and Pillow for data work and document conversion
• Interactive charts in chat, downloadable as PNG
• Reads PDFs including scans and fills in forms (Mac only); reads photos and screenshots with a local Qwen3-VL model
• Local web search, local dictation, and connectors to any MCP server
• Asks before changing anything in your folders and offers Undo for every task
• Plugins and saved skills; available in 32 languages

// Getting started

Hob is a desktop app: download the installer, open it, and it sets up a local model for you. No account or subscription is needed.

https://github.com/FrigadeHQ/hob/releases/latest

git clone https://github.com/FrigadeHQ/hob
cd hob
pnpm install
pnpm dev

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

// When to use it

• Chart or summarize a spreadsheet without uploading it to a cloud service
• Fill in PDF forms and work through scanned documents privately
• Run a ChatGPT-style assistant fully offline on a laptop
• Connect a local model to your own MCP servers and saved skills

// How Hob compares

Hob alongside other open-source assistants & chatbots tools AI/TLDR tracks, ranked by GitHub stars.