AFK AI Download

Local AI on Windows. Less plumbing.

AFK AI is a native Windows app that checks your PC, sets up a local model and the services around it, and opens chat on this machine. When something is in the way, it tells you the one next step.

Download AFK AI for Windows What to check first

Beta 0.2.0-rc1 for Windows 11 · AFKLocalAISetup-0.2.0-rc1-x64.exe

The AFK AI Setup window headed One step is needed: Windows, virtualization and WSL are ready, Docker is installed but not running, and the hardware check waits for setup. The primary button reads Start Docker Desktop.
Setup checking a real PC before it downloads anything large, 24 Sep 2026. This is the next build (37cbaed), which still reports version 0.2.0-rc1; the 0.2.0-rc1 you can download today runs the same setup checks in its earlier dark interface.

What the app does for you

AFK AI owns the parts that usually stop people: the prerequisites, the runtime, the start order and the recovery. You see one state and one next action.

  1. It checks before it downloads

    Windows, virtualization, WSL, Docker and your hardware are checked first. If something is missing, Setup names it and offers the one action that fixes it, then checks again. Your answers and progress are kept.

  2. It starts everything in order

    Home starts the model runtime and Docker Desktop, then the chat services. It shows that it is starting while that happens, and reports ready only after chat has actually answered.

  3. It refuses what it cannot prove

    AFK AI only stops or changes containers it can prove it created. Anything else is left alone, and the reason is written in plain words.

AFK AI Home while starting: the state reads Starting above the headline Starting AFK AI, with a Cancel button and a log saying it is starting the model runtime and Docker Desktop.
Home starting from a stopped PC, 24 Sep 2026.
AFK AI Home reading Not working, AFK AI can't run right now: another Docker project on this PC uses AFK AI's project name, so AFK AI will not start or change it. Buttons offer a diagnostics report and Check again.
The same start, stopped on purpose: an older development copy's containers were in the way, and AFK AI would not touch them.

Both from the next build (37cbaed) on the maker's own PC. How these were captured

In the current Beta

The model
Runs on your own PC through Ollama.
Chat
Open WebUI in your browser. The first account and its chat history stay in the local stack.
The app
Setup and repair, service status, machine information, model guidance and a diagnostics report designed to leave out chats, prompts, credentials, documents and file contents.
Account
None. No cloud account and no subscription.

Before you install

This is a Beta. These are the edges you are most likely to meet.

Windows
Windows 11, 64-bit
Graphics
An NVIDIA GPU is recommended. Without one it runs on the processor, slowly.
Space
About 40 GB free. The first setup downloads several gigabytes.
Virtualization
Required, for Docker Desktop and WSL.
  • Setup can pause for Windows. A restart or Docker Desktop's first launch may still be needed partway through.
  • Chat opens in your browser. The app checks the local services, then opens Open WebUI.
  • If setup stops, keep the exact message. The diagnostics report is what support needs.

Where your data goes

Local-first is a boundary, not a promise that nothing ever touches the internet.

Stays on this PC

The model, your prompts and answers, and the chat database. Setup does not finish until it has verified a Windows Firewall rule that blocks AFK AI's ports on your Wi-Fi and Ethernet adapters.

Uses the internet

Setup, model downloads, updates, and web search when you turn it on.

Being worked on

Development direction, not shipped yet.

  • The warmer interface shown on this page. It is in the next build, not in 0.2.0-rc1.
  • Clearer hardware guidance. Model choices that are easier to understand, without claiming a perfect fit for every PC.
  • Earlier warnings. Restart and prerequisite needs raised before any long download begins.

Try the current build.

Download AFK AI for Windows

Beta 0.2.0-rc1 · AFKLocalAISetup-0.2.0-rc1-x64.exe · the download is checked against its published SHA-256 before it is served · MIT licensed