Jan
Verified Oct 2, 2026 ActiveOpen-source desktop chat app that runs open models offline or connects to cloud providers, plus a terminal coding agent.
Listed on EffectHub ·
Pricing
- Pricing model
- 100% Free
The desktop app is free and open source under Apache 2.0, and local models cost nothing beyond your own hardware. The site lists no paid plans; if you connect cloud providers you pay them directly through your own API keys.
Use tool ↗About Jan
Jan is a free, Apache-licensed desktop app for Mac, Windows and Linux that downloads open models from a built-in Hub and runs them locally on llama.cpp or MLX, with no account or API key. You can also add keys for OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, Groq and other providers, use MCP servers for tools such as web search, and call your models through a local API server. A newer Jan Agent, still in preview, is a terminal assistant that reads files and runs commands with permission prompts, using a remote model provider. It is built in public by Menlo Research, a Singapore company that also makes a humanoid robot.
- API
- Yes
- Last verified
- Oct 2, 2026
Verified sources
- Home page describes Jan as an open-source ChatGPT replacement, lists model providers, notes Memory as coming soon and credits Menlo Researchjan.ai ↗
- Desktop quickstart covers Mac, Windows and Linux, llama.cpp and MLX engines, cloud providers, local API server and MCPjan.ai ↗
- Agent quickstart describes the terminal agent, preview status and remote model providersjan.ai ↗
- GitHub repository, created August 2023, with an Apache 2.0 licence filegithub.com ↗
- Menlo Research's terms name Menlo Research Pte. Ltd. under Singapore lawmenlo.ai ↗
Is Jan legit?
We don’t label tools safe or unsafe. Below are the records we checked ourselves, each with the date we read it.
- Last checked
- Oct 2, 2026The site answered
- On the market since
- 2023The vendor's own material, read by us
- Operated by
- Menlo Research Pte. Ltd., SingaporeOur research, card verified Oct 2, 2026
Pros & cons of Jan
A friendly, fully free way to chat with open models offline and keep cloud providers one click away in the same app. It suits people who want privacy and zero subscription cost more than the polish of a hosted assistant. The new Jan Agent is explicitly preview quality, so do not rely on it for daily coding yet.
Pros
- Free and Apache 2.0 licensed, with active public development
- Local models run offline with no account or API key
- Works with OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, Groq and compatible endpoints
- Built-in local API server and MCP support
Cons
- Local model quality and speed depend entirely on your hardware
- The memory feature is shown as coming soon
- Jan Agent is in preview with expected rough edges
Best for
- Privacy-focused users who want an offline ChatGPT-style app
- Developers who want local and cloud models behind one interface and a local API
Not for
- Users with older laptops that cannot run even small models at a usable speed
- Teams needing managed accounts, shared workspaces or vendor support
Watch out: Jan Agent is documented as preview quality and Memory is marked coming soon on the home page, so rely only on the desktop chat app for now.
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