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10 chapters · 116 minutes

The workshop

From what local AI is to a chat that keeps working with the internet off, on Windows or Mac. Work through them in order; each ends with a way to check it worked.

Just want it running? Follow along →Every step from these chapters on one page, for your system and your drive, with a checklist.
  1. 01What local AI isChatGPT runs in someone else's kitchen. Local AI runs in yours. Learn the difference before you install anything.8 min
  2. 02Will my laptop run itTwo minutes of checking now saves an hour of confusion later. Find your processor, memory, disk and graphics, on Windows or Mac.10 min
  3. 03Install Jan on WindowsDownload Jan, let it set itself up, say no to analytics if you like, and move its data off the C: drive before anything big lands there.15 min
  4. 04Install Jan on MacDrag Jan into Applications, let it set itself up, and decide where its data lives before the first model arrives.15 min
  5. 05Your first modelJan without a model is WhatsApp without contacts. Download one small brain file that runs on almost any laptop.10 min
  6. 06First chat and real scenariosTurn off the model's thinking out loud, ask useful questions, and learn where a small local model shines and where it falls over.15 min
  7. 07Pull the plugSwitch the internet off, keep chatting, close the app, open it again, keep chatting. Proof that the AI lives on your laptop.10 min
  8. 08What is actually privateLocal AI means no AI company reads your chats. It does not mean your laptop is a vault. Check every claim yourself.15 min
  9. 09When it breaksThe ten problems people actually hit, with the fix first and the explanation second. Windows and Mac.10 min
  10. 10Jan or LM Studio, and what nextTwo good apps for the same job. Why this workshop uses Jan, when LM Studio is the better pick, and how to upgrade your model.8 min