Local Code Launches as Free, Private AI Assistant Tool for Mac - MacRumors
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Local Code Launches as Free, Private AI Assistant Tool for Mac

The developers of Draw Things have launched Local Code, an open-source AI assistant that lets Mac users download models and put them to work on their own computers.

local code mac
Local Code lets users download an AI model and start working without separately installing the tools it needs. When using a local model, the app processes prompts and files on the Mac rather than sending them to a cloud AI provider.

Local Code can create presentations, generate images and videos, analyze spreadsheets, work with Word and PowerPoint files, and more. It also includes a browser that the assistant can use to navigate websites and complete online tasks.

With the user's permission, the app can read information from Mail, Messages, and Notes, as well as make changes in Calendar and Photos. According to its documentation, Apple's App Sandbox restricts its access to files and other parts of the system.

The app offers Qwen and DeepSeek models for Macs with different amounts of memory. Its website lists 16GB as the minimum for Qwen 3.8 27B, with recommended downloads taking around 10GB to 21GB of storage. The larger DeepSeek models require downloads of around 89GB or 376GB, depending on the version.

Users can also choose a cloud model, although doing so sends prompts and relevant files to the selected provider. Local use is free, while optional cloud access is available through users' own API keys or prepaid credits starting at $9.99.

Local Code follows a public beta that began on September 12. A direct Mac download is available now, and the developers say a Mac App Store release is coming soon.

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Top Rated Comments

j569mxr Avatar
19 minutes ago at 06:57 am
there are a ton of options to work locally. what makes this one better than the others? what makes it worthy of an article vs others?
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
CheesePuff Avatar
31 minutes ago at 06:44 am

Nice except DeepSeek is Chinese, and I've not heard of Qwen but I suspect it is, too.

Why not the Meta one? And what other models can reasonably be run locally?
Well yeah because the only open source models that are targeting frontier models are from China, Qwen 3.8 Max is very impressive, and if it's run locally why are you concerned that they're Chinese?
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
22 minutes ago at 06:54 am
Stop it, you’re going to make Sam Altman cry by hoarding all that DRAM in your computers like selfish little ghouls

That’s memory that could go to an OpenAI data center so it can help deafen people living in the suburbs, have you no shame?
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ThisIsMike Avatar
21 minutes ago at 06:55 am
This is - IF it’s as advertised and if it works well (I recognize those are two big ifs) - fantastic.

I’m very interested in reading others thoughts on this, but it seems like a huge win.

I’m extremely uncomfortable with aspects of the LLMs. The more alternatives the better, particularly if it keeps my data private and doesn’t require a subscription. This is also potentially absolutely something Apple should love, as it further supports their approach to running as much AI on device as possible, which in turn will require the hardware capable of doing so, and which will ultimately translate into more sales for the mothership.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
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