Is there an AI assistant for Mac with no account and no subscription?

Yes. Grux AI is a native Mac app with no account to create and no subscription to pay, now or later: the download is the whole product. Chat runs on a local model through Ollama with no key, or on an Anthropic key you already own, and nothing is proxied through any server, because there is none.

Is Grux a free, private alternative to the ChatGPT desktop app on Mac?

It is a free, open source Mac app that does the job without an account: one Command Panel for chat, your mail, calendar, files, meetings and a shell it can undo, on a local model so nothing you type leaves the Mac unless you point it at a hosted model yourself. How the two differ, feature by feature, is on [Grux vs the ChatGPT desktop app](/answers/grux-vs-chatgpt-desktop-app/).

Yes. $0, MIT licensed, no account and no subscription. You pay a model provider directly if you use one, or run a local model and pay nobody.

Does it run on an Intel Mac?

No. The release ships one Apple silicon slice, and there is no Intel build.

Does Grux install Ollama for me?

No. Install it from ollama.com or with brew install ollama, then press Refresh in Local Models. Grux finds it from there and runs chat on your Mac with no key.

Download the new Grux.dmg and drag Grux over the old one. Nothing you installed moves: it is still Grux.app and your permissions carry over. Once a day Grux asks GitHub's public release page whether a newer version exists and says so in Now; the request carries no account, install id or cookie, and Grux never downloads or installs anything by itself. Settings, General turns the check off; the repository's releases page on GitHub is the other way to hear about new versions.

Download Grux AI

Grux AI 3.2.0 is one file, Grux.dmg, 28.4 MB, from the latest GitHub release. Open it, drag Grux into Applications, and open it from there. The disk image and the app are signed with a Developer ID, notarized by Apple and stapled, so it opens on a Mac that has never seen it with no right click and no trip through System Settings. It needs macOS 14 or later on Apple silicon; there is no Intel build. Homebrew installs the app and the grux command together in one line. There is no account to make, no key to buy and no subscription: chat runs on a local model through Ollama with no key at all, or on an Anthropic key you already own. What the download does not do is install Ollama. Grux says so in the app and names the one command, and this page says it up front so the first run holds no surprise.

Download Grux AI 3.2.0, free, for macOS 14 or later on Apple silicon.

Grux AI 3.2.0 · last checked 2026-11-01 · generated from the shipping release

What you get

Grux.dmg, 28.4 MB, from the latest release. Every Download button on this site points at the same stable URL, so the link never goes stale between releases.
Signed and notarized. Developer ID, notarized by Apple, stapled. spctl -a -vv /Applications/Grux.app reports accepted, source Notarized Developer ID.
Checksums. SHA256SUMS.txt in the same release lists the SHA-256 of Grux.dmg and of the zip. Compare it with shasum -a 256 ~/Downloads/Grux.dmg.
The source. The whole tree is public and MIT licensed at github.com/dotcomjack/grux. Star it to hear about new versions.

Requirements

Needs	Why
macOS 14 or later	The floor the app is built against.
Apple silicon	The release ships one arm64 slice. An Intel Mac downloads it and cannot launch it.
One model, for Chat	Ollama running on this Mac and no key, or an Anthropic API key. Everything else is optional and asks only when you open the feature that needs it.

Homebrew

Homebrew installs the app and the grux command line together, in one step:

brew install --cask dotcomjack/tap/grux

After a DMG install the command line is already inside the app bundle. This finds it, puts grux on your PATH and runs setup, and installs nothing itself:

npx @dotcomjack/grux

What first run does

Asks one question, what you want Grux for, and picks the features to start with. The next screen shows the pick before asking for anything, and every screen can be skipped and come back to later.
Offers a model, one button, sized for this Mac. With Ollama running it reads Use Grux Local 4B, recommended for this Mac (4.3 GB download) on a 16 GB Mac, the 2B on 8 GB, the 9B on 24 GB and up, and under it: Grux Local is a model trained for Grux, and 4B is the size for this Mac's memory. Nothing downloads until you press the button; it then comes through Ollama from gruxai.com and runs only here. Without Ollama running the same screen reads: Runs on this Mac. No key, no account, and nothing leaves the machine. With Ollama running, Grux fetches the best model this Mac can run, with the link Get Ollama, free, at ollama.com. If a model is already running here, the button is Use the model on this Mac. Skip for now is a real button: you can connect a model any time, and Chat will ask for one.
Sets up one thing at a time, only what the picked features need. Every macOS permission gets its own screen saying what it is for before macOS asks, and refusing one disables that feature and nothing else.

What it does not do: install Ollama

Grux does not install Ollama, and nothing in the app pretends otherwise. With Ollama missing, Local Models reads: Ollama is not installed. Install it from ollama.com or run brew install ollama, then press Refresh. So, for a Mac that sends nothing to a hosted model:

Install Ollama, one line: brew install ollama, or the installer from ollama.com.
Open Grux. First run offers one button, Use Grux Local 4B, recommended for this Mac, sized for the Mac you are on: 2B on 8 GB, 4B on 16 GB, 9B on 24 GB and up. Press it and Grux Local, the model trained for Grux, comes through Ollama from gruxai.com and runs only here.
That is the whole setup. No account, no key, and no model provider sees what you ask.

Verify what you downloaded

shasum -a 256 ~/Downloads/Grux.dmg     # compare with SHA256SUMS.txt in the release
spctl -a -vv /Applications/Grux.app
# /Applications/Grux.app: accepted
# source=Notarized Developer ID

Questions

Is there an AI assistant for Mac with no account and no subscription?: Yes. Grux AI is a native Mac app with no account to create and no subscription to pay, now or later: the download is the whole product. Chat runs on a local model through Ollama with no key, or on an Anthropic key you already own, and nothing is proxied through any server, because there is none.
Is Grux a free, private alternative to the ChatGPT desktop app on Mac?: It is a free, open source Mac app that does the job without an account: one Command Panel for chat, your mail, calendar, files, meetings and a shell it can undo, on a local model so nothing you type leaves the Mac unless you point it at a hosted model yourself. How the two differ, feature by feature, is on Grux vs the ChatGPT desktop app.
Is Grux AI free?: Yes. $0, MIT licensed, no account and no subscription. You pay a model provider directly if you use one, or run a local model and pay nobody.
Does it run on an Intel Mac?: No. The release ships one Apple silicon slice, and there is no Intel build.
Does Grux install Ollama for me?: No. Install it from ollama.com or with brew install ollama, then press Refresh in Local Models. Grux finds it from there and runs chat on your Mac with no key.
How do I update?: Download the new Grux.dmg and drag Grux over the old one. Nothing you installed moves: it is still Grux.app and your permissions carry over. Once a day Grux asks GitHub's public release page whether a newer version exists and says so in Now; the request carries no account, install id or cookie, and Grux never downloads or installs anything by itself. Settings, General turns the check off; the repository's releases page on GitHub is the other way to hear about new versions.

Download Grux AI 3.2.0 Read the source

Free, MIT licensed. macOS 14 or later, Apple silicon. 28.4 MB, signed and notarized by Apple. No account, no server, no subscription.