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[ARTICLE · art-105206] src=basecompute.co ↗ pub= topic=ai-products verified=true sentiment=↑ positive

Show HN: Zero () friction local AI for Mac

Base Compute launched Local, a free Mac app that runs AI locally on laptops and workstations, optimizing models for each device's hardware and enabling features like PDF chat, meeting summarization, and coding agents. The app, available today, also offers 'Office Mode' where the strongest computer in an office runs the AI for all connected laptops, ensuring data never leaves the office.

read1 min views1 publishedAug 20, 2026

Super excited to launch our new app Local today. What we’ve learned at Base Compute over the last months is that running AI directly on your laptop or workstation gives you maximum privacy and it’s free, but it’s also a massive headache to configure. So we’ve decided what matters is making the experience completely frictionless for users.

Local analyses the hardware of your laptop, optimises the AI for it, and recommends the best models for your specific device.

It let’s you do what you’re doing with cloud AI already, just for free and on your own machine: Chatting with PDF’s, Recording and summarising meetings, running coding agents...

If you’re using Local in your office with colleagues, you can run it in “Office Mode”. The strongest computer in your office runs the AI and everyone can connect to it with their laptop. The data never leaves the office. It’s available for download on our website today, please try it out and let us know what you think!

Comments URL: [https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49380978](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49380978)

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