Pinokio — Install Any Local AI Tool With One Click

Who This Is For

• You want to run AI tools locally but the setup has always stopped you (git clone, pip install, conda environments — none of it)

• You want to test and use AI models without paying per-token API costs

• You want a self-contained AI workspace on your own machine that no external server can access

What Pinokio Does

Pinokio is a local AI browser. Instead of using a cloud-based AI tool through a website, you install Pinokio on your computer and use it to browse, install, and launch AI applications directly — the same way you'd browse the web, but for software that runs locally on your hardware.

What this means in practice:

• Install Stable Diffusion, local LLMs, AI agents, Gradio apps, and more — in one click

• No terminal commands, no environment configuration, no manual dependency management

• Everything runs on your machine — your data stays local, there's no subscription, and no usage limits

What You'll Need

• A Windows, Mac (M1/M2/M3 or Intel), or Linux machine

• Enough storage for the models you want to run (varies — 4GB to 20GB+ per model)

• Internet connection for the initial download and app installs

Going Further: Scripting and Automation (Optional)

Pinokio includes a built-in scripting engine for users who want to go beyond one-click installs and build automated workflows. Scripts are written in JSON — no prior coding experience required to follow the tutorials.

Things you can automate with Pinokio scripts:

• Chain multiple AI tools together in sequence

• Auto-type inputs and trigger actions inside running apps

• Run Python scripts as part of a workflow

• Connect to a database automatically during setup

• Build shareable scripts with user-friendly form inputs

• Expose your local tools as a custom API for other apps to call

The full scripting documentation is at docs.pinokio.computer — tutorials start from "Hello World" and progress to custom APIs.

Going Further

• Pinokio documentation — docs.pinokio.computer — full scripting reference, tutorials from beginner to custom API builds

• App library — pinokio.computer — browse all available one-click installs

• Combine with Ollama — if you've already set up Ollama for local LLMs (see the Open Design local model guide), Pinokio can manage and launch other local AI tools alongside it — they work independently and complement each other

Why This Matters

Most AI tools are cloud-based and charge per use. Pinokio flips that: you install it once, run tools locally, and pay nothing per generation or per query. For high-volume tasks (image generation, local chat, data processing), the cost difference is significant over time.

The privacy benefit is real too — local tools process your inputs on your own hardware. Nothing leaves your machine unless you explicitly connect it to an external service.