Open-Source AI Picks
AI you can download, read and run yourself
The top 9 open-source AI projects we cover, ranked by GitHub stars and explained in plain words. A project only makes this list after at least two well-known tech outlets have covered it. We track the stars every day, so when a new pick arrives, the one with the fewest stars makes way.
Stars from GitHub · updated 6 Nov 2026
#1 188k GitHub stars
AI agents
AutoGPT
The project that kicked off the AI-agent craze: give it a goal and it plans and runs the steps itself.
Mixed (see LICENSE)
#2 186k GitHub stars
Run models locally
Ollama
Download and chat with open AI models on your own PC with one command, no cloud account needed.
MIT
#3 149k GitHub stars
Build AI apps
LangChain
The most used framework for wiring language models to your own data, tools and apps.
MIT
#4 145k GitHub stars
Images and video
ComfyUI
A node-based studio for making AI images and video on your own GPU, where you see and control every step.
GPL-3.0
#5 134k GitHub stars
Run models locally
llama.cpp
The fast C/C++ engine that made it possible to run large language models on ordinary laptops and phones.
MIT
#6 112k GitHub stars
Speech
Whisper
OpenAI's free speech-to-text model that transcribes and translates audio in dozens of languages, offline.
MIT
Ranking uses GitHub stars only; it is not a quality score. Always read a project's licence and security notes before you install it. Spotted something out of date? Tell us.