the catalog · ✨ AI assistants
AnythingLLM
★ 65kPrivate AI workspace for chatting with documents, running agents, and swapping local or cloud LLMs without sending your files out.
AnythingLLM does the job of ChatGPT Team and Custom GPTs, self-hosted. It is MIT-licensed, so you can do essentially what you like with it, and it installs in about one command. ChatGPT Team bills $25+ for it. 65k stars on GitHub.
Open-source replacement for ChatGPT Team, Custom GPTs.
- Licence
- MIT
- Self-hosting
- Easy
- The paid one costs
- $25+
- GitHub stars
- 65k
Is it actually a replacement?
We have written a verdict on what it replaces — what you lose, and why people still pay:
How AnythingLLM runs
Where it runs
AnythingLLM runs on your machine or their cloud.
Installing it
Install the one-file Windows, macOS, or Linux desktop app, or run the self-hosted Docker image with a persistent storage volume.
Where your data lives
Desktop data lives in a local AnythingLLM storage folder containing anythingllm.db, parsed documents, vector indexes such as LanceDB, caches, and optional GGUF models; Docker uses the mounted storage volume, while external providers receive retrieved context.
What setup takes
The app installs cleanly, but useful private operation still requires choosing and downloading a model that fits the machine; the server route also requires Docker and correct volume mounting.
The catch compared with Afforai
It can search and cite local files, but setup, citation checking, side-by-side source comparison, and a managed research workspace require more work than Afforai.
AnythingLLM questions
Is AnythingLLM open source?
Yes — it is released under MIT.
Can AnythingLLM replace ChatGPT Team?
Our verdict on ChatGPT is YES. Dify (110k stars), RAGFlow (88k stars), Lobe Chat (65k stars) are mature open-source replacements for ChatGPT — self-host with docker and stop paying $20/mo.
Can I self-host AnythingLLM?
Yes — we rate it easy to self-host, and it runs on your machine or their cloud. Install the one-file Windows, macOS, or Linux desktop app, or run the self-hosted Docker image with a persistent storage volume.