# Pico: Local AI Chat Server

Turns your Mac into a private, offline AI chat server running open models like Llama, Qwen, and DeepSeek — free, no cloud, no account.

- **Category:** [Utilities](https://notchlist.vercel.app/category/utilities/)
- **Price:** Free
- **Open source:** no
- **Official site:** https://picogpt.app/
- **Available via:** Mac App Store
- **Requirements:** macOS 15.0 or later, per the Mac App Store listing; built on MLX, Apple’s on-device machine-learning framework.
- **Maker:** Starling Protocol, Inc

## Kitsmith's take

A genuinely different angle from the cloud-API chat apps elsewhere in this section: Pico runs open-weight models (DeepSeek, Llama, Qwen, Mistral, Gemma, Phi, and 500+ others) locally on your own Mac via MLX, Apple’s on-device ML framework, with a built-in web chat interface and no cloud round-trip, no account, and no usage cap. One App Store reviewer, comparing it to the popular open-source tool Ollama, called it simply "faster than ollama"; the developer replies to reviews directly and ships frequent updates adding new models. Free, from a small independent studio (Starling Protocol) rather than a major lab — a fair tradeoff for privacy and offline access, but expect to do some of your own troubleshooting if a model misbehaves.

## Features

- **Runs entirely on-device:** No cloud connection required once a model is downloaded — chats and models stay on your Mac.
- **500+ open models:** Download and run models from DeepSeek, Llama, Qwen, Mistral, Gemma, Phi, and other open-weight families.
- **Local API and MCP support:** Connect your own tools, automations, and apps to the models running in Pico via local APIs, function calling, and MCP.

## FAQ

**Is Pico free?**

Yes, free on the Mac App Store with no usage cap.

**Does Pico require an internet connection?**

Only to download a model initially — chatting with an already-downloaded model runs entirely on your Mac, offline.

**Who makes Pico?**

Starling Protocol, Inc.


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Hand-verified listing on Kitsmith: https://notchlist.vercel.app/apps/pico-local-ai-chat-server/