SurfSense

SurfSense is a desktop application for private research over your own documents. Its index lives on your disk, and with a local model it keeps answering questions about added sources without a network connection. You can use a local model such as Qwen or Gemma, or connect hosted providers like OpenAI or Anthropic, or any OpenAI-compatible endpoint, with keys kept on the machine. It installs via a normal installer for Windows, macOS and Linux with llama.cpp built in, and requires no Docker and no account. The page says it can turn indexed sources into artifacts such as slides, reports, podcasts, flashcards, quizzes and more, stored locally. It also describes plugins that add search over platforms such as Google Search, YouTube, TikTok, Google Maps, Amazon, Walmart, Indeed and the open web, and states its source code is public.

Key features

• Desktop installer for Windows, macOS and Linux with llama.cpp built in
• Runs fully offline with a local model after initial model download
• Index stored on the user's own disk in the local user folder
• Bring your own model: local Qwen or Gemma, OpenAI, Anthropic, or OpenAI-compatible endpoints
• No account, sign-up, or email required
• Generates artifacts from indexed sources: slides, reports, podcasts, infographics, mind maps, flashcards, quizzes, markdown briefs, Word, PDF, web pages and spreadsheets
• Plugins that give the agent live data from platforms such as Google Search, YouTube, TikTok, Google Maps, Amazon, Walmart, Indeed and the open web
• Open source, with source code in a public repository

Best suited for

• Researchers who need private document Q&A without cloud uploads
• Lawyers, accountants, consultants and engineers handling confidential files
• Users who want to run a local AI model on their own computer
• Students who want study guides, flashcards and quizzes from their sources

Pricing

SurfSense is described on the website as free and open source with no account, quota or trial. Costs for hosted model providers are paid only if the user chooses to connect one.