Local AI is included with the Elephas trial and with Personal and Professional plans. In a Team workspace, it works if the Team’s AI policy allows it. See Plans and pricing.
Before you start
- Memory. The smallest model runs on most computers. Bigger models need more memory. See Choose a local model.
- Disk space. Enough free space for the model you pick, plus a small AI engine.
- A connection for the download, and to confirm your plan before you go offline.
- Sign in, with an active trial or plan.
Steps
1
Open Settings › AI
Press ⌘, on Mac or Ctrl+, on Windows, then click AI.
2
Choose Local (on this computer)
Under How Elephas answers, click Local (on this computer). Elephas picks the model that suits your computer and asks before downloading, for example Download Qwen 4B, 2.6 GB?To pick a different model first, click Not now, open Which model, choose one, then click Local (on this computer) again. See Choose a local model.
3
Download the model
Click Download. The card shows Downloading… with how much is done and a progress bar. You can keep reading your Brains and chats, but Ask can’t answer with Local AI until the model is ready.
- Click Cancel to pause. The part already downloaded is kept, the card shows Download paused., and Resume carries on later. Your previous AI option is used in the meantime.
- If your connection drops, the card says Waiting for network. The download continues by itself.
- If you quit Elephas, the download picks up where it left off the next time you open it.
4
Wait for Local AI to start
After the download, Elephas checks the files (Checking the files…) and starts the model (Starting local AI…). The first start can take a minute. When it reads Local AI ready followed by the model name, you’re set.
5
Ask a question
The chat bar reads Answered by: This computer and the model name, for example Answered by: This computer · Qwen 4B.
How it works
What stays on your computer
The model runs on your computer through a local engine that only accepts connections from your own computer. When you ask, Elephas searches your documents locally and hands the passages to the local model. Your question, the passages, your chat history and the answer are not sent to any AI provider. In the app’s words: “Answers are generated on this computer. Nothing is sent anywhere.” See What data is sent to AI to compare with the cloud options.The plan check
Local AI needs an Elephas trial or plan, and Elephas confirms it online. A passed check lasts up to 60 minutes and is cleared when you restart Elephas. The check sends only a device ID, never a question, document or answer. If the check is due and Elephas can’t reach its service, Ask says Elephas could not confirm your plan right now. Check your connection and try again. Reconnect briefly and ask again. So Local AI works with Wi-Fi off for up to an hour after a check, not indefinitely. For everything else that still goes online, see Use Elephas offline.The models
Elephas offers three Qwen models: Qwen 2B, Qwen 4B and Qwen 9B. Choose for me, the default, picks the best one your computer can run comfortably. Bigger models give better answers but need more memory and run slower. See Choose a local model. Every downloaded file is checked against a fixed fingerprint before Elephas uses it. A damaged download is fetched again.What to expect from answers
- Slower than cloud AI. If no words appear for a while, Ask says Thinking… this can take a minute on this computer.
- One pass. The local model answers from the passages Elephas found. It doesn’t read further into your documents on its own, so focused questions over a few documents work best. See Tips for better answers.
- Citations still work. Answers cite your documents like any other answer.
- Never a silent switch to the cloud. While Local AI is downloading or starting, Send stays off. Elephas never falls back to a cloud AI without you choosing it.
Switching away and back
Choosing another option stops the local engine and frees its memory. The model stays on your computer, so switching back to Local AI starts it again without a download.Personal information protection
Protection is for cloud AI. Since nothing is sent to an AI provider in Local AI mode, it isn’t needed. See Personal information protection.Team workspaces
Local AI also answers questions about Team Brains, if the Team Owner’s AI policy allows it. Elephas remembers the last policy it saw for each Team, so this works offline too. If the policy turns cloud AI off, Local AI is refused as well. See Team AI policy.Troubleshooting
Local (on this computer) is greyed out
Local (on this computer) is greyed out
It says Not enough free memory on this computer. Your computer can’t run even the smallest model. Close other apps and reopen Settings, or use Elephas AI or your own key. See Local AI troubleshooting.
Not enough free disk space
Not enough free disk space
The card says how much space to free, for example Not enough free disk space. Free up 1.4 GB and try again. Free that space, then click Retry.
Local AI couldn't start, or stopped unexpectedly
Local AI couldn't start, or stopped unexpectedly
Click Try again. If it keeps failing, click Set up again to check and repair the files, or pick a smaller model. See Local AI troubleshooting.
Too much context for the local model
Too much context for the local model
The question and its passages don’t fit in the local model. Ask a shorter question or choose fewer Brains, or narrow it to specific documents.
FAQ
Does Local AI cost extra?
Does Local AI cost extra?
No. It is included with your trial or plan, and it doesn’t use your Elephas AI allowance.
Where does the model come from?
Where does the model come from?
Elephas downloads the Qwen models from Hugging Face, pinned to a fixed version, with Elephas’s own server as a fallback. The engine that runs them comes from Elephas. Every file is checked against a fixed fingerprint.
Can I use Local AI with no internet at all?
Can I use Local AI with no internet at all?
Not indefinitely. Elephas needs to confirm your plan at least once an hour, and after every restart. Between checks, Local AI works with no connection.