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Chat assistants

Chat UI

The open chat app behind HuggingChat, which you can run yourself and connect to AI models.

New this week

What it does

Chat UI is a ChatGPT-style chat website. It is the code that powers HuggingChat, Hugging Face's public chat app.

It talks to any service that uses the OpenAI-style API, an API being a doorway that lets programs talk to each other. That includes Hugging Face's own model service, OpenRouter, and local tools such as Ollama or llama.cpp.

It keeps chat history in a database and can automatically pick a suitable model for each message.

Who it's for

Developers and teams who want to host their own chat website for AI models.

Can I use it without coding?

Developers only. You set it up with a settings file and start it from the command line or with Docker. New to this? Start here.

Can I run it?

Cost
Free, but needs an AI accountThe software is free, but it uses an online AI service (like OpenAI or Anthropic), which usually charges for use.
Runs on
Server, Mac, Windows, Linux
Computer
An ordinary computer is fine
Privacy
Your choice: run it on your device or use an online service
API key
Needed. An API key is a password-like code from an online AI service. What's that?

Try it

Using Claude Code, Cursor or another AI coding assistant? Paste the prompt and it will walk you through the setup.New to this?

Before you install

  • Only download from the official GitHub page. Copies with similar names exist for many popular projects.
  • License (Apache-2.0): Permissive: free to use, change and share, including for business.
  • Keep your API key private. Never paste it into websites or share it, and set a spending limit with the AI service.
  • More on staying safe

Where people are talking about it