What it does
Olares is an operating system for a home or office machine that turns it into your own private cloud. You then use it from a web browser, phone or desktop, wherever you are.
It is built for running AI on your own hardware: one-click installs of open-source AI apps and models, an official AI assistant called Lares, and support for other agents. It can share graphics cards between tasks.
It also includes file storage and backups, private networking, smart home and media apps. Its makers say this keeps personal data off third-party servers.
Who it's for
Home-lab fans, privacy-minded users and small teams who want a self-hosted AI setup.
Can I use it without coding?
With some setup. You install it on a Linux machine with at least 8 GB of memory and 150 GB of SSD space; a graphics card is optional. New to this? Start here.
Can I run it?
- Cost
- FreeNothing to pay or sign up for.
- Runs on
- Linux, Web browser, Phone
- Computer
- Works best on a powerful computer or one with a graphics card (GPU)
- Privacy
- Runs on your own device: your data stays with you
- API key
- Not needed
Try it
- Set aside an Ubuntu or Debian computer that meets the requirements, or use the installer disk image on a fresh machine.
- Run the official installer as described on the project's website.
- Open your Olares desktop in a browser and follow the AI onboarding guide to set up a local model and the Lares assistant.
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 (AGPL-3.0): Free to use; if you run a changed version as an online service, you must share your source code.
- More on staying safe