# AnythingLLM review

> AnythingLLM is a self-hostable, local-first AI app for chatting with your documents, running AI agents, and connecting local or cloud LLMs.

Devtoolwatch Board, the week of Oct 25–31, 2026. Canonical page: https://index.devtoolwatch.com/tools/anythingllm/

## TL;DR

AnythingLLM is an all-in-one AI application for chatting with documents, building agents, and running local or cloud models. It ships as a desktop app for Mac, Windows, and Linux, plus Docker and other self-hosted options. It runs locally by default, includes a built-in local LLM engine, and supports multi-user instances in the Docker version.

## AnythingLLM at a glance

- **Category:** [Inference and training](https://index.devtoolwatch.com/categories/inference-and-training/)
- **Maintained by:** Mintplex Labs (organization, [@Mintplex-Labs](https://github.com/Mintplex-Labs) on GitHub)
- **License:** MIT
- **Language:** JavaScript, CSS, Dockerfile
- **Repository:** [github.com/Mintplex-Labs/anything-llm](https://github.com/Mintplex-Labs/anything-llm)
- **Website:** [anythingllm.com](https://anythingllm.com)
- **Latest release:** [v1.18.0](https://github.com/Mintplex-Labs/anything-llm/releases/tag/v1.18.0) on GitHub, Oct 13, 2026
- **First published:** Jun 4, 2023

## What AnythingLLM does

- AnythingLLM ingests documents such as PDF, TXT, and DOCX and lets you chat with them, with source citations.
- AnythingLLM runs local models on CPU or GPU through a built-in engine powered by Lemonade and llama.cpp.
- AnythingLLM connects to many LLM providers, including OpenAI, Anthropic, Ollama, LM Studio, AWS Bedrock, and Azure OpenAI.
- AnythingLLM includes built-in agents, a no-code agent builder, custom agents, and MCP compatibility.
- AnythingLLM runs recurring tasks or prompts on a cron schedule with full agent capabilities.
- AnythingLLM routes chats to a provider and model based on rules you define.
- AnythingLLM offers a developer API and an embeddable chat widget for websites. The widget is available in the Docker version only.

### How it works

AnythingLLM runs as a desktop app or a self-hosted server, with deployment options such as Docker, AWS, GCP, and Render. The monorepo contains a Vite and React frontend, a Node.js Express server for LLM and vector database work, and a collector that parses documents. It uses LanceDB by default and also supports PGVector, Pinecone, Chroma, Qdrant, and other vector databases.

### Requirements

- The desktop app runs on macOS, Windows, or Linux.
- GPU acceleration requires NVIDIA via CUDA, or AMD and Intel via Vulkan.
- Development setup uses yarn and requires filling in server/.env.development.

### First steps

1. Download the AnythingLLM desktop app for macOS, Windows, or Linux.
2. Pick a model in AnythingLLM, or let it recommend one for your hardware.
3. Upload documents to a workspace with drag and drop, then chat with them.

## Who AnythingLLM is for

- Developers who want a private, local document-chat and agent app without cloud API keys.
- Teams that need a self-hosted, multi-user AI instance with per-user permissions.
- Builders who want to embed a chat widget or integrate through a developer API.

### Limitations

- Multi-user support, white-labeling, and the embeddable chat widget are available in the Docker version only.
- AnythingLLM collects anonymous telemetry by default. You can turn it off with DISABLE_TELEMETRY or in the Privacy settings.
- AnythingLLM still makes outbound connections to its model CDN, GitHub, and any external providers, even with telemetry disabled.

## Usage data (the week of Oct 25–31, 2026)

- Board rank: #162 overall, #17 in Inference and training, momentum score 49
- New GitHub stars per week (last 12 weeks): Aug 9: 281; Aug 16: 365; Aug 23: 321; Aug 30: 316; Sep 6: 323; Sep 13: 293; Sep 20: 313; Sep 27: 241; Oct 4: 267; Oct 11: 391; Oct 18: 293; Oct 25: 319

## AnythingLLM alternatives

| Rank | Tool | Stars | Downloads/wk |
|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | [dsh-our-free-model](https://index.devtoolwatch.com/tools/ebony-vinyl-dsh-our-free-model/) | 54.3k | – |
| #2 | [magpie](https://index.devtoolwatch.com/tools/yetone-magpie/) | 26.9k | – |
| #3 | [Strata](https://index.devtoolwatch.com/tools/niko1221-strata/) | 37.1k | – |
| #4 | [edge0](https://index.devtoolwatch.com/tools/edge0-ai-edge0/) | 8.9k | – |
| #5 | [OmniRoute](https://index.devtoolwatch.com/tools/diegosouzapw-omniroute/) | 83.2k | 106k |
| #6 | [CLIProxyAPI](https://index.devtoolwatch.com/tools/router-for-me-cliproxyapi/) | 57.1k | – |

## AnythingLLM FAQ

### Is AnythingLLM free and open source?

Yes. AnythingLLM's source code is on GitHub (Mintplex-Labs/anything-llm) under the MIT license, so you can use it for free.

### Is AnythingLLM still maintained?

Yes. The Mintplex-Labs/anything-llm repository was last updated on Oct 25, 2026, and the latest release, v1.18.0 on GitHub, came out on Oct 13, 2026.

### How popular is AnythingLLM?

AnythingLLM has 67.8k GitHub stars as of Nov 1, 2026. It gained 319 new stars in the week of Oct 25–31, 2026, against a 12-week average of 310 a week. That made it #17 among LLM inference and training tools on the Devtoolwatch Board.

### AnythingLLM vs Open WebUI: how do they compare?

AnythingLLM and Open WebUI are both tracked by Devtoolwatch as LLM inference and training tools. AnythingLLM has 67.8k GitHub stars and Open WebUI has 157.4k. [Open WebUI review](https://index.devtoolwatch.com/tools/open-webui/)

### AnythingLLM vs Ollama: how do they compare?

AnythingLLM and Ollama are both tracked by Devtoolwatch as LLM inference and training tools. AnythingLLM has 67.8k GitHub stars and Ollama has 185.5k. Ollama is a tool for running and building with open AI models locally or in the cloud on macOS, Windows, and Linux. [Ollama review](https://index.devtoolwatch.com/tools/ollama/)

### What are the best alternatives to AnythingLLM?

Other LLM inference and training tools on the Devtoolwatch Board in the week of Oct 25–31, 2026, by momentum: dsh-our-free-model (#1), magpie (#2), Strata (#3), edge0 (#4), OmniRoute (#5). The alternatives table above has their numbers.

### Is AnythingLLM private?

AnythingLLM runs locally by default, and its homepage says document knowledge stays on your device. It collects anonymous telemetry, with no IP or other identifying data, and you can disable it. Using external LLMs, embedders, or vector databases still sends data to those providers.

### How do I use AnythingLLM with Ollama or LM Studio?

AnythingLLM lists Ollama and LM Studio as supported LLM providers and as embedder options. Select one as your provider in the app to connect it.

### Can AnythingLLM use my GPU?

AnythingLLM's built-in local LLM engine runs models on CPU or GPU. It supports NVIDIA through CUDA and AMD and Intel through Vulkan, with no extra setup.

### Does AnythingLLM support MCP?

AnythingLLM is MCP-compatible. Its agents can use tools, and its Intelligent Skill Selection feature lets you enable many tools for a model.

### Does AnythingLLM have an API?

AnythingLLM includes a full developer API for custom integrations.

### How does RAG work in AnythingLLM?

AnythingLLM ingests your documents through its collector and stores embeddings in a vector database, LanceDB by default. It then answers chats with source citations. The default embedder is the AnythingLLM Native Embedder.

## Sources

1. [Mintplex-Labs/anything-llm on GitHub](https://github.com/Mintplex-Labs/anything-llm)
2. [AnythingLLM README](https://github.com/Mintplex-Labs/anything-llm/blob/master/README.md)
3. [AnythingLLM website](https://anythingllm.com)
4. [Release v1.18.0 (Oct 13, 2026)](https://github.com/Mintplex-Labs/anything-llm/releases/tag/v1.18.0)
5. [Release v1.17.0 (Oct 1, 2026)](https://github.com/Mintplex-Labs/anything-llm/releases/tag/v1.17.0)
6. [Release v1.16.2 (Sep 22, 2026)](https://github.com/Mintplex-Labs/anything-llm/releases/tag/v1.16.2)
7. [Hacker News: Show HN: AnythingLLM – Open-Source, All-in-One Desktop AI Assistant](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=41457633)
8. [Devtoolwatch Board, the week of Oct 25–31, 2026](https://index.devtoolwatch.com/)