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AI · alternatives · 2026

24 alternatives to Apfel - Apple Intelligence from the Command Line

The free AI already on your Mac. CLI tool, OpenAI-compatible server, and interactive chat — all on-device via Apple Intelligence. No API keys, no cloud, no downloads. - Arthur-Ficial/apfel

Below are 24 products that do a similar job, ranked by how close each is in meaning and then by launch-day votes.

  1. 1

    Github: https://github.com/Arthur-Ficial/apfel

    Apr 2026 · apfel.franzai.com · its alternatives →

  2. 2
    OpenOwl▲261

    Automate what APIs can't in one prompt done locally

    Apr 2026 · openowl.dev · its alternatives →

  3. 3

    Locally run an Instruction-Tuned Chat-Style LLM . Contribute to antimatter15/alpaca.cpp development by creating an account on GitHub.

    2023 · github.com · its alternatives →

  4. 4

    Hi HN! I’m excited to share Orange Intelligence, an open-source alternative to Apple Intelligence for macOS. Orange Intelligence allows you to interact with any text on your macOS system in a more powerful and customizable way. It brings a floating text processor that integrates seamlessly with your workflow. Whether you’re a developer, writer, or productivity enthusiast, this tool can boost your efficiency. Key Features: Floating Text Processor: Trigger a floating window by double-tapping the Option key to process selected text. Run Any Python Function: From basic text manipulations to…

    2025 · github.com · its alternatives →

  5. 5

    Heeey! I built a macOS copilot that has been useful to me, so I open sourced it in case others would find it useful too. It's pretty simple: - Use a keyboard shortcut to take a screenshot of your active macOS window and start recording the microphone. - Speak your question, then press the keyboard shortcut again to send your question + screenshot off to OpenAI Vision - The Vision response is presented in-context/overlayed over the active window, and spoken to you as audio. - The app keeps running in the background, only taking a screenshot/listening when activated by keyboard…

    2023 · github.com · its alternatives →

  6. 6

    The Al assistant from Microsoft

    2025 · apps.apple.com · its alternatives →

  7. 7
    FetchAI▲259

    The fastest way to talk to any AI on Mac

    2025 · apps.apple.com · its alternatives →

  8. 8

    We built SwiftAI, an open-source Swift library that lets you use Apple’s on-device LLMs when available (Apple opened access in June), and fall back to a cloud model when they aren’t available — all without duplicating code. SwiftAI gives you: - A single, model-agnostic API - An agent/tool loop - Strongly-typed structured outputs - Optional chat state Backstory: We started experimenting with Apple’s local models because they’re free (no API calls), private, and work offline. The problem: not all devices support them (older iPhones, Apple Intelligence disabled, low battery, etc.). That…

    2025 · github.com · its alternatives →

  9. 9

    Let ChatGPT interact with your Mac

    2023 · github.com · its alternatives →

  10. 10

    Hey everyone, We have been building SecureAI Tools -- an open-source application layer for ChatGPT and ChatPDF-like AI tools. It works with locally running LLMs as well as with OpenAI-compatible APIs. For local LLMs, it supports Ollama which supports all the gguf/ggml models. Currently, it has two features: Chat-with-LLM, and Chat-with-PDFs. It is optimized for self-hosting use cases and comes with basic user management features. Here are some quick demos: * Chat with documents using OpenAI's GPT3.5 model: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Br2D3G9O47s * Chat with documents…

    2023 · github.com · its alternatives →

  11. 11

    A native command-line interface for working with Apple Core ML models on macOS - schappim/coreml-cli

    Jan 2026 · github.com · its alternatives →

  12. 12

    Connect your Mac's Mail, Calendar, and more to AI

    Apr 2026 · claunnector.com · its alternatives →

  13. 13

    Open-source Computer Use MCP for AI agents

    May 2026 · github.com · its alternatives →

  14. 14
    MiniAi▲85

    Select text, hit (⌥ space), get AI explanations

    Apr 2026 · miniai.dev · its alternatives →

  15. 15

    Hey HN, I’ve built Open Codex, a fully local, open-source alternative to OpenAI’s Codex CLI. My initial plan was to fork their project and extend it. I even started doing that. But it turned out their code has several leaky abstractions, which made it hard to override core behavior cleanly. Shortly after, OpenAI introduced breaking changes. Maintaining my customizations on top became increasingly difficult. So I rewrote the whole thing from scratch using Python. My version is designed to support local LLMs. Right now, it only works with phi-4-mini (GGUF) via…

    2025 · github.com · its alternatives →

  16. 16
    Lekh AI▲80

    Run powerful AI models on your Mac:fully offline and private

    Jan 2026 · apps.apple.com · its alternatives →

  17. 17

    Native Swift apps + a real cloud database. One prompt away.

    Mar 2026 · nativeline.ai · its alternatives →

  18. 18

    I caught myself copy-pasting into ChatGPT like 50 times a day. Too lazy for that, so I built a shortcut. Select text anywhere on Mac, press a hotkey — text gets rewritten / translated / summarized / whatever, right where you are. No tabs, no copy-paste dance. Native Swift app, hooks into macOS accessibility APIs. Bring your own API key and calls go straight to OpenAI / Anthropic. Or just use the free tier — 20 requests/day, no signup. https://aihotkeys.tech Curious for the feedback

    Feb 2026 · aihotkeys.tech · its alternatives →

  19. 19

    Unlock the full potential of ChatGPT

    2025 · thinkboxai.com · its alternatives →

  20. 20UC

    This project was born from my passion for every Apple product and the entire ecosystem, along with the power of ChatGPT. I was tired of copy-pasting and switching between apps on my Mac or iPhone, so I had this crazy idea to bring ChatGPT into every app that I use. This was possible only with the Apple Shortcuts app. Very few people know about its power and potential, so I took this chance and built COPILOT. https://meetcopilot.app But I also loved the idea of AI agents using various tools so much that I leveraged OpenAI's function-calling feature to accomplish that. Now, no matter…

    2023 · meetcopilot.app · its alternatives →

  21. 21IA
  22. 22

    An open-source alternative to Apple

    2025 · github.com · its alternatives →

  23. 23
    AI CLI▲17

    ai tool sends your requests to a local LLM and executes directly returned actions in your shell. Source is single C file - vkataev/ai-cli

    2025 · github.com · its alternatives →

  24. 24

    I posted this previously, but there's been a major update. As a high school student, I love LLMs and the execution of Apple's Appel Intelligence Writing Tools, but was disappointed that nothing like that existed for Windows. I thus created Writing Tools, a better than Apple Intelligence open-source alternative that works system-wide on Windows. It's much better than the tiny 2B parameter Apple Intelligence model! Features (works system-wide): 1. Select text in a textbox, press the hotkey, and optimise your text in a click (proofread, rewrite, tone changes, custom instructions...). You can…

    2024 · github.com · its alternatives →

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Ranked by how close each launch is in meaning, then by votes. Prices were read from each product’s own site when checked and can change. Refine with your own description →