Running AI tools on your own computer is more attractive than relying on online services provided by tech giants like OpenAI, Google or Meta. However, since most are published with software developers in mind, installing AI apps locally can get very complicated and fast-paced. (For example, we have step-by-step guides for Stable Diffusion and FaceFusion.)
Find an AI model that is compatible with your computer, explore multiple Github code repositories, copy and paste strange commands into a command line terminal, clean and quantized FP16 or FP16 or FP8 or whatever. There are tutorials, but they don’t cover all edge cases and quickly become useless.
Could installing AI locally be as simple as clicking a button? That’s right. So says the creator of Pinokio, a new user-friendly tool that is making waves in the open source AI community.
Pinocchio is the Swiss Army Knife for AI. You can run tools like image generator, video generator, music generator, uncensored AI chatbot, intelligent mirror, and more. And you can manage all of this from your computer for free. Of course, this is possible if you have sufficient hardware.
All the complicated tasks you did before Pinokio will be done for you. You can get up and running with just a few clicks.
What is Pinocchio?
Pinokio is an AI browser that simplifies the installation and use of various AI applications and models on your local computer. Designed as an all-in-one AI library downloader and manager, it integrates the most popular open source AI apps and deploys them into a single environment, merging all installation and configuration steps into a simple script to run with minimal user interaction. .
Characteristics of Pinocchio
1. One-click installation: Pinokio lets you install AI engines with just one click, from language models to visual tools like Stable Diffusion. No need to worry about dependencies and custom environments.
2. Widespread availability of open source AI models: Pinokio provides a robust catalog of installation scripts for the major open source AI applications available today, making it easy to find popular new models and install the latest versions.
3. One-click execution: Once the AI app is installed, you can run it with one click. It runs locally on your computer, so it doesn’t require an internet connection unless a specific app requires external API access.
4. Browser-based controls: Applications are managed through a standard browser window. Pinokio provides web views for many AI chatbots, Stable Diffusion, and other AI tools.
5. Virtual machine: Pinokio is designed to be an autonomous virtual machine within your computer that can read, write, process, and run anything through a simple scripting language.
6. Privacy protection orientation: All models run locally and users do not need to share any information with Pinokio. This means users don’t have to worry about data sharing, monitoring, or being constrained by centralized enterprise AI developers.
installation
Installing Pinokio is as simple as installing any other program or app. Go to Pinokio’s official website, pinokio.computer, click the “Download” button, select your operating system, and run the installation file.
There are additional steps for Mac users, and yes, there are. This is a terminal command. After downloading the MacOS installer, which is a DMG file, placing the “Pinokio” app in your Applications folder, you need to run “patch.command” before opening the default app.
Linux users should select the appropriate installation file according to their Linux distribution and install as usual. All installation files are in the Github repository: https://github.com/pinokiocomputer/pinokio/releases
Install your first open source AI model using Pinokio
Once Pinokio is installed, it’s time to explore. Pinokio lets you download and run any open source AI app as long as your computer can handle it.
Running AI apps typically requires GPUs with huge amounts of vRAM. So if you want to play with AI, just don’t buy it. most powerful GPU. Instead of most capable GPU. (More on that here.) Invest in a GPU with the most vRAM. This means that 6GB is sufficient to run Stable Diffusion, but if you want to run heavier models or train custom LoRA or SD, 12GB is a more flexible starting point. 1.5 model.
Now it’s time to explore and run some AI apps. The process is the same for Windows, Mac, or Linux.
When you first open Pinokio, you’ll be presented with a simple, mostly blank screen.
To browse the AI catalog, click the “Search” tab at the top or click the “Visit Search Page” button. Pinokio takes you to a catalog of all the open source AI models you can run, each with its own image and description.
Look around and find something you like. If you’re just starting out, here’s what I recommend:
- Fooocus (easy-to-use image generator)
- Facefusion (deepfake generator)
- SillyTavern (interacts with LLM)
- ComfyUI, Invoke or Stable Diffusion WebUI (these three are also image generators)
The latter three image generators support SD 1.5, which is slightly more complex than Fooocus but uses less VRAM. If you have a more powerful PC and want to manipulate the AI a bit more, you can download:
- Openvoice (voice duplicator)
- Devika (a codeable multimodal AI agent)
- Moore Anymate Anyone or stable video distribution (AI video production)
The catalog sections are as follows:
In this example, we will install Illusion Diffusion, which basically creates an image that is also an optical illusion. However, the steps are the same for any model you download.
When you click on the app you want to install, it basically takes you to a new screen with just one button press. It says “Download” so click to download.
Once you’ve selected your model, you’ll be asked to provide the name you want to use. You can leave the default selection and click “Download” once again.
Pinokio opens a command prompt and downloads a script that can run your model. This happens quickly and you’ll know it’s done because the command line will say “Done.”
Once completed, a new blank screen will appear. You will now see the logo and name of the requested AI model (in this case Illusion Diffusion) and three buttons: Delete, File, and Install. For now I want to click “Install”. However, “Delete” removes the model and “File” is used to navigate the installation folder and rummage through files and folders. If you have Stable Diffusion installed, here’s what you can do to add new checkpoints or LoRas.
The screen looks like this:
Now, as soon as you click “Install”, you will see another command line screen as shown below. It may take some time while Pinokio does all of this. Just wait and let Pinocchio do his thing. will be downloaded many Number of files, models, and libraries required to run the model. It also sets up the environment and makes all the weird adjustments needed to run the model on your computer.
For transparency’s sake, we’ll audit everything in your command line terminal window so you can see what’s going on if you want.
Pinokio will let you know when it is safe to proceed to the next step, with a nice pop-up notifying you that the installation has been completed successfully.
Now that everything is installed, start your model by clicking on the little plug icon on the left side of the screen.
Don’t worry if you see another command line. It’s all part of the setup process. Now that you are used to waiting, be careful, you may have to wait a little longer.
Once complete, Pinokio provides a local URL where you can run the model in the web browser of your choice. It appears at the end of the command line and typically looks like this: http://127.0.0.1—This is a link to your computer and means you can now run the model offline.
Now you can play with AI. Launch it by clicking the rocket button that says “Open Web UI” on the left side of the screen, and it will launch in Pinokio’s main interface. To run the model in full-screen mode using your preferred web browser, simply click the “pop-up” icon at the top of the screen and a new tab will open in your computer’s default web browser.
And there it is! Enjoy whatever you want with our new AI model.
Pinokio is a game changer for anyone interested in AI. We make AI accessible and enjoyable by simplifying the download and installation process. Whether you’re a seasoned AI enthusiast or a beginner just dipping your toes into the world of artificial intelligence, Pinokio is a great tool for you.
Go ahead and try Pinokio. Who knows? You can also find a personal ChatGPT or MidJourney killer on your own computer.
Edited by Ryan Ozawa.
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