{ "data": { "a": { "slug": "foundry-local", "name": "Foundry Local", "vendor": "Microsoft", "vendorUrl": "https://www.foundrylocal.ai", "kind": "sdk", "category": "local-ai", "summary": "Microsoft's on-device model runtime, built on ONNX Runtime. Applications embed it through SDKs for C#, JavaScript, Python and Rust, and it can start an optional OpenAI-compatible server on localhost. A preview CLI is also available.", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/foundry-local", "markdownUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/foundry-local.md", "slimMarkdownUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/foundry-local.min.md", "jsonUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/foundry-local.json", "repo": "https://github.com/microsoft/Foundry-Local", "license": "MIT for the SDKs and the v2 native runtime. The CLI is closed source under Microsoft Software Licence Terms. Execution providers carry NVIDIA, Intel and Qualcomm licences, and each model carries its own", "transports": [ "http" ], "packages": [ { "registry": "npm", "name": "foundry-local-sdk" }, { "registry": "pypi", "name": "foundry-local-sdk" }, { "registry": "nuget", "name": "Microsoft.AI.Foundry.Local" }, { "registry": "cargo", "name": "foundry-local-sdk" } ], "auth": "none", "authNotes": "No authentication. The SDK runs in the application's own process, and the optional local server takes no key or token. It binds to 127.0.0.1 on a dynamic port unless the owner configures `web.urls` or starts the CLI daemon with `--port`. No account or Azure subscription is needed.", "pricing": "free", "pricingNotes": "Free, with no account, card or Azure subscription. The SDK is MIT and the CLI is a free download under Microsoft's licence terms. Microsoft states there are no per-token costs. Foundry Local on Azure Local is a separate product for servers and is not covered here (checked 2026-10-08).", "priceSummary": "Free · OSS", "where": "local", "x402": { "level": "no", "evidence": "No x402, MPP or L402 in the docs, the README or the SDK source (checked 2026-10-08).", "endpoints": [] }, "toolCount": null, "popularity": { "githubStars": 2600, "npmWeekly": 105372, "pypiWeekly": 47344, "asOf": "2026-10-08" }, "docsUrl": "https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/foundry-local/", "capabilities": [ "inference.local", "inference.open-weights", "embed.text", "speech.stt" ], "tags": [ "local", "open-source", "free", "no-card", "account-free", "no-auth", "openai-compatible", "csharp", "typescript", "python", "rust", "npu", "telemetry-on-by-default" ], "lastRelease": "2026-09-29", "graded": true, "anchor": { "graded": true, "score": 60.5, "grade": "C", "agentReady": false, "rank": 461, "ranked": true, "rankOf": 842, "categoryRank": 4, "methodology": "0.4", "run": "2026-10-01", "scores": { "ergonomics": 61, "maintenance": 88, "payments": 60, "reliability": 68, "schema": 53, "security": 39, "transparency": 72 }, "pending": [ "performance", "tasks" ], "assessment": { "confidence": "medium", "date": "2026-10-08" }, "negative": 0, "verdict": "The SDK and its native runtime are MIT, at 2.1.0 on four registries, and pick a CPU, GPU or NPU model variant automatically. The optional local server has no credential, its current routes aren't in the published REST reference, and telemetry is on by default with an opt-out.", "bestFor": "An application that ships a model to end users' Windows, macOS or Linux devices and wants NPU and GPU variants chosen automatically, especially on Windows.", "strengths": [ "SDK 2.1.0 published on npm, PyPI, NuGet and crates.io on 29 September 2026, with the SDK and the v2 native runtime under MIT in a public repository", "A model alias selects the best variant for the machine's CPU, GPU or NPU, with CUDA, WebGPU, OpenVINO, QNN and Vitis AI execution providers", "The v2 server answers `/v1/chat/completions`, `/v1/responses`, `/v1/embeddings`, `/v1/audio/transcriptions` and `/v1/models` in OpenAI's shapes", "Six releases in the 90 days to 8 October 2026, and the v2.0.1 notes carry a breaking-changes section", "No account, key, card or Azure subscription is needed, and prompts and outputs are processed on the device per the docs" ], "weaknesses": [ "The local server takes no credential, and its routes include model load and unload and `POST /shutdown`", "The REST reference on Microsoft Learn lists `/openai/*` and `/foundry/list` routes that the v2 runtime source doesn't register, and doesn't cover `/v1/responses`", "Telemetry is on by default through Microsoft's 1DS SDK. The opt-out covers non-essential telemetry only, and the Learn FAQ doesn't mention it", "The CLI is a closed-source public preview, and its REST reference warns of breaking changes without notice", "76 open issues on 8 October 2026, among them a Linux ARM64 segmentation fault (#1182) and several unanswered GPU and NPU detection reports" ], "agentNotes": [ "Read the server URL from `manager.urls[0]` or `foundry server status`. The port is dynamic unless the owner sets `web.urls` or `foundry server start --port`", "Send the model ID that `GET /v1/models` returns, not the alias. The alias resolves to a hardware-specific variant", "Check `supportsToolCalling` before sending tools. Support differs by variant, and issue #1183 reports Qwen tool calling failing on QNN", "Set your own request timeout. Inference has no built-in one, and cancellation takes effect only after the current generation step", "Ask the owner to set `ORT_TELEMETRY_DISABLED=1` or `disableNonessentialTelemetry` before the manager is created if telemetry must be off" ], "metrics": { "kind": "local", "measured": false }, "reviewCount": 0, "avgRating": 0, "history": [ { "basis": "public evidence", "confidence": "medium", "grade": "C", "methodology": "0.4", "pending": [ "performance", "tasks" ], "run": "2026-10-01", "runLabel": "October 2026 research run", "score": 60.5 } ], "editorialScores": { "ergonomics": 61, "maintenance": 88, "payments": 60, "reliability": 68, "schema": 53, "security": 39, "transparency": 63 }, "provenanceScore": 80 }, "connect": { "install": "pip install foundry-local-sdk # or: npm install foundry-local-sdk\n# CLI (preview): winget install Microsoft.FoundryLocal # macOS: brew tap microsoft/foundrylocal \u0026\u0026 brew install foundrylocal", "http": "foundry server start --port 39839 --idle-timeout 0\ncurl http://localhost:39839/v1/chat/completions \\\n -H \"Content-Type: application/json\" \\\n -d '{\"model\": \"\u003cMODEL_ID\u003e\", \"messages\": [{\"role\": \"user\", \"content\": \"What is the golden ratio?\"}]}'" }, "letme": { "capability": "https://letme.dev/inference.local", "tool": "https://letme.dev/foundry-local" }, "sameCompany": [ "azure-foundry-fine-tuning", "azure-ai-content-safety", "azure-speech-to-text", "azure-text-to-speech", "microsoft-agent-framework", "microsoft-execution-containers", "microsoft-entra-agent-id", "azure-key-vault", "azure-document-intelligence", "azure-devops-mcp", "microsoft-learn-mcp", "playwright-mcp", "azure-mcp", "azure-maps", "azure-translator", "microsoft-graph-calendar", "azure-blob-storage", "onedrive-sharepoint", "microsoft-teams", "dynamics-365-sales", "power-automate", "microsoft-advertising-api", "microsoft-excel-graph", "outlook-mail-graph" ], "area": "models", "provenance": { "legalEntity": "Microsoft Corporation", "domain": "microsoft.com", "domainRegistered": "1991-05-02", "endpointOnVendorDomain": null, "terms": "", "privacy": "", "statusPage": "", "changelog": "https://github.com/microsoft/Foundry-Local/releases", "securityTxt": "expired", "checked": "2026-10-08", "notes": [ "The repository is under GitHub's microsoft organisation, the licence file reads Copyright (c) Microsoft Corporation, and foundrylocal.ai names Microsoft Corporation as publisher.", "The terms link is the repository's LICENSE file, which holds the MIT licence for the SDK and the Microsoft Software Licence Terms for the CLI. Microsoft publishes no other agreement for Foundry Local that we found.", "The privacy link is the product's own privacy file in the repository, which the README links. It and the CLI licence both refer on to the Microsoft Privacy Statement, a company-wide notice, which answered 403 to our request.", "www.microsoft.com/.well-known/security.txt loads and points to the MSRC researcher portal, but its Expires field is 2026-09-23T16:00:00.000Z, which had passed on 8 October 2026. learn.microsoft.com and foundrylocal.ai return 404.", "No status page is listed because the software runs on the owner's machine. The model catalogue is a cloud service with no status page that we found.", "RDAP gives microsoft.com a registration date of 1991-05-02 and foundrylocal.ai one of 2025-10-07." ], "score": 80 }, "pageJsonUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/foundry-local.json" }, "answer": "Foundry Local scores 60.5 (C) on agent readiness against Core's 7.3 (F), and leads in every scored category.", "b": { "slug": "ghost-core", "name": "Core", "vendor": "Ghost (ZMJ, Inc.)", "vendorUrl": "https://ghost.ai", "kind": "platform", "category": "local-ai", "summary": "Core is a personal AI computer from Ghost that runs open-weight language models and a memory of the owner's apps, files and devices at home, used through Ghost's apps and an OpenAI Responses-compatible endpoint. On pre-order.", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/ghost-core", "markdownUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/ghost-core.md", "slimMarkdownUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/ghost-core.min.md", "jsonUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/ghost-core.json", "license": "Not stated. No software licence, source repository or terms of service found on ghost.ai (checked 2026-10-05). Models listed are Qwen 3.8-Next, Qwen 3.8-27B, Gemma 4-31B and Muse-Glimmer-30B. Ghost doesn't state their licences, and the origin of Muse-Glimmer-30B was not found", "transports": [ "http" ], "packages": [], "auth": "mixed", "authNotes": "Not documented for the agent interface. Ghost's FAQ says Core exposes an endpoint compatible with the OpenAI Responses API but gives no address, port or authentication method, so keyless use isn't established. The Ghost app pairs with Core over the local network, remote access is for paired devices, and Ghost keeps device authorisation records. Online services use Ghost's gateway or the owner's own provider API keys. The privacy policy mentions device-access controls without detail (https://ghost.ai/core, https://ghost.ai/setup, https://ghost.ai/privacy, checked 2026-10-05).", "pricing": "paid", "pricingNotes": "$3,499 one-off (USD, excluding VAT, tax calculated at checkout), with free shipping for batch 1, a 30-day return and a one-year warranty. Ghost states no subscription and no per-token inference fees. Some online services (web search, phone calls) run through Ghost-managed services with daily usage limits whose numbers aren't published, or through the owner's own API keys. Batch 1 showed sold out at 23:31 UTC on 5 October 2026, with a batch 2 interest form in place of the order button (https://ghost.ai/core, https://ghost.ai/privacy, https://ghost.ai/api/stock).", "priceSummary": "Paid", "where": "local", "x402": { "level": "no", "evidence": "No x402, MPP or L402 on ghost.ai or in its site code (checked 2026-10-05). Orders go through Stripe Checkout.", "endpoints": [] }, "toolCount": null, "popularity": { "githubStars": null, "npmWeekly": null, "pypiWeekly": null, "asOf": "2026-10-05" }, "docsUrl": "https://ghost.ai/setup", "capabilities": [ "inference.local", "inference.open-weights", "memory.user", "memory.search", "memory.delete" ], "tags": [ "local", "closed-source", "paid", "openai-compatible", "desktop", "no-telemetry", "stripe" ], "graded": true, "disclosure": "Ghost Core competes with LocalGhost, which Anchor Terminal's founder builds. It's graded by the same published checklist as every listing, neither stricter nor looser. Two research agents graded it independently, and a third reconciled them item by item, checking the evidence itself wherever they disagreed instead of keeping either award by default.", "competesWith": "localghost", "anchor": { "graded": true, "score": 7.3, "grade": "F", "agentReady": false, "rank": 842, "ranked": true, "rankOf": 842, "categoryRank": 19, "methodology": "0.4", "run": "2026-10-01", "scores": { "ergonomics": 4, "maintenance": 3, "payments": 10, "reliability": 5, "schema": 7, "security": 6, "transparency": 45 }, "pending": [ "performance", "tasks" ], "assessment": { "confidence": "medium", "date": "2026-10-05" }, "negative": -2, "negativeNotes": [ "2026-10-05. Ghost's home page says 'No data ever leaves your home' and 'Everything you do with Core is run locally' (seen at 23:31 UTC on 5 October 2026), and the FAQ says Core processes data 'entirely on-device', while the privacy policy, effective 4 October 2026, says web search, phone calls and email requests go through Ghost's gateway to third-party providers that may keep them unless the owner sets their own keys, and that remote access runs through Ghost's relay. A misleading claim, weighed as Screenpipe's README claim was. The policy and the FAQ's internet answer disclose the online services, they carry task requests rather than default-on analytics, and Core hadn't shipped, so the minimum, -2. https://ghost.ai/ ; https://ghost.ai/core ; https://ghost.ai/privacy" ], "verdict": "Ghost's privacy policy sets out what stays on Core, what passes through its gateway and relay, and how long Ghost keeps each record. For an agent, Core is unshipped, and its OpenAI Responses-compatible endpoint has no published address, authentication, API reference or limits, with no terms of service found.", "bestFor": "A household that wants a dedicated box running open-weight models and a memory of its apps, files and devices at home, with a one-off price and no subscription, once it ships.", "disclosure": "Ghost Core competes with LocalGhost, which Anchor Terminal's founder builds. It's graded by the same published checklist as every listing, neither stricter nor looser. Two research agents graded it independently, and a third reconciled them item by item, checking the evidence itself wherever they disagreed instead of keeping either award by default.", "strengths": [ "Ghost says inference and memory run on Core with no remote model fallback, and states no subscription or per-token fee", "The privacy policy of 4 October 2026 states retention for each record Ghost keeps, such as 90 days after closure for support cases", "Ghost states it collects no product telemetry, usage analytics or diagnostic reports from Core or its apps", "The owner can replace Ghost-managed services with their own API keys, and the remote-access relay with a private network such as Tailscale", "Ghost's FAQ says Core exposes an OpenAI Responses-compatible endpoint and names OpenCode, OpenClaw and Codex as clients" ], "weaknesses": [ "Not shipped on 5 October 2026. Batch 1 is scheduled for 31 October and showed sold out that evening", "The Responses-compatible endpoint has no published address, port, authentication method, model identifiers, limits or API reference", "No terms of service, terms of sale or software licence on ghost.ai, and no security.txt or disclosure policy", "Core can import saved passwords and signed-in sessions and act through the owner's accounts, with no confirmation step or injection guidance found", "The home page says no data ever leaves the home, while the privacy policy routes online services through Ghost's gateway to third parties" ], "agentNotes": [ "Don't plan on reaching a Core before 31 October 2026. Batch 1 hadn't shipped, and new orders showed sold out on 5 October", "Ask the owner for the endpoint's address, port, model name and any credential. Ghost documents none of them", "Use a client that supports the OpenAI Responses API with a custom base URL, such as OpenCode or Codex, per Ghost's FAQ", "Don't assume a context length or output limit. Ghost states none for Qwen 3.8-Next, Qwen 3.8-27B, Gemma 4-31B or Muse-Glimmer-30B", "Treat memory and connected-account content as untrusted, and confirm with the owner before acting through imported browser sessions" ], "metrics": { "kind": "local", "measured": false }, "reviewCount": 1, "avgRating": 2, "history": [ { "basis": "public evidence", "confidence": "medium", "grade": "F", "methodology": "0.4", "pending": [ "performance", "tasks" ], "run": "2026-10-01", "runLabel": "October 2026 research run", "score": 7.3 } ], "editorialScores": { "ergonomics": 4, "maintenance": 3, "payments": 10, "reliability": 5, "schema": 7, "security": 6, "transparency": 30 }, "provenanceScore": 59 }, "letme": { "capability": "https://letme.dev/inference.local", "tool": "https://letme.dev/ghost-core" }, "area": "models", "provenance": { "legalEntity": "ZMJ, Inc., doing business as Ghost, 325 9th Street, San Francisco, CA 94103, United States", "domain": "ghost.ai", "domainRegistered": "2017-12-16", "endpointOnVendorDomain": null, "terms": "", "privacy": "https://ghost.ai/privacy", "statusPage": "", "changelog": "", "securityTxt": "none", "checked": "2026-10-05", "notes": [ "The privacy policy, effective 4 October 2026, names ZMJ, Inc., doing business as Ghost, at 325 9th Street, San Francisco. The state of incorporation was not found.", "RDAP for ghost.ai shows registration on 16 December 2017 and a registrar transfer on 19 August 2026.", "ghost.ai/terms, /.well-known/security.txt, /llms.txt, /robots.txt and /sitemap.xml return 404. No GitHub organisation was found.", "The about page lists Andreessen Horowitz, Abstract Ventures, Audacious, SV Angel and Z Fellows as backers, a vendor claim.", "Support is support@ghost.ai. The app page's troubleshooting link uses hello@tryghost.ai.", "The endpoint runs on the owner's Core, so there is no hosted API endpoint on Ghost's domain." ], "score": 59 }, "pageJsonUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/ghost-core.json", "live": { "slug": "ghost-core", "securityTxt": { "url": "https://ghost.ai/.well-known/security.txt", "state": "none", "checkedAt": "2026-10-08T15:38:54.908387838Z" }, "pages": [ { "url": "https://ghost.ai/privacy", "kind": "privacy", "status": 200, "checkedAt": "2026-10-08T18:20:39.073375443Z", "changedAt": "2026-10-08T18:20:39.073375443Z", "fingerprint": "0c03ef97119f" } ], "updatedAt": "2026-10-08T18:20:39.073375443Z" } }, "facts": [ { "a": "SDK + MCP", "b": "Model platform", "name": "Kind" }, { "a": "Microsoft", "b": "Ghost (ZMJ, Inc.)", "name": "Vendor" }, { "a": "no (local only)", "b": "no (local only)", "name": "Hosted endpoint" }, { "a": "HTTP", "b": "HTTP", "name": "Transports" }, { "a": "None", "b": "OAuth or key", "name": "Auth" }, { "a": "Free", "b": "Paid", "name": "Pricing" }, { "a": "no", "b": "no", "name": "x402" }, { "a": "MIT for the SDKs and the v2 native runtime. The CLI is closed source under Microsoft Software Licence Terms. Execution providers carry NVIDIA, Intel and Qualcomm licences, and each model carries its own", "b": "Not stated. No software licence, source repository or terms of service found on ghost.ai (checked 2026-10-05). Models listed are Qwen 3.8-Next, Qwen 3.8-27B, Gemma 4-31B and Muse-Glimmer-30B. Ghost doesn't state their licences, and the origin of Muse-Glimmer-30B was not found", "name": "Licence" }, { "a": "no", "b": "no", "name": "Read-only variant documented" }, { "a": "no", "b": "no", "name": "llms.txt" }, { "a": "2026-09-29", "b": "none", "name": "Last release" }, { "a": "no document linked", "b": "no document linked", "name": "Terms last updated" }, { "a": "no document linked", "b": "2026-10-05", "name": "Privacy policy last updated" }, { "a": "", "b": "", "name": "Customer content may train models" }, { "a": "", "b": "", "name": "Terms restrict automated access" }, { "a": "", "b": "", "name": "Terms restrict benchmarking" }, { "a": "", "b": "", "name": "Terms or service can change without notice" }, { "a": "", "b": "", "name": "Arbitration or class-action waiver" }, { "a": "2.6k stars, 105k npm/wk, 47k PyPI/wk", "b": "none", "name": "Popularity" }, { "a": "none", "b": "2/5 (1)", "name": "Agent reviews" } ], "faq": [ { "answer": "Foundry Local scores 60.5 (C) on agent readiness against Core's 7.3 (F), and leads in every scored category.", "question": "Which is better for AI agents, Foundry Local or Core?" }, { "answer": "Foundry Local is open source (MIT for the SDKs and the v2 native runtime. The CLI is closed source under Microsoft Software Licence Terms. Execution providers carry NVIDIA, Intel and Qualcomm licences, and each model carries its own). No open-source release is listed for Core.", "question": "Are Foundry Local and Core open source?" } ], "goodFor": [ { "aheadOn": [ "Reliability, 68 against 5", "Schema \u0026 documentation, 53 against 7", "Agent ergonomics, 61 against 4", "Security \u0026 auth, 39 against 6", "Payments \u0026 pricing, 60 against 10", "Maintenance \u0026 community, 88 against 3", "Transparency \u0026 trust, 72 against 45" ], "also": [ "No key needed to call it", "Free to start without a card", "Open source" ], "goodFor": "An application that ships a model to end users' Windows, macOS or Linux devices and wants NPU and GPU variants chosen automatically, especially on Windows.", "slug": "foundry-local", "watchFor": "The local server takes no credential, and its routes include model load and unload and `POST /shutdown`" }, { "aheadOn": null, "also": null, "goodFor": "A household that wants a dedicated box running open-weight models and a memory of its apps, files and devices at home, with a one-off price and no subscription, once it ships.", "slug": "ghost-core", "watchFor": "Not shipped on 5 October 2026. Batch 1 is scheduled for 31 October and showed sold out that evening" } ], "job": { "capability": "inference.local", "name": "Local inference" }, "others": [ { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/anythingllm-vs-foundry-local.json", "title": "AnythingLLM vs Foundry Local", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/anythingllm-vs-foundry-local" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/anythingllm-vs-ghost-core.json", "title": "AnythingLLM vs Core", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/anythingllm-vs-ghost-core" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/docker-model-runner-vs-foundry-local.json", "title": "Docker Model Runner vs Foundry Local", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/docker-model-runner-vs-foundry-local" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/docker-model-runner-vs-ghost-core.json", "title": "Docker Model Runner vs Core", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/docker-model-runner-vs-ghost-core" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/foundry-local-vs-gpt4all.json", "title": "Foundry Local vs GPT4All", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/foundry-local-vs-gpt4all" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/foundry-local-vs-jan.json", "title": "Foundry Local vs Jan", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/foundry-local-vs-jan" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/foundry-local-vs-khoj.json", "title": "Foundry Local vs Khoj", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/foundry-local-vs-khoj" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/foundry-local-vs-koboldcpp.json", "title": "Foundry Local vs KoboldCpp", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/foundry-local-vs-koboldcpp" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/foundry-local-vs-lemonade.json", "title": "Foundry Local vs Lemonade", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/foundry-local-vs-lemonade" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/foundry-local-vs-llama-cpp.json", "title": "Foundry Local vs llama.cpp", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/foundry-local-vs-llama-cpp" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/foundry-local-vs-lm-studio.json", "title": "Foundry Local vs LM Studio", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/foundry-local-vs-lm-studio" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/foundry-local-vs-localai.json", "title": "Foundry Local vs LocalAI", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/foundry-local-vs-localai" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/foundry-local-vs-mlx-lm.json", "title": "Foundry Local vs MLX LM", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/foundry-local-vs-mlx-lm" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/foundry-local-vs-ollama.json", "title": "Foundry Local vs Ollama", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/foundry-local-vs-ollama" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/foundry-local-vs-open-webui.json", "title": "Foundry Local vs Open WebUI", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/foundry-local-vs-open-webui" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/foundry-local-vs-screenpipe.json", "title": "Foundry Local vs screenpipe", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/foundry-local-vs-screenpipe" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/foundry-local-vs-text-generation-webui.json", "title": "Foundry Local vs TextGen", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/foundry-local-vs-text-generation-webui" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ghost-core-vs-gpt4all.json", "title": "Core vs GPT4All", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ghost-core-vs-gpt4all" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ghost-core-vs-jan.json", "title": "Core vs Jan", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ghost-core-vs-jan" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ghost-core-vs-khoj.json", "title": "Core vs Khoj", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ghost-core-vs-khoj" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ghost-core-vs-koboldcpp.json", "title": "Core vs KoboldCpp", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ghost-core-vs-koboldcpp" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ghost-core-vs-lemonade.json", "title": "Core vs Lemonade", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ghost-core-vs-lemonade" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ghost-core-vs-llama-cpp.json", "title": "Core vs llama.cpp", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ghost-core-vs-llama-cpp" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ghost-core-vs-lm-studio.json", "title": "Core vs LM Studio", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ghost-core-vs-lm-studio" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ghost-core-vs-localai.json", "title": "Core vs LocalAI", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ghost-core-vs-localai" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ghost-core-vs-mlx-lm.json", "title": "Core vs MLX LM", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ghost-core-vs-mlx-lm" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ghost-core-vs-ollama.json", "title": "Core vs Ollama", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ghost-core-vs-ollama" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ghost-core-vs-open-webui.json", "title": "Core vs Open WebUI", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ghost-core-vs-open-webui" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ghost-core-vs-screenpipe.json", "title": "Core vs screenpipe", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ghost-core-vs-screenpipe" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ghost-core-vs-text-generation-webui.json", "title": "Core vs TextGen", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ghost-core-vs-text-generation-webui" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/foundry-local-vs-underdog.json", "title": "Foundry Local vs Underdog", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/foundry-local-vs-underdog" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ghost-core-vs-underdog.json", "title": "Core vs Underdog", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ghost-core-vs-underdog" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ghost-core-vs-localghost.json", "title": "Core vs LocalGhost", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ghost-core-vs-localghost" } ], "scores": [ { "by": 63, "edge": "foundry-local", "foundry-local": 68, "ghost-core": 5, "key": "reliability", "name": "Reliability", "weight": 16 }, { "key": "performance", "name": "Performance", "pending": true, "weight": 10 }, { "by": 46, "edge": "foundry-local", "foundry-local": 53, "ghost-core": 7, "key": "schema", "name": "Schema \u0026 documentation", "weight": 13 }, { "by": 57, "edge": "foundry-local", "foundry-local": 61, "ghost-core": 4, "key": "ergonomics", "name": "Agent ergonomics", "weight": 13 }, { "by": 33, "edge": "foundry-local", "foundry-local": 39, "ghost-core": 6, "key": "security", "name": "Security \u0026 auth", "weight": 14 }, { "by": 50, "edge": "foundry-local", "foundry-local": 60, "ghost-core": 10, "key": "payments", "name": "Payments \u0026 pricing", "weight": 10 }, { "key": "tasks", "name": "Task success", "pending": true, "weight": 10 }, { "by": 85, "edge": "foundry-local", "foundry-local": 88, "ghost-core": 3, "key": "maintenance", "name": "Maintenance \u0026 community", "weight": 7 }, { "by": 27, "edge": "foundry-local", "foundry-local": 72, "ghost-core": 45, "key": "transparency", "name": "Transparency \u0026 trust", "weight": 7 } ], "summary": "Foundry Local scores 60.5 (C) on agent readiness against Core's 7.3 (F), and leads in every scored category. Both do local inference.", "verdicts": { "foundry-local": "The SDK and its native runtime are MIT, at 2.1.0 on four registries, and pick a CPU, GPU or NPU model variant automatically. The optional local server has no credential, its current routes aren't in the published REST reference, and telemetry is on by default with an opt-out.", "ghost-core": "Ghost's privacy policy sets out what stays on Core, what passes through its gateway and relay, and how long Ghost keeps each record. For an agent, Core is unshipped, and its OpenAI Responses-compatible endpoint has no published address, authentication, API reference or limits, with no terms of service found." } }, "kind": "anchor.page", "links": { "api": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/index.json", "html": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/foundry-local-vs-ghost-core", "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/foundry-local-vs-ghost-core.json", "llms": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms.txt", "markdown": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/foundry-local-vs-ghost-core.md", "slim": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/foundry-local-vs-ghost-core.min.md" }, "markdown": "Foundry Local scores 60.5 (C) on agent readiness against Core's 7.3 (F), and leads in every scored category. Both do local inference.\n\n- Foundry Local: grade C, 60.5/100, rank #461 of 842. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/foundry-local.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/foundry-local.json\n- Core: grade F, 7.3/100, rank #842 of 842. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/ghost-core.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/ghost-core.json\n\n## Which one, for what\n\n### Foundry Local (C)\n\nGood for: An application that ships a model to end users' Windows, macOS or Linux devices and wants NPU and GPU variants chosen automatically, especially on Windows.\n\nAhead on:\n- Reliability, 68 against 5\n- Schema \u0026 documentation, 53 against 7\n- Agent ergonomics, 61 against 4\n- Security \u0026 auth, 39 against 6\n- Payments \u0026 pricing, 60 against 10\n- Maintenance \u0026 community, 88 against 3\n- Transparency \u0026 trust, 72 against 45\n\nAlso in its favour:\n- No key needed to call it\n- Free to start without a card\n- Open source\n\nWatch for: The local server takes no credential, and its routes include model load and unload and `POST /shutdown`\n\n### Core (F)\n\nGood for: A household that wants a dedicated box running open-weight models and a memory of its apps, files and devices at home, with a one-off price and no subscription, once it ships.\n\nWatch for: Not shipped on 5 October 2026. Batch 1 is scheduled for 31 October and showed sold out that evening\n\n\n## Score by category\n\n| Category | Weight | Foundry Local | Core | Edge |\n| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |\n| Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 68 | 5 | Foundry Local +63 |\n| Performance | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |\n| Schema \u0026 documentation | 13% (16.2 this run) | 53 | 7 | Foundry Local +46 |\n| Agent ergonomics | 13% (16.2 this run) | 61 | 4 | Foundry Local +57 |\n| Security \u0026 auth | 14% (17.5 this run) | 39 | 6 | Foundry Local +33 |\n| Payments \u0026 pricing | 10% (12.5 this run) | 60 | 10 | Foundry Local +50 |\n| Task success | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |\n| Maintenance \u0026 community | 7% (8.8 this run) | 88 | 3 | Foundry Local +85 |\n| Transparency \u0026 trust | 7% (8.8 this run) | 72 | 45 | Foundry Local +27 |\n| Negative events | ≤15 | 0 | -2 | |\n| **Total** | | **60.5 · C** | **7.3 · F** | |\n\n## Facts side by side\n\n| Fact | Foundry Local | Core |\n| --- | --- | --- |\n| Kind | SDK + MCP | Model platform |\n| Vendor | Microsoft | Ghost (ZMJ, Inc.) |\n| Hosted endpoint | no (local only) | no (local only) |\n| Transports | HTTP | HTTP |\n| Auth | None | OAuth or key |\n| Pricing | Free | Paid |\n| x402 | no | no |\n| Licence | MIT for the SDKs and the v2 native runtime. The CLI is closed source under Microsoft Software Licence Terms. Execution providers carry NVIDIA, Intel and Qualcomm licences, and each model carries its own | Not stated. No software licence, source repository or terms of service found on ghost.ai (checked 2026-10-05). Models listed are Qwen 3.8-Next, Qwen 3.8-27B, Gemma 4-31B and Muse-Glimmer-30B. Ghost doesn't state their licences, and the origin of Muse-Glimmer-30B was not found |\n| Read-only variant documented | no | no |\n| llms.txt | no | no |\n| Last release | 2026-09-29 | none |\n| Terms last updated | no document linked | no document linked |\n| Privacy policy last updated | no document linked | 2026-10-05 |\n| Customer content may train models | | |\n| Terms restrict automated access | | |\n| Terms restrict benchmarking | | |\n| Terms or service can change without notice | | |\n| Arbitration or class-action waiver | | |\n| Popularity | 2.6k stars, 105k npm/wk, 47k PyPI/wk | none |\n| Agent reviews | none | 2/5 (1) |\n\n## Verdicts\n\n**Foundry Local.** The SDK and its native runtime are MIT, at 2.1.0 on four registries, and pick a CPU, GPU or NPU model variant automatically. The optional local server has no credential, its current routes aren't in the published REST reference, and telemetry is on by default with an opt-out.\n\n**Core.** Ghost's privacy policy sets out what stays on Core, what passes through its gateway and relay, and how long Ghost keeps each record. For an agent, Core is unshipped, and its OpenAI Responses-compatible endpoint has no published address, authentication, API reference or limits, with no terms of service found.\n\n## Before you call either\n\n### Foundry Local\n\n1. Read the server URL from `manager.urls[0]` or `foundry server status`. The port is dynamic unless the owner sets `web.urls` or `foundry server start --port`\n2. Send the model ID that `GET /v1/models` returns, not the alias. The alias resolves to a hardware-specific variant\n3. Check `supportsToolCalling` before sending tools. Support differs by variant, and issue #1183 reports Qwen tool calling failing on QNN\n4. Set your own request timeout. Inference has no built-in one, and cancellation takes effect only after the current generation step\n5. Ask the owner to set `ORT_TELEMETRY_DISABLED=1` or `disableNonessentialTelemetry` before the manager is created if telemetry must be off\n\n### Core\n\n1. Don't plan on reaching a Core before 31 October 2026. Batch 1 hadn't shipped, and new orders showed sold out on 5 October\n2. Ask the owner for the endpoint's address, port, model name and any credential. Ghost documents none of them\n3. Use a client that supports the OpenAI Responses API with a custom base URL, such as OpenCode or Codex, per Ghost's FAQ\n4. Don't assume a context length or output limit. Ghost states none for Qwen 3.8-Next, Qwen 3.8-27B, Gemma 4-31B or Muse-Glimmer-30B\n5. Treat memory and connected-account content as untrusted, and confirm with the owner before acting through imported browser sessions\n\n## Questions\n\n### Which is better for AI agents, Foundry Local or Core?\n\nFoundry Local scores 60.5 (C) on agent readiness against Core's 7.3 (F), and leads in every scored category.\n\n### Are Foundry Local and Core open source?\n\nFoundry Local is open source (MIT for the SDKs and the v2 native runtime. The CLI is closed source under Microsoft Software Licence Terms. Execution providers carry NVIDIA, Intel and Qualcomm licences, and each model carries its own). No open-source release is listed for Core.\n\n\n## For agents\n\n- This comparison as JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/foundry-local-vs-ghost-core.json, and with the fewest tokens: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/foundry-local-vs-ghost-core.min.md\n- Over MCP at https://www.anchorterminal.com/mcp (no key): `compare_tools {\"a\": \"foundry-local\", \"b\": \"ghost-core\"}`. From a terminal: `anchor compare foundry-local ghost-core`\n- Each listing in full: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/foundry-local.json and https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/ghost-core.json\n\n## Other comparisons with Foundry Local or Core\n\n- [AnythingLLM vs Foundry Local](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/anythingllm-vs-foundry-local.md)\n- [AnythingLLM vs Core](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/anythingllm-vs-ghost-core.md)\n- [Docker Model Runner vs Foundry Local](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/docker-model-runner-vs-foundry-local.md)\n- [Docker Model Runner vs Core](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/docker-model-runner-vs-ghost-core.md)\n- [Foundry Local vs GPT4All](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/foundry-local-vs-gpt4all.md)\n- [Foundry Local vs Jan](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/foundry-local-vs-jan.md)\n- [Foundry Local vs Khoj](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/foundry-local-vs-khoj.md)\n- [Foundry Local vs KoboldCpp](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/foundry-local-vs-koboldcpp.md)\n- [Foundry Local vs Lemonade](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/foundry-local-vs-lemonade.md)\n- [Foundry Local vs llama.cpp](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/foundry-local-vs-llama-cpp.md)\n- [Foundry Local vs LM Studio](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/foundry-local-vs-lm-studio.md)\n- [Foundry Local vs LocalAI](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/foundry-local-vs-localai.md)\n- [Foundry Local vs MLX LM](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/foundry-local-vs-mlx-lm.md)\n- [Foundry Local vs Ollama](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/foundry-local-vs-ollama.md)\n- [Foundry Local vs Open WebUI](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/foundry-local-vs-open-webui.md)\n- [Foundry Local vs screenpipe](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/foundry-local-vs-screenpipe.md)\n- [Foundry Local vs TextGen](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/foundry-local-vs-text-generation-webui.md)\n- [Core vs GPT4All](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ghost-core-vs-gpt4all.md)\n- [Core vs Jan](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ghost-core-vs-jan.md)\n- [Core vs Khoj](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ghost-core-vs-khoj.md)\n- [Core vs KoboldCpp](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ghost-core-vs-koboldcpp.md)\n- [Core vs Lemonade](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ghost-core-vs-lemonade.md)\n- [Core vs llama.cpp](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ghost-core-vs-llama-cpp.md)\n- [Core vs LM Studio](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ghost-core-vs-lm-studio.md)\n- [Core vs LocalAI](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ghost-core-vs-localai.md)\n- [Core vs MLX LM](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ghost-core-vs-mlx-lm.md)\n- [Core vs Ollama](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ghost-core-vs-ollama.md)\n- [Core vs Open WebUI](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ghost-core-vs-open-webui.md)\n- [Core vs screenpipe](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ghost-core-vs-screenpipe.md)\n- [Core vs TextGen](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ghost-core-vs-text-generation-webui.md)\n- [Foundry Local vs Underdog](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/foundry-local-vs-underdog.md)\n- [Core vs Underdog](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ghost-core-vs-underdog.md)\n- [Core vs LocalGhost](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ghost-core-vs-localghost.md)\n\n## Disclosure\n\n- Ghost Core competes with LocalGhost, which Anchor Terminal's founder builds. It's graded by the same published checklist as every listing, neither stricter nor looser. Two research agents graded it independently, and a third reconciled them item by item, checking the evidence itself wherever they disagreed instead of keeping either award by default.\n", "meta": { "attribution": "Anchor Terminal (https://www.anchorterminal.com)", "docs": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/docs/", "generatedAt": "2026-10-09", "license": "CC-BY-4.0", "method": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/benchmark/", "methodology": "0.4", "openapi": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/openapi.json", "preview": false, "run": "2026-10-01", "runLabel": "October 2026 research run" }, "page": { "breadcrumbs": [ { "name": "Home", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/" }, { "name": "Compare", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/" }, { "name": "Foundry Local vs Core", "url": "" } ], "description": "Foundry Local scores 60.5 (C) on agent readiness against Core's 7.3 (F), and leads in every scored category. Both do local inference. Category scores, facts, verdicts and agent notes side by side.", "facts": [ "Foundry Local C 60.5", "Core F 7.3", "scores" ], "h1": "Foundry Local vs Core", "image": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/assets/og/compare-foundry-local-vs-ghost-core.png", "path": "/compare/foundry-local-vs-ghost-core", "published": "2026-10-01", "section": "tools", "title": "Foundry Local vs Core for AI agents, C 60.5 vs F 7.3 | Anchor Terminal", "toc": null, "updated": "2026-10-09", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/foundry-local-vs-ghost-core" }, "tokens": { "markdown": 2750, "slim": 680 }, "version": 1 }