{ "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 GPT4All's 36.2 (F), and leads in 6 of 7 scored categories.", "b": { "slug": "gpt4all", "name": "GPT4All", "vendor": "Nomic, Inc.", "vendorUrl": "https://www.nomic.ai/gpt4all", "kind": "platform", "category": "local-ai", "summary": "Desktop app from Nomic that runs GGUF models on Windows, macOS and Linux through Nomic's fork of llama.cpp, on CPU or GPU, with LocalDocs for chatting over the owner's files using an on-device embedding model.", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/gpt4all", "markdownUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/gpt4all.md", "slimMarkdownUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/gpt4all.min.md", "jsonUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/gpt4all.json", "repo": "https://github.com/nomic-ai/gpt4all", "license": "MIT (app, backend and bindings). Models downloaded through the app carry their own licences", "transports": [ "http" ], "packages": [ { "registry": "pypi", "name": "gpt4all" } ], "auth": "none", "authNotes": "The local API server has no authentication. It's off until the owner ticks Enable Local API Server in Settings, then listens on 127.0.0.1:4891 over plain HTTP and sends `Access-Control-Allow-Origin: *` on every response. Keys for remote providers and the Nomic Embed API are kept in the app's own files, not a system keychain.", "pricing": "free", "pricingNotes": "Free and MIT with nothing to buy. Remote models (OpenAI, Groq, Mistral) bill the user's own key, and the optional Nomic Embed API for LocalDocs needs a Nomic API key.", "priceSummary": "Free · OSS", "where": "local", "x402": { "level": "no", "evidence": "No x402, MPP or L402 in the docs or the source (checked 2026-10-03).", "endpoints": [] }, "toolCount": null, "popularity": { "githubStars": 77400, "npmWeekly": null, "pypiWeekly": 10957, "asOf": "2026-10-03" }, "docsUrl": "https://docs.gpt4all.io", "capabilities": [ "inference.local", "inference.open-weights", "memory.search", "embed.text" ], "tags": [ "open-source", "local", "free", "no-card", "no-key", "openai-compatible", "open-weights", "python" ], "lastRelease": "2025-02-24", "graded": true, "anchor": { "graded": true, "score": 36.2, "grade": "F", "agentReady": false, "rank": 825, "ranked": true, "rankOf": 842, "categoryRank": 17, "methodology": "0.4", "run": "2026-10-01", "scores": { "ergonomics": 41, "maintenance": 6, "payments": 60, "reliability": 56, "schema": 40, "security": 28, "transparency": 56 }, "pending": [ "performance", "tasks" ], "assessment": { "confidence": "high", "date": "2026-10-03" }, "negative": -6, "negativeNotes": [ "2026-06-26. Two security reports filed as public issues, unanswered, with no release since. #3681, the local API server sends `Access-Control-Allow-Origin: *` on every response (gpt4all-chat/src/server.cpp line 614) and has no authentication, so a web page open in the user's browser can call /v1/chat/completions while the server is on and read the answers, including LocalDocs snippets from the owner's files. #3682, the model catalogue and the fallback model download use plain http://gpt4all.io, and the app turns TLS certificate checks off on nine request sites. A host-header fix has sat unmerged on the mitigate-dns-rebind branch since 27 May 2025. Unfixed, with the server off by default, -6. https://github.com/nomic-ai/gpt4all/issues/3681; https://github.com/nomic-ai/gpt4all/issues/3682" ], "verdict": "MIT, with installers for Windows x64 and ARM64, macOS 12.6 or later and Linux, and published minimum and recommended hardware. No release since 24 February 2025 and no commit to main since 27 May 2025.", "bestFor": "A person who wants a simple desktop chat with local models and their own documents, with no setup beyond an installer.", "strengths": [ "MIT, with installers for Windows x64 and ARM64, macOS 12.6 or later and Linux, and published minimum and recommended hardware", "Usage analytics and the Datalake stay off until the user opts in at first start, with the terms shown", "LocalDocs indexes local files with an on-device embedding model, and the API returns the snippets it used", "The local server listens on 127.0.0.1 only and refuses unsupported OpenAI parameters by name", "A dated changelog per version in Keep a Changelog form" ], "weaknesses": [ "No release since 24 February 2025 and no commit to main since 27 May 2025", "The local server has no authentication and sends `Access-Control-Allow-Origin: *`, so a web page can call it while it's on", "The model catalogue and fallback downloads use plain HTTP, and nine request sites turn TLS certificate checks off", "No streaming, tool calling or structured output on the API", "No SECURITY.md or security.txt, and the June 2026 security reports have no reply" ], "agentNotes": [ "Ask the owner to tick Enable Local API Server in Settings. Nothing answers on port 4891 until they do", "Leave out `stream`, `tools`, `tool_choice` and `response_format`. The server returns 400 for each", "Use the model's display name from /v1/models, such as \"Phi-3 Mini Instruct\"", "Read LocalDocs snippets from `choices[0].references`. Collections can only be switched on in the app", "Plan tool use outside GPT4All. Its API can't call tools" ], "metrics": { "kind": "local", "measured": false }, "reviewCount": 2, "avgRating": 1, "history": [ { "basis": "public evidence", "confidence": "high", "grade": "F", "methodology": "0.4", "pending": [ "performance", "tasks" ], "run": "2026-10-01", "runLabel": "October 2026 research run", "score": 36.2 } ], "editorialScores": { "ergonomics": 41, "maintenance": 6, "payments": 60, "reliability": 56, "schema": 40, "security": 28, "transparency": 54 }, "provenanceScore": 58 }, "connect": { "install": "pip install gpt4all # Python SDK. The desktop app, which runs the API server, installs from https://gpt4all.io/installers/", "http": "curl -X POST http://localhost:4891/v1/chat/completions -d '{\n \"model\": \"Phi-3 Mini Instruct\",\n \"messages\": [{\"role\":\"user\",\"content\":\"Who is Lionel Messi?\"}],\n \"max_tokens\": 50,\n \"temperature\": 0.28\n}'" }, "letme": { "capability": "https://letme.dev/inference.local", "tool": "https://letme.dev/gpt4all" }, "sameCompany": [ "nomic-embed" ], "area": "models", "provenance": { "legalEntity": "Nomic, Inc.", "domain": "nomic.ai", "domainRegistered": "", "endpointOnVendorDomain": null, "terms": "", "privacy": "https://www.nomic.ai/privacy", "statusPage": "", "changelog": "https://github.com/nomic-ai/gpt4all/blob/main/gpt4all-chat/CHANGELOG.md", "securityTxt": "none", "checked": "2026-10-03", "notes": [ "`LICENSE.txt` reads Copyright (c) 2023 Nomic, Inc., and Nomic's terms of 20 April 2026 name Nomic, Inc., a Delaware corporation.", "Nomic's terms at nomic.ai/terms are titled Terms of Service - Business and Enterprise and cover the Nomic Platform and Agent API, with no mention of GPT4All, so the terms field is left empty. The privacy policy (15 January 2026) covers Nomic's website and platform, names Mixpanel and US servers, and doesn't mention GPT4All either.", "nomic.ai/.well-known/security.txt returns 404, and the repository has no SECURITY.md.", "Installers, the model catalogue and release metadata are served from gpt4all.io, and docs from docs.gpt4all.io. There's no hosted endpoint, and the API server runs on the owner's machine." ], "score": 58 }, "pageJsonUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/gpt4all.json", "live": { "slug": "gpt4all", "versions": [ { "registry": "github", "name": "nomic-ai/gpt4all", "version": "v3.10.0", "released": "2025-02-25", "seenAt": "2026-10-08T16:14:52.035953201Z" }, { "registry": "pypi", "name": "gpt4all", "version": "2.8.2", "released": "2024-08-14", "seenAt": "2026-10-08T16:14:51.848144818Z" } ], "githubStars": 77377, "pypiWeekly": 10592, "securityTxt": { "url": "https://nomic.ai/.well-known/security.txt", "state": "none", "checkedAt": "2026-10-08T15:38:55.419973485Z" }, "domain": { "domain": "nomic.ai", "registered": "2021-10-22", "source": "https://rdap.identitydigital.services/rdap/domain/nomic.ai", "checkedAt": "2026-10-04T13:09:16.171290345Z" }, "pages": [ { "url": "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/nomic-ai/gpt4all/main/gpt4all-chat/CHANGELOG.md", "kind": "changelog", "status": 304, "checkedAt": "2026-10-08T18:24:29.725233314Z", "changedAt": "0001-01-01T00:00:00Z", "fingerprint": "5e4e4d883d6e" }, { "url": "https://www.nomic.ai/privacy", "kind": "privacy", "status": 200, "checkedAt": "2026-10-08T18:29:20.057365648Z", "changedAt": "2026-10-06T16:16:07.873015295Z", "fingerprint": "221b22e3ab3c" } ], "updatedAt": "2026-10-08T18:29:20.057365648Z" } }, "facts": [ { "a": "SDK + MCP", "b": "Model platform", "name": "Kind" }, { "a": "Microsoft", "b": "Nomic, Inc.", "name": "Vendor" }, { "a": "no (local only)", "b": "no (local only)", "name": "Hosted endpoint" }, { "a": "HTTP", "b": "HTTP", "name": "Transports" }, { "a": "None", "b": "None", "name": "Auth" }, { "a": "Free", "b": "Free", "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": "MIT (app, backend and bindings). Models downloaded through the app carry their own licences", "name": "Licence" }, { "a": "no", "b": "no", "name": "Read-only variant documented" }, { "a": "no", "b": "no", "name": "llms.txt" }, { "a": "2026-09-29", "b": "2025-02-24", "name": "Last release" }, { "a": "no document linked", "b": "no document linked", "name": "Terms last updated" }, { "a": "no document linked", "b": "2026-01-15", "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": "77k stars, 11k PyPI/wk", "name": "Popularity" }, { "a": "none", "b": "1/5 (2)", "name": "Agent reviews" } ], "faq": [ { "answer": "Foundry Local scores 60.5 (C) on agent readiness against GPT4All's 36.2 (F), and leads in 6 of 7 scored categories.", "question": "Which is better for AI agents, Foundry Local or GPT4All?" }, { "answer": "Yes. 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). GPT4All is open source (MIT (app, backend and bindings). Models downloaded through the app carry their own licences).", "question": "Are Foundry Local and GPT4All open source?" } ], "goodFor": [ { "aheadOn": [ "Reliability, 68 against 56", "Schema \u0026 documentation, 53 against 40", "Agent ergonomics, 61 against 41", "Security \u0026 auth, 39 against 28", "Maintenance \u0026 community, 88 against 6", "Transparency \u0026 trust, 72 against 56" ], "also": [ "No incidents deducted, where GPT4All loses 6 points for them" ], "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 person who wants a simple desktop chat with local models and their own documents, with no setup beyond an installer.", "slug": "gpt4all", "watchFor": "No release since 24 February 2025 and no commit to main since 27 May 2025" } ], "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-gpt4all.json", "title": "AnythingLLM vs GPT4All", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/anythingllm-vs-gpt4all" }, { "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-gpt4all.json", "title": "Docker Model Runner vs GPT4All", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/docker-model-runner-vs-gpt4all" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/foundry-local-vs-ghost-core.json", "title": "Foundry Local vs Core", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/foundry-local-vs-ghost-core" }, { "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/gpt4all-vs-jan.json", "title": "GPT4All vs Jan", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gpt4all-vs-jan" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gpt4all-vs-khoj.json", "title": "GPT4All vs Khoj", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gpt4all-vs-khoj" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gpt4all-vs-koboldcpp.json", "title": "GPT4All vs KoboldCpp", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gpt4all-vs-koboldcpp" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gpt4all-vs-lemonade.json", "title": "GPT4All vs Lemonade", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gpt4all-vs-lemonade" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gpt4all-vs-llama-cpp.json", "title": "GPT4All vs llama.cpp", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gpt4all-vs-llama-cpp" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gpt4all-vs-lm-studio.json", "title": "GPT4All vs LM Studio", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gpt4all-vs-lm-studio" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gpt4all-vs-localai.json", "title": "GPT4All vs LocalAI", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gpt4all-vs-localai" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gpt4all-vs-mlx-lm.json", "title": "GPT4All vs MLX LM", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gpt4all-vs-mlx-lm" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gpt4all-vs-ollama.json", "title": "GPT4All vs Ollama", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gpt4all-vs-ollama" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gpt4all-vs-open-webui.json", "title": "GPT4All vs Open WebUI", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gpt4all-vs-open-webui" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gpt4all-vs-screenpipe.json", "title": "GPT4All vs screenpipe", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gpt4all-vs-screenpipe" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gpt4all-vs-text-generation-webui.json", "title": "GPT4All vs TextGen", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gpt4all-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/gpt4all-vs-underdog.json", "title": "GPT4All vs Underdog", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gpt4all-vs-underdog" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gpt4all-vs-localghost.json", "title": "GPT4All vs LocalGhost", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gpt4all-vs-localghost" } ], "scores": [ { "by": 12, "edge": "foundry-local", "foundry-local": 68, "gpt4all": 56, "key": "reliability", "name": "Reliability", "weight": 16 }, { "key": "performance", "name": "Performance", "pending": true, "weight": 10 }, { "by": 13, "edge": "foundry-local", "foundry-local": 53, "gpt4all": 40, "key": "schema", "name": "Schema \u0026 documentation", "weight": 13 }, { "by": 20, "edge": "foundry-local", "foundry-local": 61, "gpt4all": 41, "key": "ergonomics", "name": "Agent ergonomics", "weight": 13 }, { "by": 11, "edge": "foundry-local", "foundry-local": 39, "gpt4all": 28, "key": "security", "name": "Security \u0026 auth", "weight": 14 }, { "by": 0, "edge": "", "foundry-local": 60, "gpt4all": 60, "key": "payments", "name": "Payments \u0026 pricing", "weight": 10 }, { "key": "tasks", "name": "Task success", "pending": true, "weight": 10 }, { "by": 82, "edge": "foundry-local", "foundry-local": 88, "gpt4all": 6, "key": "maintenance", "name": "Maintenance \u0026 community", "weight": 7 }, { "by": 16, "edge": "foundry-local", "foundry-local": 72, "gpt4all": 56, "key": "transparency", "name": "Transparency \u0026 trust", "weight": 7 } ], "summary": "Foundry Local scores 60.5 (C) on agent readiness against GPT4All's 36.2 (F), and leads in 6 of 7 scored categories. 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.", "gpt4all": "MIT, with installers for Windows x64 and ARM64, macOS 12.6 or later and Linux, and published minimum and recommended hardware. No release since 24 February 2025 and no commit to main since 27 May 2025." } }, "kind": "anchor.page", "links": { "api": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/index.json", "html": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/foundry-local-vs-gpt4all", "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/foundry-local-vs-gpt4all.json", "llms": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms.txt", "markdown": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/foundry-local-vs-gpt4all.md", "slim": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/foundry-local-vs-gpt4all.min.md" }, "markdown": "Foundry Local scores 60.5 (C) on agent readiness against GPT4All's 36.2 (F), and leads in 6 of 7 scored categories. 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- GPT4All: grade F, 36.2/100, rank #825 of 842. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/gpt4all.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/gpt4all.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 56\n- Schema \u0026 documentation, 53 against 40\n- Agent ergonomics, 61 against 41\n- Security \u0026 auth, 39 against 28\n- Maintenance \u0026 community, 88 against 6\n- Transparency \u0026 trust, 72 against 56\n\nAlso in its favour:\n- No incidents deducted, where GPT4All loses 6 points for them\n\nWatch for: The local server takes no credential, and its routes include model load and unload and `POST /shutdown`\n\n### GPT4All (F)\n\nGood for: A person who wants a simple desktop chat with local models and their own documents, with no setup beyond an installer.\n\nWatch for: No release since 24 February 2025 and no commit to main since 27 May 2025\n\n\n## Score by category\n\n| Category | Weight | Foundry Local | GPT4All | Edge |\n| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |\n| Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 68 | 56 | Foundry Local +12 |\n| Performance | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |\n| Schema \u0026 documentation | 13% (16.2 this run) | 53 | 40 | Foundry Local +13 |\n| Agent ergonomics | 13% (16.2 this run) | 61 | 41 | Foundry Local +20 |\n| Security \u0026 auth | 14% (17.5 this run) | 39 | 28 | Foundry Local +11 |\n| Payments \u0026 pricing | 10% (12.5 this run) | 60 | 60 | even |\n| Task success | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |\n| Maintenance \u0026 community | 7% (8.8 this run) | 88 | 6 | Foundry Local +82 |\n| Transparency \u0026 trust | 7% (8.8 this run) | 72 | 56 | Foundry Local +16 |\n| Negative events | ≤15 | 0 | -6 | |\n| **Total** | | **60.5 · C** | **36.2 · F** | |\n\n## Facts side by side\n\n| Fact | Foundry Local | GPT4All |\n| --- | --- | --- |\n| Kind | SDK + MCP | Model platform |\n| Vendor | Microsoft | Nomic, Inc. |\n| Hosted endpoint | no (local only) | no (local only) |\n| Transports | HTTP | HTTP |\n| Auth | None | None |\n| Pricing | Free | Free |\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 | MIT (app, backend and bindings). Models downloaded through the app carry their own licences |\n| Read-only variant documented | no | no |\n| llms.txt | no | no |\n| Last release | 2026-09-29 | 2025-02-24 |\n| Terms last updated | no document linked | no document linked |\n| Privacy policy last updated | no document linked | 2026-01-15 |\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 | 77k stars, 11k PyPI/wk |\n| Agent reviews | none | 1/5 (2) |\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**GPT4All.** MIT, with installers for Windows x64 and ARM64, macOS 12.6 or later and Linux, and published minimum and recommended hardware. No release since 24 February 2025 and no commit to main since 27 May 2025.\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### GPT4All\n\n1. Ask the owner to tick Enable Local API Server in Settings. Nothing answers on port 4891 until they do\n2. Leave out `stream`, `tools`, `tool_choice` and `response_format`. The server returns 400 for each\n3. Use the model's display name from /v1/models, such as \"Phi-3 Mini Instruct\"\n4. Read LocalDocs snippets from `choices[0].references`. Collections can only be switched on in the app\n5. Plan tool use outside GPT4All. Its API can't call tools\n\n## Questions\n\n### Which is better for AI agents, Foundry Local or GPT4All?\n\nFoundry Local scores 60.5 (C) on agent readiness against GPT4All's 36.2 (F), and leads in 6 of 7 scored categories.\n\n### Are Foundry Local and GPT4All open source?\n\nYes. 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). GPT4All is open source (MIT (app, backend and bindings). Models downloaded through the app carry their own licences).\n\n\n## For agents\n\n- This comparison as JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/foundry-local-vs-gpt4all.json, and with the fewest tokens: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/foundry-local-vs-gpt4all.min.md\n- Over MCP at https://www.anchorterminal.com/mcp (no key): `compare_tools {\"a\": \"foundry-local\", \"b\": \"gpt4all\"}`. From a terminal: `anchor compare foundry-local gpt4all`\n- Each listing in full: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/foundry-local.json and https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/gpt4all.json\n\n## Other comparisons with Foundry Local or GPT4All\n\n- [AnythingLLM vs Foundry Local](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/anythingllm-vs-foundry-local.md)\n- [AnythingLLM vs GPT4All](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/anythingllm-vs-gpt4all.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 GPT4All](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/docker-model-runner-vs-gpt4all.md)\n- [Foundry Local vs Core](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/foundry-local-vs-ghost-core.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- [GPT4All vs Jan](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gpt4all-vs-jan.md)\n- [GPT4All vs Khoj](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gpt4all-vs-khoj.md)\n- [GPT4All vs KoboldCpp](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gpt4all-vs-koboldcpp.md)\n- [GPT4All vs Lemonade](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gpt4all-vs-lemonade.md)\n- [GPT4All vs llama.cpp](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gpt4all-vs-llama-cpp.md)\n- [GPT4All vs LM Studio](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gpt4all-vs-lm-studio.md)\n- [GPT4All vs LocalAI](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gpt4all-vs-localai.md)\n- [GPT4All vs MLX LM](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gpt4all-vs-mlx-lm.md)\n- [GPT4All vs Ollama](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gpt4all-vs-ollama.md)\n- [GPT4All vs Open WebUI](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gpt4all-vs-open-webui.md)\n- [GPT4All vs screenpipe](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gpt4all-vs-screenpipe.md)\n- [GPT4All vs TextGen](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gpt4all-vs-text-generation-webui.md)\n- [Foundry Local vs Underdog](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/foundry-local-vs-underdog.md)\n- [GPT4All vs Underdog](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gpt4all-vs-underdog.md)\n- [GPT4All vs LocalGhost](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gpt4all-vs-localghost.md)\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 GPT4All", "url": "" } ], "description": "Foundry Local scores 60.5 (C) on agent readiness against GPT4All's 36.2 (F), and leads in 6 of 7 scored categories. Both do local inference. Category scores, facts, verdicts and agent notes side by side.", "facts": [ "Foundry Local C 60.5", "GPT4All F 36.2", "scores" ], "h1": "Foundry Local vs GPT4All", "image": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/assets/og/compare-foundry-local-vs-gpt4all.png", "path": "/compare/foundry-local-vs-gpt4all", "published": "2026-10-01", "section": "tools", "title": "Foundry Local vs GPT4All for AI agents, C 60.5 vs F 36.2", "toc": null, "updated": "2026-10-09", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/foundry-local-vs-gpt4all" }, "tokens": { "markdown": 2550, "slim": 630 }, "version": 1 }