Local AI Assistant

A general-purpose AI assistant that runs on your machine, powered by the Claude API, with web search via Tavily and automatic fallback to OpenRouter.

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What you need before starting

• Python 3.10 or newer (check: python --version)
• A Claude API key from https://console.anthropic.com
• Optionally: an OpenRouter key and/or a Tavily key

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Setup — do this once

Step 1 — Download / clone the project

Put all four files in one folder:

• app.py
• requirements.txt
• .env.example
• .gitignore

Step 2 — Create a virtual environment

Open a terminal in the project folder and run:

python -m venv venv

Activate it:

• Windows: venv\Scripts\activate
• Mac / Linux: source venv/bin/activate

You will see (venv) in your terminal prompt.

Step 3 — Install dependencies

pip install -r requirements.txt

Step 4 — Add your API keys

cp .env.example .env

Open .env in any text editor and paste in your keys. Minimum required: ANTHROPIC_API_KEY

Step 5 — Run the assistant

streamlit run app.py

Your browser will open automatically at http://localhost:8501

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Daily use

Each time you want to use the assistant:

1. Open a terminal in the project folder
2. Run: venv\Scripts\activate (Windows) or source venv/bin/activate (Mac/Linux)
3. Run: streamlit run app.py
4. Your browser opens the assistant

To stop it: press Ctrl+C in the terminal.

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Changing the LLM model

Open app.py and find the CONFIG section near the top.

To use a different Claude model, change:

CLAUDE_MODEL = "claude-sonnet-4-6"

Available Claude models (check https://docs.anthropic.com for the latest list):

• claude-opus-4-6 (most capable, higher cost)
• claude-sonnet-4-6 (default — best balance)
• claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 (fastest, lowest cost)

To change the OpenRouter fallback model, change:

OPENROUTER_MODEL = "openai/gpt-4o-mini"

See https://openrouter.ai/models for all available options.

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Where your data is stored

All conversations are saved to assistant_memory.db in the project folder. This is a SQLite database file. It stays on your machine — nothing is sent to any external service except the messages you type (which go to Claude/OpenRouter/Tavily).

To back up your history: copy assistant_memory.db to a safe location. To wipe all history: delete assistant_memory.db and restart the app.

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Troubleshooting

"ModuleNotFoundError" Run pip install -r requirements.txt again inside the activated venv.

"Authentication error" for Claude Your ANTHROPIC_API_KEY in .env is wrong or missing. Double-check at https://console.anthropic.com

Web search not working Check that TAVILY_API_KEY is in your .env file. The toggle in the sidebar must also be ON.

Both providers failing Check your internet connection. If Claude is down, check https://status.anthropic.com

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Updating

To update all packages:

pip install -r requirements.txt --upgrade

To update only the Anthropic SDK:

pip install anthropic --upgrade