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Download Hefty

Your AI should answer to you. Not to a server.

Quick setup (about 2 minutes)

Hefty uses AI to understand your requests. On first launch, you'll choose how to power it - run AI on your own computer for free with Ollama or LM Studio, or connect to a cloud service like OpenAI or Anthropic.

Linux AppImage
Download x64 Download ARM64
macOS DMG
Download for Apple Silicon Download for Intel Macs
Windows x64 Installer Download
First time? Your OS may show a security warning.
Here's how to allow Hefty to run
Docker Container image
docker pull registry.hefty.bot/hefty

docker run -d -p 41890:41890 -v hefty-data:/data registry.hefty.bot/hefty

Then open localhost:41890 in your browser.

Local data storage
Works with your choice of AI
Learns as you use it

Getting Started

Installation & First Launch

Hefty works out of the box with sensible defaults. Download the desktop app, pick your AI provider, and you're ready to go.

Quick Start

  1. 1
    Install Hefty — download the desktop app for your platform above
  2. 2
    Launch Hefty — on first launch the Cognition Config dialog appears
  3. 3
    Pick a provider — choose how to power Hefty (local or cloud)
  4. 4
    Test & save — test the connection, save, and start chatting

Fastest Local Start

Install Ollama, pull a model:

ollama pull nemotron-3-nano:4b
ollama pull nomic-embed-text

Then select Ollama in the setup dialog — Hefty connects automatically.

First Launch — Allow Hefty to Run

Hefty's binaries are not signed with vendor certificates. This is a deliberate choice — we refuse to pay platform gatekeepers for the privilege of distributing software. The app is safe, but your operating system may show a warning the first time you run it. Here's how to get past it on each platform.

Linux (AppImage)

Make the downloaded file executable and run it.

chmod +x Hefty-*.AppImage
./Hefty-*.AppImage

Or right-click the file in your file manager, go to Properties → Permissions, and check "Allow executing as program", then double-click to launch.

macOS (DMG)
  1. Open the .dmg file and drag Hefty into Applications
  2. Double-click to launch — macOS will block it
  3. Open System Settings → Privacy & Security
  4. Click "Open Anyway" and confirm
  5. Hefty launches successfully

macOS Sequoia (15+)

If "Open Anyway" doesn't appear or still fails:

xattr -cr /Applications/Hefty.app
Windows (Installer)
  1. Run the Hefty Setup installer — Windows shows a SmartScreen warning
  2. Click "More info" (the text link)
  3. Click "Run anyway"
  4. Proceed with installation as normal

This only happens once — after the first launch, your OS will remember that you allowed it.

Linux AppImage (download and run)
macOS DMG installer
Windows NSIS installer
See the full configuration guide →

FAQ

Downloads FAQ

Downloads & Installation

Common questions about downloading, installing, and running Hefty for the first time.