Local AI
tabby
Self-hosted code completion that keeps the code inside your network
★ 34k
June 2026
Not stated
Local AI
What we checked ourselves
Not copied from the project's own blurb. These are things we opened and verified, with the date.
- 6 Sept 2026We checked that the link to the project still resolves.
- 14 Aug 2026We read the licence text itself (LICENSE) and found conditions attached to how it may be used.
- 30 Aug 2026We read the project's own documentation and found no sign that development has stopped.
Where this sits among the 48 tools we list in Local AI
- Requires terminal commands28 that do not →
- Requires an API key46 that do not →
- Sends your input to the provider35 that do not →
Counted from our own checks: every tool we list is examined against the same criteria.
What it does
An on-premise alternative to GitHub Copilot: self-contained with no separate database or cloud dependency, happy on consumer GPUs, and exposed over an OpenAPI interface so it slots into existing IDE and cloud-IDE setups. Suggestion quality tracks the model and hardware you give it, so a small model on modest hardware feels correspondingly thin. Note the licence split — the core is Apache 2.0 but everything under ee/ carries a separate enterprise licence, worth checking against the features you actually need.
Summary based on the project's own description. The Japanese page has a fuller beginner guide: setup difficulty, what to prepare, and a step-by-step start.
Screenshots & visuals
Before you start
- Setup difficultySome setup needed
- Command lineRequired
- API keyRequired
- Sends data onlineYes
Judged automatically from the project's own metadata. Always confirm on the official page.
tabby FAQ
- Is tabby free?
- tabby itself is free, but it needs an API key for an external AI service. That service charges separately, though some have a free tier.
- Do I need to install anything or write code to use tabby?
- It needs the command line. If you are not comfortable typing commands, expect to get stuck during setup.
- Does tabby work on a phone?
- No. It needs a computer.
- Can I use tabby commercially?
- Only under conditions. The page shows 記載なし, but the actual terms — the AI model this page runs, or the provider's own terms — attach restrictions. Check the provider's terms before using it at work.
How it compares
The conditions that decide whether you can actually use it, side by side.
| Tool | Command line | API key | Sends data out | Phone | Commercial use |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| tabby (this page) | Required | Required | Yes | No | With conditions |
| Ollama | Required | Not needed | No | No | Yes |
| Open WebUI | Required | Not needed | No | No | Yes |
| llama.cpp | Required | Not needed | No | No | Yes |
"Sends data out" means your input is uploaded to someone's server. Pick "No" when the material cannot leave your organisation.