Docs & PDF Q&A
Vane
A search engine that answers with citations and keeps the queries yours
★ 37k
September 2026
MIT
Docs & PDF Q&A
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). No unusual restrictions were stated.
- 30 Aug 2026We read the project's own documentation and found no sign that development has stopped.
Where this sits among the 63 tools we list in Docs & PDF Q&A
- Commercial use confirmed as allowed52 of 63
- Requires terminal commands20 that do not →
- Requires an API key32 that do not →
- Sends your input to the provider20 that do not →
Counted from our own checks: every tool we list is examined against the same criteria.
What it does
Runs entirely on hardware you control, searching the web and composing cited answers, with the model behind it either local through Ollama or a cloud provider — OpenAI, Claude, Gemini, Groq — if you prefer capability to isolation. The privacy claim holds only on the local path: pick a cloud model and your questions go there, and web searches always leave traces at the sites queried. Docker deployment. MIT.
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.
Vane FAQ
- Is Vane free?
- Vane 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 Vane?
- It needs the command line. If you are not comfortable typing commands, expect to get stuck during setup.
- Does Vane work on a phone?
- No. It needs a computer.
- Can I use Vane commercially?
- The licence is MIT, which permits commercial use. Conditions such as keeping the copyright notice still apply, so read the licence text before shipping it inside something.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vane (this page) | Required | Required | Yes | No | Yes |
| LangChain | Required | Required | Yes | No | Yes |
| Docling | Required | Not needed | No | No | Yes |
| llm-app | Required | Required | Yes | No | Yes |
"Sends data out" means your input is uploaded to someone's server. Pick "No" when the material cannot leave your organisation.