Evolv
A downloadable tool for Windows
Evolv is a local-first AI chat app for Windows. Run it against **free local models** with Ollama, or connect your own cloud API key — your conversations, settings, and keys stay on your PC. No account signup with us, no telemetry, no cloud lock-in. Download, unzip, run. ## Features - **Your choice of model** — local models through [Ollama](https://ollama.com), or cloud models from OpenAI, Anthropic (Claude), Google Gemini, OpenRouter, or any OpenAI-compatible endpoint. - **Multiple local accounts** — each person gets their own password, recovery code, and fully isolated conversation history. Nobody sees anyone else's chats or keys. - **Encrypted API keys** — cloud keys are sealed with Windows' built-in encryption (DPAPI) and are never shown again or included in exports. - **Persistent conversations** — search, rename, archive, trash, and restore. Stored locally in SQLite. - **Safe built-in tools** — the model can call read-only, sandboxed helpers (calculator, date/time, unit conversion, hashing, encoding, text stats, JSON inspection, and more). Every run is logged; you can disable any of them. - **Vision & reasoning** — attach images for vision-capable models; toggle reasoning effort on models that support it. - **Voice & gestures** — dictate with your microphone, have replies read aloud, or control the app with camera hand gestures (all processed locally). - **Backup & export** — snapshot your data or export a portable file anytime. ## What you need Evolv itself has **no installer and no dependencies** — just unzip and run `Evolv.exe`. To actually chat, you need one of these model sources: - **A cloud API key (easiest)** — paste an OpenAI, Anthropic, Gemini, or OpenRouter key into Settings and start chatting immediately. Charges are billed by that provider, not by Evolv. **— or —** - **Ollama, for free local/offline AI** — install [Ollama](https://ollama.com), then pull a model once (this is a multi-GB download), for example:
ollama pull qwen3
Ollama runs quietly in the background after install; Evolv detects it automatically and its models appear in the picker. No key, no charges, fully offline. ## Requirements - **Windows 10 or 11, 64-bit** - ~350 MB free disk space for the app (models, if you use Ollama, need several GB more) - For local models: [Ollama](https://ollama.com) installed. For cloud models: an API key from your provider. ## How to run 1. Download and unzip the file. 2. Run **Evolv.exe** from the extracted folder. 3. **First launch:** because this release is not code-signed yet, Windows SmartScreen may show *"Windows protected your PC."* Click **More info → Run anyway**. (This is normal for new indie apps and goes away as the app builds reputation.) 4. Create your local password. **Save the one-time recovery code it shows you** — it's the only way back in if you forget your password, and it's never displayed again. 5. Add a cloud API key in Settings, or install Ollama and pull a model, then start chatting. ## Privacy Evolv is local-first. It runs only on your own computer (bound to `127.0.0.1`), stores everything locally, and sends nothing anywhere on its own. The only data that leaves your machine is the text of prompts you send to a **cloud** provider you explicitly configure — local Ollama chats never leave your PC. --- *Version 0.2.0 — first public release, unsigned. Feedback and bug reports welcome.*
Purchase
In order to download this tool you must purchase it at or above the minimum price of $2.49 USD. You will get access to the following files:
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