gpt4all
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nomic-ai
PortableApp
Feature request
Please use a data folder if present to load/store settings instead of the %appdata%. To allow the application to be used in a portable mode from e.g. a USB-Stick.
Motivation
I am switching machines very often and I don't want to install and configure everything again and sync settings manually.
Your contribution
I can only write C# Code if you need.
I'm trying the do the same, works "fine" on GNU/Linux distros, but a had issues with Qt
+1 It would be awesome to have a portable version or at least an offline installer (https://github.com/nomic-ai/gpt4all/issues/577). I tried to start it on another machine but when I run "chat.exe" nothing happens. The statement in bold on the main web page "No GPU or internet required" is wrong since it does require an internet access for installation and there is no clear way to install it an isolated windows machine.
+1 It would be awesome to have a portable version or at least an offline installer (#577). I tried to start it on another machine but when I run "chat.exe" nothing happens. The statement in bold on the main web page "No GPU or internet required" is wrong since it does require an internet access for installation and there is no clear way to install it an isolated windows machine.
i hope you know that "no gpu/internet access" mean that the chat function itself runs local on cpu only. Unless you want to have the whole model repo in one download (what never happen due to legaly issues) once downloaded you can cut off your internet and have fun.
about the portable thing. yea that might be something. but running this kind of app from an usb drive (even usb-c) might be an extream bottleneck. unless you run small models.
i have it installed on myserver and use rdp/thinclient to connect to it. (yep i´m a server nerd)
i hope you know that "no gpu/internet access" mean that the chat function itself runs local on cpu only. Unless you want to have the whole model repo in one download (what never happen due to legaly issues) once downloaded you can cut off your internet and have fun.
Sure, but I don't understand what's the issue to make a fully offline package. What do you mean under "legaly issues"? There are 13 models on the official site and all of them can be directly downloaded for free.
i hope you know that "no gpu/internet access" mean that the chat function itself runs local on cpu only. Unless you want to have the whole model repo in one download (what never happen due to legaly issues) once downloaded you can cut off your internet and have fun.
Sure, but I don't understand what's the issue to make a fully offline package. What do you mean under "legaly issues"? There are 13 models on the official site and all of them can be directly downloaded for free.
Let me explain it:
If the developers include all the models you've noticed in one download, then you'll end up with a single download of approximately 50GB (at the very least). Furthermore, the original author would lose out on download statistics. Currently, the downloader fetches the models from their original source sites, allowing them to record the download counts in their statistics.
Regarding legal issues, the developers of "gpt4all" don't own these models; they are the property of the original authors.
Additionally: No AI system to date incorporates its own models directly into the installer. Instead, they all require separate downloads due to their large sizes.
Think of Steam. They don´t include there games in the installer too xD would be crazy to include large things in the installer itself.
I hope this explanation clarifies things a bit =)
Actually just download the ones you need from within gpt4all to the portable location and then take the models with you on your stick or usb-c ssd
@AsaTyr2018 Thanks for detailed explanation. Bundling all models into a single large package would make no sense anyway. My confusion was why I just can't run the app by simply copying it's files to another PC, so I forced to use an installer which works online only. It downloads the same files and maybe adds some registry keys to make it work. Is there a technical or license reason for that? Probably because as you mentioned the authors want to gather some stats / telemetry for every installation?
Actually just download the ones you need from within gpt4all to the portable location and then take the models with you on your stick or usb-c ssd
Sure or you use a network storage. i store all my model files on a dedicated network storage and just mount the network drive. USB is far to slow for my appliance xD
@AsaTyr2018 Thanks for detailed explanation. Bundling all models into a single large package would make no sense anyway. My confusion was why I just can't run the app by simply copying it's files to another PC, so I forced to use an installer which works online only. It downloads the same files and maybe adds some registry keys to make it work. Is there a technical or license reason for that? Probably because as you mentioned the authors want to gather some stats / telemetry for every installation?
i´m not that deep into this project. but i beleave they use the registry or at last the user directory (home) to store configs. proove me wrong is nessesary. but as @Hawkynt stated. take the models portable and you are good to go. the installer itself is not that big and it doesn´t take long =) (that way you don´t need to redownload it)
Just use an .ini file and your going to have the most portability and ease. This is a solved problem and its needlessly making it complicated, imho.
Just use an .ini file and your going to have the most portability and ease. This is a solved problem and its needlessly making it complicated, imho.
A portable app is, by definition, portable. Having to install the software/put a configuration file at a fixed location is the opposite of portable.
Someone tried to put together a portable combo here: https://freedom3d.art/post-category/category-artificial-intelligence-ai/gpt4all-portable-offline-download/ I did not test it, and so do not know if it is truly portable, incl. all settings (they claim it is). Just sharing here for developers to look at how it is done, if it could be useful, and for those searching for an existing solution to test it.
