Key Takeaways
- PrivateGPT (github.com/zylon-ai/private-gpt) launched virally in May 2023, created by Iván Martínez and Daniel Gallego Vico
- The creators founded a commercial company, Zylon (legal entity PriBAI Technology Spain S.L.), which raised a $3.2 million pre-seed round in February 2024 led by Felicis
- Between the last v0.6.2 release (August 2024) and June 2026, there were no public open-source releases of PrivateGPT
- Relaunched as "PrivateGPT 1.0" in June 2026: an open-source API layer for RAG, tool use, and MCP support, rather than a standalone consumer chat app
- The team's own GitHub discussion states Zylon's commercial product now runs on this same open-source codebase, and that they will "build in public from here on"
- Over 57,500 GitHub stars and 7,600 forks as of this review, with a recent release (v1.0.1, June 18, 2026)
📍 In One Sentence
PrivateGPT, created by Iván Martínez and Daniel Gallego Vico and launched virally in May 2023 as a private, local document-chat app, went roughly two years without a public open-source release before its creators relaunched it in June 2026 as "PrivateGPT 1.0," an open-source (Apache 2.0) API layer for building AI applications — the same codebase now also underlying the team's commercial product, Zylon.
💬 In Plain Terms
PrivateGPT used to be a free app you'd run on your own computer to ask questions about your own documents, privately, using a local AI model. Its creators went quiet on the open-source project for about two years while building a commercial company called Zylon, then came back in mid-2026 with a very different version: instead of a ready-to-use chat app, PrivateGPT is now a backend/API tool developers use to build AI applications, connecting to local models like Ollama rather than being one itself.
📌Note: This review is based on PrivateGPT's own GitHub repository, its official documentation, its creators' own GitHub discussion announcing the relaunch, and reporting from tech.eu on Zylon's funding. It does not claim PromptQuorum has run hands-on benchmarks of PrivateGPT.
What Was PrivateGPT?
PrivateGPT launched in May 2023 as a free, open-source, self-hosted application for asking questions about your own documents, entirely offline and privately, using local language models. It was created by Iván Martínez and Daniel Gallego Vico and quickly gained over 50,000 GitHub stars, by its own account, as one of the first widely popular "chat with your documents" tools.
- Original positioning: a self-hosted, consumer-style application with a built-in chat interface for document Q&A
- Creators: Iván Martínez (GitHub handle imartinez) and Daniel Gallego Vico
- Launch: May 2023, growing virally to over 50,000 GitHub stars by the project's own account
- Commercial spin-off: the creators founded Zylon (legal entity PriBAI Technology Spain S.L., based in Madrid), which raised a $3.2 million pre-seed round in February 2024, led by Felicis, with LifeX Ventures and Zypsy also participating
The 2024-2026 Pivot, Explained
PrivateGPT went roughly two years without a public open-source release while its creators built a commercial product, then relaunched the open-source project in June 2026 with a fundamentally different identity: an API layer instead of a consumer app.
- August 2024: the last open-source release before the gap, v0.6.2
- Between August 2024 and June 2026: no public open-source releases; the team's own GitHub discussion states they "closed our private fork" and worked on Zylon's commercial product during this period
- June 3, 2026: "PrivateGPT 1.0" released, described by the team as merging their commercial work back into the open-source codebase, with the statement "Zylon.ai, our commercial product, now runs on this open source codebase" and "we build in public from here on"
- New identity: PrivateGPT is now described in its own README as "the open-source API layer that turns local models into production AI applications" — not a standalone chat app with a graphical interface as its primary product
- A "workbench UI" does exist at a
/uipath, but PrivateGPT's own documentation explicitly calls it "a demonstrator, not the core product"
What Does PrivateGPT Do Today?
PrivateGPT today is an API layer that connects to an external, OpenAI-compatible inference server (such as Ollama, llama.cpp, vLLM, or LM Studio) and adds retrieval, tool use, and Claude/OpenAI-compatible messaging endpoints on top.
- Does not run models itself: PrivateGPT connects to a separate local inference server rather than bundling model inference directly
- Compatible messaging APIs: Claude- and OpenAI-compatible message formats, per its own README
- Retrieval-augmented generation: file and artifact ingestion with citation-backed retrieval
- Tool use: built-in and custom tools, database querying, CSV analysis, web search and content extraction, per its own documentation
- MCP support: Model Context Protocol integration, per its own documentation
- Structured outputs and code execution capability, per its own documentation
- A "workbench UI" at
/ui, explicitly described by PrivateGPT's own docs as a demonstrator rather than the core product
Platform, Pricing, and Licensing
Self-hosted / open source
- What PrivateGPT states:
- Free, Apache License 2.0, confirmed via the repository's LICENSE file.
Commercial product (Zylon)
- What PrivateGPT states:
- Zylon's own site advertises "unlimited, fixed cost, no per-token pricing" but publishes no specific dollar figure — access is by "Request a Demo" / contact sales only, per zylon.ai as checked for this review.
Architecture
- What PrivateGPT states:
- An API layer connecting to an external OpenAI-compatible inference server (Ollama, llama.cpp, vLLM, LM Studio) — it does not run models itself.
Licensing organization
- What PrivateGPT states:
- Maintained under the zylon-ai GitHub organization; this review could not fully confirm whether the older imartinez/privateGPT repository still redirects there or exists as a separate archive — verify directly if you have an old bookmark.
Verify current documentation directly on docs.privategpt.dev before assuming a specific file type, embedding model, or feature is supported, since the project changed significantly during its 2024-2026 gap.
Install PrivateGPT
PrivateGPT is free and open source, installable from its GitHub repository.
Source | Link |
|---|---|
| GitHub repository (source code, Apache 2.0) | github.com/zylon-ai/private-gpt |
| Documentation | docs.privategpt.dev |
| Zylon (commercial product, same codebase) | zylon.ai |
Because PrivateGPT is now positioned as a developer-facing API layer, expect a setup process aimed at connecting your own inference server and building on the API, rather than a one-click consumer chat app.
Who Should Use PrivateGPT Today?
PrivateGPT today fits developers building an AI application on top of local models, not people looking for a ready-made document-chat app.
What PrivateGPT Is Not Good For
PrivateGPT is not a good fit if you want a ready-made document-chat app, or if a continuous release history matters to you.
- Not a ready-to-use consumer chat app anymore — its own documentation describes the built-in UI as a demonstrator, not the core product
- Not a project with a continuous release history — it went roughly two years (August 2024 to June 2026) without a public open-source release
- Not a model-running tool itself — it requires a separate, already-running inference server (Ollama, llama.cpp, vLLM, or LM Studio)
- Not transparently priced on the commercial side — Zylon's site shows no specific dollar figure, only a request-a-demo/contact-sales path
- Not confirmed to have a specific, current list of supported file types or default embedding models from what this review could access — verify directly in current documentation
Common Mistakes When Evaluating PrivateGPT in 2026
Most confusion about PrivateGPT in 2026 comes from articles, tutorials, and comparisons written before its June 2026 relaunch.
Competitors and Alternatives
PrivateGPT's own documentation positions it as "API-first" versus "app-first" tools like Open WebUI — for a ready-to-use document-chat app today, alternatives such as AnythingLLM or Open WebUI are more directly comparable to what PrivateGPT originally was.
Tool | Best known for | Link |
|---|---|---|
| Open WebUI | A ready-to-use, app-first local chat interface with document RAG support | Open WebUI (see PromptQuorum's directory for details) |
| AnythingLLM | A consumer-friendly, self-hosted document-chat app | AnythingLLM (see PromptQuorum's directory for details) |
| Khoj | A self-hosted personal AI second brain with document search | Khoj review |
| LlamaIndex | A framework for building RAG applications on top of local or cloud models | LlamaIndex review |
PrivateGPT's own documentation names Open WebUI directly as a comparison point (as an "app-first" tool versus PrivateGPT's "API-first" positioning) — this list also adds tools commonly compared to PrivateGPT's original, pre-2026 positioning, not an independent PromptQuorum ranking.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is PrivateGPT still a document-chat app?
No, not primarily. Since its June 2026 relaunch, PrivateGPT is positioned as an open-source API layer for building AI applications. Its own documentation calls the built-in UI "a demonstrator, not the core product."
What happened to PrivateGPT between 2024 and 2026?
There were no public open-source releases between the v0.6.2 release in August 2024 and the "PrivateGPT 1.0" relaunch in June 2026. The team's own GitHub discussion states they worked on their commercial product, Zylon, during this period.
Is PrivateGPT free?
Yes, the open-source, self-hosted version is free (Apache 2.0). The team's commercial product, Zylon, offers no specific published price and requires contacting sales.
Who created PrivateGPT?
Iván Martínez and Daniel Gallego Vico, who also founded the commercial company Zylon.
What is Zylon's relationship to PrivateGPT?
Zylon is the creators' commercial product, which their own GitHub discussion states now runs on the same open-source codebase as PrivateGPT.
Does PrivateGPT run AI models itself?
No, it connects to a separate, already-running inference server such as Ollama, llama.cpp, vLLM, or LM Studio, rather than running models directly.
What license is PrivateGPT released under?
Apache License 2.0, confirmed via the GitHub repository's LICENSE file.
Is PrivateGPT still actively maintained?
Yes, as of this review — its latest release (v1.0.1) shipped June 18, 2026, following the June 3, 2026 relaunch, after roughly two years without a public release.
What should I use instead if I want a ready-to-use document-chat app?
PrivateGPT's own documentation names Open WebUI as a comparison point for "app-first" tools. AnythingLLM is another commonly compared consumer-friendly alternative.
Has PromptQuorum independently tested PrivateGPT's claims?
This review is based on PrivateGPT's own GitHub repository, its documentation, its creators' own GitHub discussion, and reporting from tech.eu on Zylon's funding, rather than hands-on benchmarking by PromptQuorum.