Hamster AI
A lightweight, local-first AI companion for Windows.
No cloud. No subscriptions. No data leaving your machine.
What is Hamster AI?
Hamster AI sits quietly in your system tray and helps you remember things, set reminders, keep track of your day, and answer questions — all without ever sending data to the cloud. Everything runs on your own PC using Ollama for local LLM inference.
It's not a productivity manager or a spyware tool. It's a small, helpful desktop companion that stays out of your way until you need it.
Key Features
Fully Offline
All inference runs locally via Ollama. No internet required for core features.
Memory System
Remembers facts, notes, and todos across sessions using a local SQLite database.
Reminders
Set natural-language reminders. /remind me at 6pm to check the build
Mode System
Work, Focus, Private, and Game Safe modes suppress notifications and tracking automatically.
Plugin System
Optional features load at startup. Enable only what you need.
Global Hotkey
Open chat from anywhere with Ctrl+Shift+H (customisable).
Mini Widget
A small always-on-top input bar for quick questions without opening the full chat.
Diagnostics
Built-in health checks, logs, and self-fix suggestions so problems don't stay hidden.
Prerequisites
| Requirement | Notes |
|---|---|
| Windows 10 or 11 (64-bit) | Required |
| Python 3.11+ | python.org |
| Ollama | ollama.com — must be running |
| An Ollama model | ollama pull llama3.2:3b is a good starting point |
Quick Start
git clone https://github.com/Easton99/hamster-ai.git
cd hamster-ai
python -m venv .venv
.venv\Scripts\Activate.ps1
pip install -r requirements.txt
ollama pull llama3.2:3b
ollama serve
python app/main.pyA hamster icon will appear in your system tray. Right-click it to open the menu, or use Ctrl+Shift+H to open chat.