# Recipes: what do you want to do?

URL: https://insidethemachine.ai/do
6 step-by-step recipes for running AI on your own computer. Mac first. Each recipe page has the tools, the model for each memory size, exact commands, expected output, rollback, fixes and Windows notes.
New to local AI? Read https://insidethemachine.ai/start-here.md first.

| id | goal | what | needs GB | best GB | minutes | tools | markdown | json |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| chat | A private ChatGPT | Chat, write and brainstorm. Nothing leaves your computer. | 8 | 16 | 10 | ollama, open-webui | https://insidethemachine.ai/do/chat.md | https://insidethemachine.ai/do/chat.json |
| code | A coding helper | An assistant that reads and edits your code. | 16 | 32 | 15 | ollama, opencode, aider | https://insidethemachine.ai/do/code.md | https://insidethemachine.ai/do/code.json |
| docs | Chat with your files | Ask questions about your PDFs, notes and documents. | 16 | 32 | 20 | ollama, open-webui, docling | https://insidethemachine.ai/do/docs.md | https://insidethemachine.ai/do/docs.json |
| voice | Speech to text | Turn meetings and voice notes into text, offline. | 8 | 16 | 10 | whisper-cpp, handy | https://insidethemachine.ai/do/voice.md | https://insidethemachine.ai/do/voice.json |
| images | Make images | Create pictures from a text prompt on your own machine. | 16 | 32 | 20 | draw-things, comfyui | https://insidethemachine.ai/do/images.md | https://insidethemachine.ai/do/images.json |
| agent | An agent that does tasks | It remembers you, uses tools and learns new skills. | 32 | 64 | 30 | hermes-agent, mcp-servers | https://insidethemachine.ai/do/agent.md | https://insidethemachine.ai/do/agent.json |

Pick: the highest-memory goal the machine meets (needs GB = total RAM, or VRAM on a PC with a graphics card). Model per memory size: https://insidethemachine.ai/models.md. App per job: https://insidethemachine.ai/harnesses.md.