Leon

A personal AI assistant you run on your own machine, using local or remote models, tools, memory and skills to carry out tasks.

17.6k stars, 1.5k forks TypeScript On GitHub since February 2019

Visit website View on GitHub How to run it

What is Leon?

Leon started in 2017 as a classic intent-based voice assistant and is being rebuilt as an agent that picks tools, keeps layered memory and finishes tasks step by step. It offers three modes: smart mode decides on its own, controlled mode runs deterministic native skills, and agent mode plans. Skills cover search, productivity, system utilities, media, coding help and voice. It can drive desktop and browser interfaces through computer use, and works with local or hosted model providers. A web app runs on localhost after a Node.js install.

Good fit if

  • You want an assistant that acts on your own computer and can stay on local models for privacy.
  • You like to tinker with an early, fast-changing agent and write your own skills.

Look elsewhere if

  • You want a stable chat front end for many models: Open WebUI or LibreChat.
  • You want an agent that answers inside your messaging apps: OpenClaw.

Before you adopt it

Leon is MIT-licensed with no paid parts in the repository. Current work targets the 2.0 Developer Preview on the develop branch, and the README says new documentation is not ready yet; the older master branch holds the steadier pre-agentic version. Louis Grenard wrote all recent commits, largely in spare time, so this is effectively a one-developer project. It needs Node.js 24 or newer.

Drafted with AI from the project's README and repository data, then checked against that data on 31 October 2026. Report a correction

Leon health: is it still maintained?

57 of 100, actively developed

  • Activity
    764 commits in the last 90 days, the latest on 31 October 2026.
    30 / 30
  • Contributors
    1 person wrote the latest 100 commits; the most active wrote 100% of them.
    2 / 20
  • Releases
    3 releases in the last 12 months; the latest, tcp-server_v2.0.0, on 19 February 2026.
    8 / 20
  • Replies to issues
    Maintainers answered 33% of recent issues, with a median first reply after 31 hours.
    12 / 20
  • Security practices
    No OpenSSF Scorecard for this repository yet, so this part gets a neutral score.
    5 / 10

Read from GitHub on 1 November 2026. How the score works

Leon license: is it open source?

Leon uses MIT, an open-source license approved by the OSI.

  1. February 2019First published on GitHub.
  2. TodayMIT.

How to run Leon yourself

Docker
No Docker files in the repository
Compose file
None in the repository
Setup effort
Not rated: no compose file to judge from
Kubernetes
No Helm chart in the repository
Desktop and mobile
Builds for Linux, macOS, Windows, including ARM in GitHub releases
Interface languages
2 languages

Install instructions: getleon.ai or the README on GitHub.

Alternatives to Leon

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  • HarborStop configuring your AI stack. Start using it. One command brings a complete pre-wired LLM stack with… 80 health · Apache-2.0 · 3.3k stars
  • OpenClawThe AI that really does things. Any OS. Any Platform. The lobster way. 79 health · MIT · 394k stars
  • ChatboxPowerful AI Client 79 health · GPL-3.0 · 42.2k stars

All 36 projects in AI chat & local LLMs

Questions about Leon

Is Leon open source?

Yes. Leon is published under MIT, an OSI-approved open-source license.

Is Leon still maintained?

Its health score is 57 of 100 (actively developed). It had 764 commits in the last 90 days, the latest on 31 October 2026, and its latest release came out on 19 February 2026.

How do I run Leon?

You can run it as an app for Linux, macOS, Windows, including ARM. The README on GitHub has the exact steps.

What are the alternatives to Leon?

Close alternatives in the AI chat & local LLMs category include GPT Researcher, DocsGPT, Harbor.