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Show HN: Local LLM Notepad – run a GPT-style model from a USB stick

(github.com)
39 points davidye324 | 1 comments | 30 Jun 25 23:43 UTC | HN request time: 0.202s | source

What it is A single 45 MB Windows .exe that embeds llama.cpp and a minimal Tk UI. Copy it (plus any .gguf model) to a flash drive, double-click on any Windows PC, and you’re chatting with an LLM—no admin rights, Cloud, or network.

Why I built it Existing “local LLM” GUIs assume you can pip install, pass long CLI flags, or download GBs of extras.

I wanted something my less-technical colleagues could run during a client visit by literally plugging in a USB drive.

How it works PyInstaller one-file build → bundles Python runtime, llama_cpp_python, and the UI into a single PE.

On first launch, it memory-maps the .gguf; subsequent prompts stream at ~20 tok/s on an i7-10750H with gemma-3-1b-it-Q4_K_M.gguf (0.8 GB).

Tick-driven render loop keeps the UI responsive while llama.cpp crunches.

A parser bold-underlines every token that originated in the prompt; Ctrl+click pops a “source viewer” to trace facts. (Helps spot hallucinations fast.)

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exe34 ◴[01 Jul 25 10:07 UTC] No.44432321[source]▶
Why not llamafile? Runs on everything from toothbrushes to toasters...
replies(1): >>44441150 #
1. romperstomper ◴[02 Jul 25 07:52 UTC] No.44441150[source]▶
Seconded for Llamafile, here is a link for references https://github.com/Mozilla-Ocho/llamafile . It indeed is working on all major platforms and its tooling allows easy creating of new llamafiles with new models. The only caveat is Windows where there is a limit 4Gb for executable files so just a llamafile launcher and the gguf file itself must be used. But this approach will work anywhere anyway.