Local-first • You own it

Local AI without vendor limits.
On your hardware.

Horus is a local-first AI operator for chat, coding, reasoning, automation, terminal work, and secure agentic workflows. Run open-source models on your own hardware with full transparency and zero data leakage.

Runs via Ollama Workspace jail Audit logs Local-only by default Staged approvals

Get Started — Free Install Download Installer

Built by a cybersecurity operator

Built by a CISSP-certified cybersecurity engineer with 20+ years of real-world operational experience.

CISSP 20+ yrs cyber USMC

Full background →

See Horus run

~2 min · No signup

Live browser UI, real PTY terminal, real tool calls. No cloud, no API key.

Installation

Linux

bash horus-installer.sh

Follow the prompts. Everything installs automatically.

Windows — via WSL2

Open PowerShell as Administrator and run:

wsl --install

Reboot when prompted. Set a username and password when Ubuntu opens.

Open WSL (Ubuntu) and run:

bash /mnt/c/Users/YOUR-USERNAME/Downloads/horus-installer.sh

Replace YOUR-USERNAME with your Windows username.

When installation finishes, open your browser and go to:

http://localhost:8080

Optional — Vision input: To attach images to conversations, pull a vision-capable model after install: ollama pull <vision-model>

Local Operator Tool Suite

Every capability Horus exposes — file ops, terminal control, SSH, containers, model management, automation, and a staged-edit approval workflow. Tap any tool to read what it does.

Tools run locally and reviewably. The staged workflow follows a disciplined pattern — stage → finalize → review → deploy — with approval handled by a human over HTTP, never by the model itself.

Approval-Aware Editing Workflow

Horus does not have to edit production files directly. It can stage changes, validate them, and wait for approval before deployment.

Stage a file change without touching the live target
Finalize the staged edit and inspect the result
Approve only after review
Deploy to production when ready
Discard safely when a change is not wanted

stage_file_edit
finalize_staged_edit
POST /api/staging/:id/approve   ← human approval
deploy_staged_edit

This is one of the biggest differences between Horus and “blind edit” local agents. It supports a disciplined human-in-the-loop workflow instead of assuming every generated change should go live.

Background Job System

Horus runs long tasks in the background, completely decoupled from the browser. Submit a job, close the tab, come back when it’s done. Every job event is buffered in a 2 MB ring buffer — reconnect anytime and replay the full run history. Configurable active job limit (default 5). Finished jobs retained for 1 hour, then garbage collected automatically.

Submit & forget Reconnect-safe SSE replay Cancel any time Conversation persistence Auto cleanup after 1hr

Why local beats cloud

Privacy, cost, control, and reliability.

Local (Horus)

Your prompts + data stay on your machine
No rented cloud inference layer for local workflows
You choose models, routing, and tool rules
Core local chat, tools, files, and automation continue after installation and model download

Cloud

Data may leave your environment depending on provider and configuration
Rate limits, usage caps, and pricing changes happen
Model behavior changes outside your control
Outages and downtime still happen

See deployment profiles →

What “own it” actually means

Horus runs locally with a security baseline that makes sense: workspace jail by default, audited tools, staged approvals, and upgrades you control.

Your models live on your disk — not an API
Tool rules are explicit, jailed, and reviewable
Switch models without changing the whole system
Conversation history stays on your machine
Approval-aware edits reduce accidental breakage

Fully Customizable Model Stack

After installation, you control which Ollama models are installed, routed, or removed.

Add or remove models anytime
Switch primary reasoning engine
Add vision models if hardware allows
Upgrade models without reinstalling

Runs on your hardware No cloud AI APIs required Works with Ollama

Model availability depends on your machine’s RAM, VRAM, and storage — not artificial product limitations.

Who it’s for

Power users who want a local AI operator: developers, builders, IT / homelab folks, small teams, and creators who want an assistant that runs on their own machine — with tools, memory, terminal access, and real system visibility.

Developers Homelab / IT Creators Small teams

Typical uses

• Codebase audits with search, diff, and patch
• Long-running automation jobs (background, reconnect-safe)
• Interactive terminal + AI in the same UI
• UI / screenshot understanding (Vision tier)
• A private assistant that doesn’t depend on cloud AI services

What you actually get

143 local operator tools across files, code search, git, terminal, logs, SSH, PM2, process control, Ollama management, media generation, memo, and staged edits
Background job system with SSE replay and cancellation
Live PTY terminal in the browser UI
Workspace jail, blocked extensions, auth middleware, and reviewable edit flow

Core Model Stack

Horus supports any Ollama model. Below is the reference stack used in production.

Role	Ollama model	Size	When to use
Primary Agent	Primary Agent Model	—	Main agentic operator — chat, reasoning, tool orchestration, background jobs.
Vision	Vision Model	—	Image understanding, screenshots, and UI analysis.

Chat / Code / Reason are behavior modes with automatic routing — not separate products.

Sizes vary by quantization. Table communicates role and class, not exact storage.

Notes

Horus is designed for local operation on customer-owned hardware. For remote access, use secure networking and restrict access appropriately.

Recommended remote access

Use a VPN (zerotier-one) rather than exposing ports
Enable Basic Auth for the UI if accessed beyond localhost
Keep tool execution workspace-jailed for remote sessions

Large 70B+ reasoning models are not included by default — available as optional additions based on your hardware.