Local and optional online AI
Run selected assistants on Apple silicon with MLX, or use local Ollama, LM Studio, and mlx-lm servers. Linda recommends models according to the Mac's chip and available memory.
Linda
Linda is an AI task automation app for Apple silicon Macs that handles browser work, files, research, and repeatable workflows from typed or spoken requests. It supports local AI with no account required, while optional online models can be used with your own provider key.
AI task automation for the Mac
Linda is a native AI coworker app for Apple silicon Macs. It accepts typed or spoken requests, plans multi-step work, uses a browser or local files when needed, and returns a completed result rather than only a chat response. Typical tasks include collecting invoices from portals, researching prices across shops, and organizing scanned documents.
Privacy is a central part of the workflow: local models, voice processing, memory, task files, and passwords can remain on the Mac. Linda asks for approval before consequential actions, such as sending a message, making a purchase, deleting content, posting, or submitting personal data. Users can also bring their own online model key when a task needs a different model.
Features
Background browser work
Linda uses a separate browser profile to search, open pages, sign in, click, read, and download without taking control of the user's mouse. A live Computer view and Stop button make the task observable and stoppable.
Approval gates
The app pauses before sending, buying, deleting, posting, or submitting personal data, showing what will happen for review. These approval gates are enforced in code and cannot be bypassed by a page or instruction.
Scoped file workflows
Each task can have its own folder, while related tasks can share a project folder. Linda can read, rename, merge, and create PDFs, spreadsheets, and documents within the folders the user shares.
Voice and command bar
Users can trigger tasks with Option-Space or by holding Right Option to speak. On-device speech recognition keeps voice audio on the Mac, and replies stream as they are generated.
Specialists, routines, and skills
Specialists combine a name, role, instructions, selected tools, and a starting project. Linda also supports scheduled routines, web search, editable personal memory, and connections to selected Mac and web apps through approval-controlled skills.
Use cases
Recurring paperwork
Ask Linda to visit several portals, download invoices, rename scans by month or supplier, and place the resulting files in an Accounting or household-bills project folder.
Price and page monitoring
Have Linda compare prices across multiple shops or monitor a product page on a daily, weekly, or monthly schedule. It can turn a completed task into a routine.
Web research
Use a Researcher specialist to search the web and retain links for a project, then review the gathered material before taking the next step. Search providers can be selected in settings.
Repeatable specialist workflows
Create a Bookkeeper or other named specialist with its own instructions, tools, and project. This provides a repeatable workflow for work such as naming files by date and supplier.
App-assisted tasks
Connect selected Mac and web apps, including Calendar, Notion, Todoist, Linear, GitHub, Stripe, Outlook, Teams, Numbers, Pages, and Notes, while keeping approval requirements for app actions.
Pros and Cons
Pros
- Local AI, speech recognition, memory, task files, and passwords are designed to stay on the Mac.
- Separate browser workspaces, scoped folders, activity visibility, and a Stop button make automation easier to inspect and interrupt.
- Approval gates apply to high-impact actions, including sending, buying, deleting, posting, and submitting personal data.
- Supports built-in MLX assistants as well as local Ollama, LM Studio, and mlx-lm models, with optional online providers.
Cons
- The documented local setup requires Apple silicon and macOS 26; support for Intel Macs and earlier macOS versions is not specified.
- Local model speed and capability depend on the Mac's memory, chip, and selected assistant; larger or longer multi-site tasks may work better with a larger or online model.
- Online model use requires the user's own provider key and is subject to that provider's usage charges.
FAQ
Is Linda free?
Linda is free when used with its local AI models. No account, API key, or bill is required for the local setup. Online providers are optional and require your own provider key, with usage billed by that provider.
What Mac does Linda support?
The local setup runs on Apple silicon Macs with macOS 26. Linda recommends assistants based on the Mac's chip and available memory. The site does not provide compatibility details for Intel Macs or earlier macOS versions.
Which AI models can Linda use?
You can use Linda's built-in MLX assistants, or connect to local models already running through Ollama, LM Studio, or mlx-lm. Online models are also supported through your own key from listed providers or another OpenAI-compatible HTTPS server.
How does Linda handle actions that could have consequences?
Linda works in its own browser profile and can read pages, click, sign in through secure fields, and download files. It pauses for logins, choices, and actions such as sending, buying, deleting, posting, or submitting personal data.
What information stays on the Mac?
Speech recognition runs on the Mac, and voice audio is not sent or stored. Linda keeps task files in folders you designate, stores passwords in the Mac Keychain, and lets you review, edit, or forget the personal information it remembers.
Quick Facts
- Category
- AI productivity and task automation
- Platform
- Mac with Apple silicon and macOS 26
- Local model runtime
- MLX, with Ollama, LM Studio, and mlx-lm options
- Input
- Typed requests, Option-Space command bar, and on-device voice
- Workflow
- Plans tasks, operates a separate browser, manages shared project files, and asks before consequential actions
- Account
- No account required for the local setup
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