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Linux, Windows, or Mac - what actually differs between them for running local AI, and which one to pick if you're starting from scratch.

A practical guide to picking and setting up a mini PC that can run local AI models at home, no GPU required.

When a mini PC isn't enough - picking a GPU, understanding VRAM, and building a desktop that runs larger local AI models.

Estimating model sizes, NVMe vs SATA, and picking a storage tier that won't leave you deleting models a month in.

Once your mini PC is set up, it doesn't need a screen, keyboard, or mouse permanently attached. Here's how to run it headless and reach it over SSH.

Reach your local AI chat interface from your phone or laptop on the couch, not just from the machine it is installed on - using your home network, nothing more.

Install Open WebUI so you get a real, ChatGPT-style interface for your local models instead of a bare terminal.

Parameter count, quantization, and picking a model that actually matches your hardware instead of just grabbing the biggest name you've heard of.

Set up retrieval-augmented generation in Open WebUI so your local model can answer questions using your own files, not just what it was trained on.

Connect Ollama to VS Code with the Continue extension so you get AI coding help that never sends your code anywhere.

Stable Diffusion, running entirely on your own hardware - what tool to start with, what VRAM actually gets you, and where new images and models come from.

Connect OpenClaw, a self-hosted AI agent framework, to your local Ollama models so you get a persistent assistant in Discord or Telegram, not just a browser tab.

Ollama isn't just a chat interface backend - it's a REST API you can script against directly, from a shell command or a few lines of Python.

Updating Ollama, your models, Open WebUI, and OpenClaw safely - what to run, in what order, and what not to do to your Docker volumes.

Running AI locally already solves the biggest privacy problem. Here is what else actually matters.

Where your chat history actually lives, what a full reset really removes, and how to confirm nothing is quietly leaving your network.

What's actually worth backing up in a local AI setup - and what isn't - plus how to back up and restore an Open WebUI Docker volume without losing anything.

Use Ollama Modelfiles to create a custom version of a model that remembers how you want it to behave, every time, without repeating yourself.

Every Own It decision in one place - network exposure, access control, data handling, and physical security - as an actual checklist to run through before opening your setup up beyond yourself.