# Hob — AI Coding Tool Review & Pricing

> Hob is an open-source desktop AI assistant from Frigade that aims to match the file-aware, tool-using experience of Claude and ChatGPT while running open-weight models entirely on your computer. It checks your hardware, downloads the best model it can run well through llama.cpp (Metal on Mac, CUDA or Vulkan elsewhere), and then works on your files and project folders, runs sandboxed Python, reads PDFs and images, and searches the web through a metasearch engine that also runs locally.

Source: https://ai.dosa.dev/tools/hob · Updated Oct 26, 2026 · Category: General-Purpose AI Assistants (with Strong Coding Capability) · Published by dosa.dev

## At a glance

- **Tool**: Hob
- **Company**: Frigade
- **Category**: [General-Purpose AI Assistants (with Strong Coding Capability)](https://ai.dosa.dev/category/general-ai)
- **Pricing model**: Open Source
- **Official website**: https://hob.chat

## Key features

- Hardware-aware setup that picks and downloads a model for you: Gemma 4 E4B Compact, E4B or 26B depending on memory, or gpt-oss 120B on workstations
- Works on attached files and on folders grouped into projects with their own instructions
- Sandboxed Python with pandas, numpy, openpyxl, python-docx, pypdf and Pillow, plus any PyPI package it needs
- Reads PDFs (including scans), fills in PDF forms on Mac, and understands photos and screenshots with a small Qwen3-VL model
- Interactive charts, on-device dictation and web search through a local metasearch engine
- Approval before folder changes, Undo for every task, and plugins for Agent Skills, Python tools and MCP connectors

## Pricing

**Model**: Open Source

Free and open source under the MIT license, with no account, subscription or usage limits; models run on your own hardware (Apple silicon Mac, Windows or Linux with 8 GB of memory or more).

## Who it is for

- **Best for**: Developers and privacy-conscious users who want a capable, file-aware AI assistant that runs local open-weight models with zero setup, no account and no telemetry.
- **Not ideal for**: Teams that need frontier hosted models or shared workspaces, and Intel Macs or machines with less than 8 GB of memory; it is a general assistant rather than a dedicated coding agent, and the project only went public in October 2026.

## Verdict

One of the most approachable ways to get a Claude-style desktop assistant running fully on your own hardware, though local model quality still trails the big hosted models.

## Recent updates

Open-sourced in October 2026, with v0.2.0 and v0.2.1 shipping on GitHub for Mac, Windows and Linux; installed copies download new versions and install them on quit.

## Frequently asked questions

### Is Hob free?

Yes - Hob is Open Source. Free and open source under the MIT license, with no account, subscription or usage limits; models run on your own hardware (Apple silicon Mac, Windows or Linux with 8 GB of memory or more).

### Is Hob open source?

Yes - Hob is open source. Free and open source under the MIT license, with no account, subscription or usage limits; models run on your own hardware (Apple silicon Mac, Windows or Linux with 8 GB of memory or more).

### Who is Hob best for?

Developers and privacy-conscious users who want a capable, file-aware AI assistant that runs local open-weight models with zero setup, no account and no telemetry.

### Who is Hob not ideal for?

Teams that need frontier hosted models or shared workspaces, and Intel Macs or machines with less than 8 GB of memory; it is a general assistant rather than a dedicated coding agent, and the project only went public in October 2026.

### What are the best Hob alternatives?

The closest Hob alternatives on ai.dosa.dev are Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini - all listed under General-Purpose AI Assistants (with Strong Coding Capability).

### Who makes Hob?

Hob is developed by Frigade. It is listed in the General-Purpose AI Assistants (with Strong Coding Capability) category on ai.dosa.dev.

## Top alternatives

- [Claude](https://ai.dosa.dev/tools/claude) (Freemium) — Complex agentic coding, large-scale codebase migrations, deep research, and high-stakes enterprise knowledge work.
- [ChatGPT](https://ai.dosa.dev/tools/chatgpt) (Freemium) — Complex reasoning tasks, software development, research-heavy workflows, and automating multi-step productivity tasks across documents and connected apps.
- [Gemini](https://ai.dosa.dev/tools/gemini) (Freemium) — Complex professional workflows such as deep data analysis, coding and software development, technical research, and multi-step project automation.
- [DeepSeek](https://ai.dosa.dev/tools/deepseek) (Freemium) — Complex coding tasks, multi-step agent workflows, data analysis, and document processing requiring high reasoning capabilities.
- [Perplexity](https://ai.dosa.dev/tools/perplexity) (Freemium) — Users requiring verified, source-backed answers for research, complex data analysis, and document or application generation.
- [nenva](https://ai.dosa.dev/tools/nenva) (Free) — Mac users who require a privacy-focused personal productivity assistant that integrates with their local files and personal accounts without cloud-based data storage.
- Full alternatives guide: https://ai.dosa.dev/tools/hob/alternatives