Survival LLM: AI assistant and emergency library that runs on your own computer

# Survival LLM: an AI that still works when the internet doesn't Source: [https://www.brangus.io/survival-llm](https://www.brangus.io/survival-llm) Survival LLM is a free AI assistant and emergency library that runs entirely on your own computer\. Ask it how to keep food safe in a blackout, treat a burn, or purify water, and it answers from trusted sources and shows you exactly where each answer came from\. Free and open source\. Set it up while you have internet; after that it needs none\.  ## What it does ### Works with no internet The AI model and the library live on your computer\. Nothing you ask leaves it\. ### Shows its sources Every answer lists the articles it read\. Click one to read it yourself, with the exact passage highlighted\. ### Made for emergencies Medical references, FEMA and CDC guidance, survival manuals, how\-to guides, repair guides and about 930,000 Wikipedia articles\. ## Pick your version The app is the same everywhere\. When it opens, it checks your computer's memory and downloads the AI model that fits\. More memory means a smarter model\. Your computerAI model it usesOur emergency testModel downloadMac with 128 GB or more memoryNVIDIA Nemotron 3\.5 Super21 of 22 right80 GBMac with 32–96 GBQwen3\.8 27B21 of 22 right18 GBWindows PC with 32 GB or moreNVIDIA Nemotron 3\.5 Lightning19 of 22 right25 GBMac or PC with 16–31 GBIBM Granite 4\.2 8B14 of 22 right6 GB "Right" means it got the main point of official guidance right on 22 blackout and first\-aid questions, graded blind, in our tests on an earlier build of the library \([how we tested](https://www.brangus.io/survival-llm#source)\)\. Smaller models make more mistakes, so the app always shows the source to check\. Plus the library: a9 GBdownload for everything \(19 GB once installed\), or1\.3 GB\(3 GB installed\) without Wikipedia and iFixit\. Free disk space needed: the model's size plus 5 GB, plus about 27 GB while the full library installs \(10 GB for the smaller one\)\. Apple Silicon Macs \(M1 or newer\) with macOS 14 Sonoma or newer, and 64\-bit Windows 10 or 11\. ## Set it up in three steps Setup takes 20 minutes to about 2½ hours, depending on your computer and your internet speed\. You only click for about 5 minutes; the rest is downloading\. 1. **Download Survival LLM**for[Mac](https://www.brangus.io/survival-llm#download)or[Windows](https://www.brangus.io/survival-llm#download)and unzip it\. On Windows, right\-click the zip and choose*Extract All*\. 2. **Open it\.**On a Mac, double\-click*Survival LLM*\. On Windows, open the extracted folder and double\-click*Survival LLM\.bat*\. 3. **Follow the setup\.**The app opens in its own window and downloads the AI engine \(built into the Mac app\), the AI model that fits your computer, and the library\. Let it finish while you're online\. **The first time you open it,**your computer warns you, because the app isn't sold through an app store\. **Mac:**click*Done*, open*System Settings \> Privacy & Security*, scroll down to "Survival LLM was blocked", click*Open Anyway*and confirm with your password\. You only do this once\. **Windows:**click*More info*, then*Run anyway*\. ## What's in the library Plain\-text copies of openly licensed \(some for non\-commercial use only\) and public\-domain references, searchable in a fraction of a second: - About 930,000 of Wikipedia's most\-read articles - WikiMed medical encyclopedia - MedlinePlus \(U\.S\. National Library of Medicine\) - UK Medicines A to Z \(public sector information\) - WikEM emergency medicine - Ready\.gov \(FEMA\) emergency guides - CDC travelers' health - U\.S\. military medicine and survival manuals - Risk references for estimating micromorts: life tables and U\.S\. death rates - wikiHow how\-to guides - iFixit repair guides - Appropedia \(appropriate technology\) - Q&A on home repair, cooking, gardening, the outdoors and ham radio \(Stack Exchange\) Each source keeps its own license, shown with every article; see the[full list with licenses](https://www.brangus.io/survival-llm#source)\. ## Good to know ### It can be wrong AI models make mistakes, the small ones more often\. Every answer shows the articles it used, so you can check\. ### Private No account, no tracking\. Your questions never leave your computer, and once set up it works with the internet off\. ### Your own files Add PDFs, Word documents, ebooks and notes, like your generator's manual or your family's emergency plan, and the AI searches them too\. They stay on your computer\. ### Updates Check for updates, at the bottom of the app, installs a new version in one click and keeps your models, library and files\. ### Battery On a MacBook Pro we measured about 100 W while it answers, for 5 to 40 seconds per question: a full battery answers roughly 100 to 300\. A small generator or power station runs it easily\. ## Update notes Already have it? Click*Check for updates*at the bottom of the app\. ### 0\.3\.2October 27, 2026 - The AI no longer saves your question as a memory note\. - Some answers no longer open with a made\-up "Sources:" line that listed the AI's search commands instead of articles\. - Show reasoning reads more clearly: it says when you stopped it, the time shown is how long it thought, and long reasoning scrolls with the page\. - Windows: cleans up an empty folder that earlier updates could leave behind\. ### 0\.3\.1October 27, 2026 - **Show reasoning:**under each answer, open what the AI thought before it answered, with the searches and articles it read in between\. It stays hidden until you click it\. Most models reason first only when*Think harder*is ticked\. ### 0\.3\.0October 26, 2026 - **Memory:**tell it about yourself, like a family member's allergy or the generator you own, and it keeps a short note for later chats\. See and edit every note under*Memory*, or turn its saving off\. - Downloads now work on computers whose network or antivirus uses its own certificates\. [All releases on GitHub](https://www.brangus.io/survival-llm#source)