Description

️ 🖼Tool Name:

QVAC

🔖 Categories:

Automation and Smart Agents, Programming and Development, Integrations and APIs, Documents and Software Development Kits, Text and Images to Video, Text to Speech / Speech to Text, Image Design and Creation, Education and Research, Data Processing and Cleaning, Data Warehouses and Modeling

️ ✏What does this tool offer?

QVAC is an open-source, on-premises AI platform from Tether, designed to run AI models directly on the user’s own devices—such as phones, computers, and servers— rather than relying on centralized cloud servers.

The system allows developers to integrate on-device AI capabilities into applications via the QVAC SDK,so that models can be run and inferences made on the user’s device. The SDK provides a unified interface for a wide range of tasks, including text generation, embeddings, RAG, speech transcription, translation, image generation, text-to-speech, OCR, computer vision, image classification, image enhancement, and fine-tuning using LoRA.

QVAC operates on the principle of Local AI;inference is performed on the device, and applications do not need to send requests or files to a cloud service during operation. According to the official website, there are no API keys, per-token fees, or usage rate limits associated with the local inference itself.

QVAC supports running models on iOS, Android, macOS, Linux, and Windows;it also provides JavaScript/TypeScript and Python interfaces, and models can be loaded from a local file system, an HTTP URL, or QVAC’s distributed model registry.

The QVAC ecosystem consists of several components, most notably the QVAC SDK for application development,QVAC Models for local models,QVAC Fabric for fine-tuning, andQVAC Genesis for training resources and data, in addition to Q.AC Assistant, a helper application built on the QVAC platform.

QVAC also provides a local HTTP server that can serve the QVAC interface or an OpenAI API-compatible interface,allowing other tools and systems to connect to the local models running on the user’s device. (docs.qvac.tether.io)

What does it actually offer based on user experience?

  • Running AI models locally on the device instead of sending data to the cloud.
  • Build AI applications that run on phones, computers, and supported devices.
  • Use a single API for text, speech, vision, and other tasks.
  • Run LLM models locally for conversation, text generation, completion, and structured output.
  • Create embeddings for semantic search and RAG applications.
  • Implement RAG on local documents.
  • Convert speech to text on-device.
  • Translate text between languages offline.
  • Generate images locally.
  • Convert text to speech on-device.
  • Extract text from images and documents using OCR.
  • Analyze images using computer vision models.
  • Classify images and return labels with a confidence score.
  • Perform fine-tuning using LoRA, including on mobile devices.
  • Run models from various sources, including QVAC models, model registries, local models, and GGUF from Hugging Face.
  • Run QVAC as a local model provider for other tools via an HTTP server compatible with the OpenAI API.
  • Run applications offline once the model is available on the device.
  • Share models between devices through the P2P layer built into the SDK.

Official examples built using QVAC include: Tools for converting natural language to SQL, generating comics, real-time vision, invoice processing, smart cameras, and generating text, voice captions, and video translations, as well as examples for sports coaching and file analysis.

🤖 Does it include automation?

Yes, but QVAC is not a traditional RPA tool; it provides an infrastructure for executing AI tasks locally and automating functions within applications.

Developers can integrate functions such as speech recognition, translation, OCR, classification, text generation, RAG, and computer vision into application workflows through a unified SDK. QVAC can also run as a local server and connect to tools compatible with the OpenAI API.

The platform also supports P2P for exchanging or sharing models between devices without the need for a central server, and the SDK architecture includes a plugin system that allows developers to enable various AI capabilities or add custom features.

💰 Pricing Model:

QVAC is free and open source; it does not rely on a monthly subscription, per-code fees, or per-user inference fees when running models locally. The official website states that the system is free and open source and that the SDK is licensed under the Apache 2.0 license,with no API keys, per-code fees, or usage rate limits for local use.

The official website also confirms that the SDK is free even for commercial use, and that inference takes place on the user’s own devices.

🆓 Free Plan Details:

FeatureQVAC
Price$0
Pricing ModelFree and open source
LicenseApache 2.0
Per-symbol feesNone for local deployment
API keysNot required for local access
Usage rate limitsNone for local lookup
Offline operationAvailable
On-device operationAvailable
Text generationAvailable
EmbeddingsAvailable
RAGAvailable
Speech-to-TextAvailable
TranslationAvailable
Image GenerationAvailable
Text-to-SpeechAvailable
OCRAvailable
VisionAvailable
Image UpscalingAvailable
ClassificationAvailable
Fine-tuning / LoRAAvailable
Commercial UsePermitted under the Apache 2.0 license for the SDK

QVAC states that the SDK is free and open source under the Apache 2.0 license, and running models locally does not incur per-code or per-request fees. However, separate costs may apply if a developer uses third-party services or infrastructure that is not part of QVAC’s local deployment. (qvac.tether.io)

💳 Paid Plan Details:

Plan / ServiceCurrent PriceDetails
QVAC SDK$0Free, open-source SDK
QVAC Models$0 for the open ecosystemModels that can be run locally under each model’s license
QVAC Fabric$0 as part of the open ecosystemTools and capabilities for fine-tuning locally based on the project
QVAC CLI$0Tools for running QVAC and setting up a local server
QV.AC AssistantNo subscription price currently listedAn assistant app built on the QVAC platform
Cloud/External ServicesNot included in the base QVAC pricingCosts may arise when using third-party services

QVAC does not currently offer a traditional paid plan such as Starter, Pro, or Enterprise for the SDK; the advertised base model is free and open source. Furthermore, the use of third-party services or additional infrastructure may result in separate costs, which should not be considered part of the QVAC pricing itself.

🧭 How to access the tool:

Access MethodDetails
JavaScript / TypeScriptVia the @qvac/sdk package
PythonVia tetherto-qvac-sdk
iOSSupported via Expo / React Native
AndroidSupported via Expo / React Native
macOSSupported
WindowsSupported
LinuxSupported
DesktopAvailable
CLIAvailable
HTTP ServerAvailable to provide a QVAC or OpenAI-compatible API
P2PSupported within the system
GitHubSource code, projects, and extensions are available on GitHub

The QVAC documentation states that the JS/TS SDK runs on Node.js, Bare, and Expo, while the Python SDK is available with support for iOS and Android via Expo. The current compatibility matrix also indicates that the extensions support macOS 14+, iOS 17+, Ubuntu 22+, Android 12+, and Windows 10+, using Metal or Vulkan depending on the device and operating system.

🔗 Demo link or official website:

QVAC Official Website

QVAC SDK

Official QVAC documentation

QVAC repositories on GitHub

Pricing Details

QVAC is an SDK and a system for providing AI models locally, enabling the execution of LLM models, speech and vision recognition, image and video generation, and more on any device, It also enables the development of applications for mobile phones and desktop devices or the provision of on-premises models for users’ preferred AI tools. QVAC supports running a comprehensive range of AI workloads locally using open-source models on Linux, macOS, Windows, Android, and iOS systems, and provides an SDK for building applications and systems that prioritize local AI using JavaScript/TypeScript, and Python, as well as an HTTP server for using QVAC as a local model provider, with an OpenAI-compatible API that allows integration with AI tools such as OpenCode, OpenClaw, and any other compatible tool. QVAC is designed to run locally first, so the AI operates offline with inference optimized for commercially available devices, ranging from consumer apps and embedded systems to enterprise deployments, It also provides privacy and control by keeping data local and owning the AI system without the need for the cloud or third-party APIs, and offers a single SDK interface for a comprehensive set of AI capabilities, It supports cross-platform development using a single codebase on Linux, macOS, Windows, Android, and iOS with JavaScript/TypeScript or Python, It also offers peer-to-peer capabilities to transfer AI models directly between devices and build uninterrupted internet systems, similar to BitTorrent or IPFS but for AI. QVAC enables model deployment and inference locally in a few quick steps using JavaScript, Python, or an HTTP server, Its capabilities also include text generation through LLM inference for text and conversation generation via Fabric LLM, as well as text embedding generation for use in semantic search, aggregation, and retrieval, RAG through a pre-built workflow for generating retrieval-augmented answers, fine-tuning LLM models for specialized tasks in specific domains using LoRA, multimodal reasoning on text, images, and other media within a single context; text-to-image and image-to-image generation via the Diffusion backend; and text-to-video and image-to-video generation via the Diffusion backend; music generation from text, lyrics, and musical controls using ACE-Step or MiniMax-Music3 on desktop systems; audio transcription and speech-to-text conversion using the Whisper or NVIDIA Parakeet backend; text-to-speech synthesis via the GGML backend; machine translation using Fabric LLM and Bergamot; audio transcription for brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) using the Whisper and VLA backends; i.e., vision, language, and action for robot control using the GGML backend; optical character recognition (OCR) to extract text from images using the ONNX Runtime or GGML backends; and image classification into labels with confidence scores using the GGML backend. QVAC’s built-in peer-to-peer capabilities enable the construction of uninterrupted internet systems without relying on centralized infrastructure, as AI models can be fetched directly from other devices via a distributed model registry, eliminating the need to host and distribute models through a central entity, The Blind Relays feature also enables traffic to be routed through peer devices acting as relays when devices cannot connect directly due to NAT and firewalls, while maintaining network connectivity without a centralized infrastructure. QVAC resources include comprehensive documentation, examples that include experimental applications and proofs of concept built using the QVAC SDK, the Local Model Provider for using QVAC as a local model provider connected to the user’s preferred AI tools, and QV.AC to learn about the local AI assistant; support and community via Discord and Keet to get help, provide feedback, and discuss QVAC; and a blog featuring tutorials, in-depth analyses, engineering insights, and announcements; the Ecosystem section to explore the broader QVAC ecosystem; the Research section, which includes research papers, datasets, and optimized models for edge devices; and the Our Vision section to learn why Tether built the QVAC platform. The project welcomes contributions by opening pull requests, reporting bugs, or sharing ideas via Issues. It also provides badges that can be added to the README files of projects built using QVAC to help others discover them, with a full set of badges available, including light and dark mode versions, as well as embedded badges with copy-ready snippets in the BADGES.md file. The project describes itself as an open-source SDK for on-device AI that enables AI to run on the device without the cloud or APIs, and supports GGUF, RAG, image, music, and video generation, speech-to-text, peer-to-peer inference, and more, with support for Linux, macOS, Windows, Android, and iOS. The repository is licensed under the Apache-2.0 license, has 602 stars, 3 watchers, and 112 forks, and contains 32 releases, the latest of which is QVAC SDK v0.19.1, released yesterday. The repository has 80 contributors, and the language breakdown is 39% TypeScript, 28.3% JavaScript, 21.8% C++, Python at 9.3%, Shell at 0.8%, CMake at 0.6%, and other languages at 0.2%. The project is copyrighted © 2026 GitHub, Inc.