Chatbox is a desktop client supporting multiple LLM providers with local data storage and a cross-platform GUI. It includes a quick setup, development workflow, and release history. This review focuses on documented features and commands from the README and releases.
Collecting history — the radar snapshots this repo daily. The trend line appears after 3 days of data (1 so far).
What it is
Chatbox is a desktop client for ChatGPT, Claude and other LLMs, available on Windows, Mac, Linux. It is distributed under GPLv3 and is the Community Edition of Chatbox.
How it works
The project provides a cross-platform desktop app (Electron-based) with modules for main process, renderer, preload, and shared utilities. It supports multiple model providers (OpenAI, Azure OpenAI, Claude, Google Gemini Pro, Ollama, ChatGLM-6B) and features such as image generation with Dall-E-3, local data storage, markdown/latex/code formatting, prompt library, team collaboration, and cross-platform deployment. The README lists the following architecture components:
- Electron main process
- React renderer (UI)
- Electron preload scripts
- Shared utilities
- Documentation in doc/
Getting started
Quick Setup includes prerequisites and commands:
- Prerequisites listed under Development: Node.js (v20.x – v22.x), pnpm (v10.x or later), Git.
- Clone the repo:
git clone https://github.com/chatboxai/chatbox.git cd chatbox - Install dependencies:
pnpm install - Start development server:
pnpm run dev
Build commands provided:
pnpm run dev- Start development server with hot-reloadpnpm run package- Build and package for current platformpnpm run package:all- Build and package for all platformspnpm run build- Build for production without packagingpnpm run lint- Run Biome to check code qualitypnpm run test- Run Vitest test suite
Recent releases
Latest releases shown in the Releases section include:
- v1.22.1 (2026-07-28) with downloads for macOS arm64 and Intel
- v1.21.1 (2026-06-12) with Windows and macOS downloads
- v1.21.0 (2026-06-08) with Windows and macOS downloads
- v1.20.3 (2026-04-29) with Windows and macOS downloads
- v1.20.1 (2026-04-09) mentions new features such as AWS Bedrock provider and new web search providers in the changelog excerpt
The Readme includes a Downloads section under each release with platform-specific installer links.
Traction
The repository shows stars: 41303, forks: 4184, open_issues: 1232. There is a Star History chart linked in the README. The Stars are listed as 41303 in the FACTS block.
Behind the repo
Not applicable for this entry since no linked startup/company section is present in the provided material.
Caveats
License is GPL-3.0. The README notes cross-platform availability (Windows, macOS, Linux) and lists potential troubleshooting steps, such as pnpm installation issues, Windows build adjustments, and dev server refresh steps. Specific issues or age-related caveats beyond the license and typical setup are not provided in the supplied material.