Sanctum
Sanctum is a private and local AI assistant aimed at providing privacy-first, secure AI-based services directly on your device. The tool allows you to run and i...
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What is Sanctum?
Sanctum is a private, local AI assistant that enables users to run full-featured open-source large language models (LLMs) directly on their desktop device without cloud dependency. The tool brings generative AI capabilities to your Mac or Windows computer, ensuring all data remains encrypted and never leaves your device. It supports MacOS 12+ and Windows 10+, with Linux support coming soon.
Key features include the AI Matching Engine that simplifies finding and switching between open-source models, HuggingFace integration for accessing thousands of GGUF models, and the ability to chat with PDFs, DOCX, TXT, and code files 100% privately. Sanctum uses AES-256 encryption for the Sanctum Vault (encrypted database), offers unlimited chats and accounts, includes bookmarks, and provides models like Llama-2-7B and Mistral-7B. The application works fully offline after downloading models, requiring no internet connection for日常 AI interactions.
Sanctum is designed for privacy-conscious individuals who want secure AI conversations, including professionals analyzing personal health data, private financial data, call notes, user feedback, and code development. It serves content creators, developers, analysts, sales teams, and wellness practitioners who need to brainstorm ideas, create content, conduct data analysis, review notes, improve sales scripts, and track wellness progress without compromising data privacy.
Sanctum pricing
Pricing model: Free
Sanctum offers a freemium model with two plans. The Free Base plan includes: Sanctum Vault (encrypted database), unlimited chats, unlimited accounts, bookmarks, and models like Llama-2-7B and Mistral-7B. The Pro plan is $96 billed annually ($8/month with 20% discount) and includes everything in Base plus: file uploads, chat search, early access to new features and models, and access to custom trained models (forthcoming). Pro plan includes a 3-day free trial. Users can upgrade to Pro or switch back to Base at any time. Payment accepted via major credit cards through Stripe.
Sanctum pros
- Fully private - data never leaves your device
- No internet connection required after model download
- AES-256 encryption for Sanctum Vault
- Unlimited chats with no restrictions
- Unlimited accounts supported
- Easy setup with no complicated installs
- AI Matching Engine for frictionless model switching
- HuggingFace integration for thousands of GGUF models
- Chat with PDFs, DOCX, TXT, and code files privately
- Chat Viewer Mode highlights relevant document sections
- Works on Mac (M1/M2/M3, Intel) and Windows 10+
- File Manager for effortless document management
- Import data from Evernote and ChatGPT integrations
- 3-day free trial for Pro plan
- Regular app updates for both Base and Pro users
- No email required - just username and password
- Recovery phrase for account password recovery
- Model compatibility checker with green checkmarks
- Shows RAM requirements, disk space, and popularity metrics
- Local API server for AI models available
Sanctum cons
- Requires 16GB RAM minimum (8GB may work with smaller models)
- Needs significant storage space for AI models
- Windows requires CPU with AVX2 instruction set support
- Windows GPU needs 6GB VRAM with CUDA 11+ for best performance
- Linux support not yet available
- Intel Mac support being discontinued
- No cloud backup - data only stored locally
- Custom trained models still forthcoming
- Limited compared to cloud AI services in features
- May have performance issues on 8GB RAM devices
Frequently asked questions about Sanctum
What is Sanctum?
Sanctum is a private AI tool that brings the power of generative AI to your desktop. It enables you to download and run full-featured open-source LLMs directly on your device. Your data is encrypted, secure, and never leaves your Sanctum.
What operating systems does Sanctum support?
Sanctum supports MacOS 12+ and Windows 10+. Linux support is coming soon. For Mac, any Apple Silicon chip is recommended, though selected Intel Macs can run it (support being discontinued). Windows requires CPU with AVX2 instruction set support.
What is a Sanctum Vault?
A Sanctum Vault is a secure and local repository for your data. All data within it is encrypted using AES-256 encryption algorithm, ensuring privacy and exclusive access by you. The Vault is stored locally on your device, so your data never leaves it. It can only be accessed with your account password.
Does Sanctum require an internet connection?
Sanctum is designed to work fully offline. The only part requiring internet is when downloading new models. All other features, including AI interactions and chat conversations, work seamlessly without being connected to the internet.
Will Sanctum share my data with anyone?
No. Sanctum takes privacy seriously and will never share any of your data without your explicit permission. Your data is not connected to the internet, and Sanctum does not require or track personal information like emails or phone numbers. All chat conversations are stored in the encrypted Sanctum Vault which Sanctum does not have access to.
What document formats can I chat with in Sanctum?
Sanctum supports popular document formats including PDFs, DOCX, TXT, and code files (HTML, JS, CSS, etc.). You can import these documents and use AI to analyze, summarize, ask questions, and get precise answers completely locally and privately.
What are the system requirements for Sanctum?
For optimal performance, Sanctum recommends 16GB RAM or higher. You may be able to use it with 8GB RAM using smaller models and modest context sizes, but this may cause performance issues. MacOS requires MacOS 12 or newer. Windows requires CPU supporting AVX2 instruction set and optionally a dedicated GPU with at least 6GB VRAM supporting CUDA 11 or newer (CUDA v12 recommended).
How do I download models in Sanctum?
During onboarding, you can download a model from recommended models list. If skipped, you can later download models on the Models page. Visit Models > Featured for top picks from the team, or Models > Explore to browse all GGUF models available through Hugging Face integration. The app automatically marks compatible models with green checkmarks and shows RAM requirements, disk space, and popularity metrics.
How do I create a Sanctum account?
Setting up an account is quick with no email required - just a username and password. First, generate and save your recovery phrase to recover your account if you forget your password. Then set up a secure password and pick a username to personalize your Sanctum experience.
What can I use Sanctum for?
With Sanctum, you can analyze personal health data, create content, brainstorm ideas and solutions, conduct data analysis, review call notes, analyze private financial data, collaborate on code development, analyze user feedback, improve sales scripts, and track wellness progress. You can also summarize documents, get insights on personal finance, simplify legal documents, improve writing, get coding assistance, and search specific information in your documents.