Installation

Complete platform-specific installation instructions for Jan, including system requirements, GPU acceleration setup, and troubleshooting.

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Windows Installation

System Requirements

Operating System:

Windows 10 or higher

CPU:

Intel: Haswell (Q2 2013) or newer
Intel Celeron/Pentium: Tiger Lake (Q3 2020) or newer
AMD: Excavator (Q2 2015) or newer

Processor must support AVX2 or newer. See full list of supported processors. Performance is significantly degraded on AVX-only processors.

Memory (RAM):

8GB → up to 3B parameter models (int4)
16GB → up to 7B parameter models (int4)
32GB → up to 13B parameter models (int4)

Newer RAM generations (DDR4, DDR5) provide better performance.

GPU (Optional but Recommended):

6GB VRAM → up to 3B parameter models
8GB VRAM → up to 7B parameter models
12GB VRAM → up to 13B parameter models

Supported GPUs:

NVIDIA (CUDA 11.7+)
AMD (Vulkan)
Intel Arc (Vulkan)

Storage:

10GB minimum free space for app and models

Installation Steps

Download Jan

Choose your release channel:Stable Release (Recommended):

Download jan.exe
Official website: jan.ai/download
Microsoft Store: Get Jan

Beta Release:

Download Beta
Contains newer features but may be unstable

Nightly Release:

Download Nightly
Development build with latest features (unstable)

Install Jan

Run the downloaded jan.exe file
Follow the installation wizard
Wait for installation to complete
Launch Jan from the Start menu or desktop shortcut

Configure GPU Acceleration (Optional)

For significantly better performance, enable GPU acceleration:NVIDIA GPU Setup:

Install NVIDIA Driver (version 470.63.01 or higher)
- Download from NVIDIA Drivers
- Verify installation:
  nvidia-smi
Install CUDA Toolkit (version 11.7 or higher)
- Download from CUDA Toolkit
- Verify installation:
  nvcc --version
Enable in Jan:
- Open Jan
- Go to Settings → Hardware → GPUs
- Toggle GPU acceleration ON

AMD or Intel Arc GPU Setup:

Ensure latest GPU drivers are installed
Vulkan support is required (usually included with drivers)
Enable in Jan:
- Open Jan
- Go to Settings → Hardware → GPUs
- Toggle GPU acceleration ON

Data Folder Location

Jan stores all data in:

C:\Users\<YourUsername>\AppData\Roaming\Jan\data

This includes:

Downloaded models
Chat history
Settings and preferences
Extensions and plugins

Jan Data Folder Guide

Complete folder structure and customization options.

Uninstalling Jan

Remove Application

Open Control Panel
Go to Programs → Uninstall a program
Find Jan in the list
Right-click → Uninstall
Confirm the uninstallation

Clean Up Data (Optional)

Remove all app data and settings:Via File Explorer:

Press Win + R
Type %APPDATA% and press Enter
Delete the Jan folder

Via Command Line:

cd %APPDATA%
rmdir /S Jan

This permanently deletes all chat history, downloaded models, and settings. Back up important data first.

macOS Installation

Jan runs natively on both Apple Silicon and Intel-based Macs.

System Requirements

Operating System:

macOS 13.6 (Ventura) or higher

Memory (RAM):

8GB → up to 3B parameter models
16GB → up to 7B parameter models
32GB → up to 13B parameter models

Storage:

10GB+ free space for app and models

Processor:

Apple Silicon (M1/M2/M3): Metal acceleration enabled by default (recommended)
Intel-based Mac: CPU processing only (slower)

Apple Silicon Macs use Metal for GPU acceleration, making them significantly faster than Intel-based Macs which operate on CPU only.

To check your Mac’s processor:

Click Apple menu () → About This Mac
Look for “Chip” (Apple Silicon) or “Processor” (Intel)

Installation Steps

Download Jan

Choose your release channel:Stable Release (Recommended):

Download jan.dmg
Official website: jan.ai/download

Beta Release:

Download Beta
Contains newer features but may have bugs

Nightly Release:

Download Nightly
Latest features, less stable

The universal build works on both Apple Silicon and Intel Macs.

Install Jan

Open the downloaded jan.dmg file
Drag the Jan icon to the Applications folder
Wait for the copy to complete
Open Applications and launch Jan

If macOS shows a security warning, go to System Preferences → Security & Privacy and click Open Anyway.

GPU Acceleration

Apple Silicon (M1/M2/M3):

Metal acceleration is automatic
No configuration needed
Significantly faster than CPU-only

Intel-based Mac:

Runs on CPU only
No GPU acceleration available
Still works but slower for larger models

Data Folder Location

Jan stores all data in:

~/Library/Application Support/Jan/data

This includes:

Downloaded models
Chat history
Settings and preferences
Extensions and plugins

Jan Data Folder Guide

Complete folder structure and customization options.

Uninstalling Jan

Remove Application

Close Jan if it’s running
Open Finder
Go to Applications
Find Jan
Choose one:
- Drag to Trash
- Right-click → Move to Trash
- Select and press Command-Delete
Empty the Trash

Clean Up Data (Optional)

Remove all app data and settings:

rm -rf ~/Library/Application\ Support/Jan

This permanently deletes all chat history, downloaded models, and settings. Back up important data first.

Linux Installation

System Requirements

Supported Distributions:Debian-based (supports .deb and AppImage):

Ubuntu Desktop LTS
Linux Mint
Pop!_OS
Debian
Kubuntu, Lubuntu, Xubuntu

RHEL-based (supports .rpm and AppImage):

Fedora
RHEL (server only)

Arch-based:

Arch Linux
SteamOS

Independent:

openSUSE

CPU:

Intel Haswell (Q2 2013) or newer
Intel Celeron/Pentium: Tiger Lake (Q3 2020) or newer
AMD Excavator (Q2 2015) or newer

CPU must support AVX2. See supported processors.

Memory (RAM):

8GB → up to 3B parameter models (int4)
16GB → up to 7B parameter models (int4)
32GB → up to 13B parameter models (int4)

GPU (Optional):

6GB VRAM → up to 3B parameter models
8GB VRAM → up to 7B parameter models
12GB VRAM → up to 13B parameter models

Supported:

NVIDIA (CUDA 11.7+)
AMD (Vulkan)
Intel Arc (Vulkan)

Storage:

10GB+ free disk space

Installation Steps

Download Jan

Choose your distribution and release channel:Stable Release (Recommended):Ubuntu/Debian:

wget https://app.jan.ai/download/latest/linux-amd64-deb -O jan.deb

Other distributions (AppImage):

wget https://app.jan.ai/download/latest/linux-amd64-appimage -O jan.AppImage

Flathub:

flatpak install flathub ai.jan.Jan

Beta Release:

Ubuntu/Debian: jan.deb
Others: Jan.AppImage

Nightly Release:

Ubuntu/Debian: jan.deb
Others: Jan.AppImage

Install Jan

Ubuntu/Debian (.deb):Using dpkg:

sudo dpkg -i jan.deb

Using apt-get (recommended - handles dependencies):

sudo apt-get install ./jan.deb

Launch:

jan

Other Distributions (AppImage):

# Make executable
chmod +x jan.AppImage

# Run
./jan.AppImage

Flathub:

flatpak run ai.jan.Jan

Configure GPU Acceleration (Optional)

NVIDIA GPU Setup:

Check GPU Detection:
```
lspci | grep -i nvidia
```

Install NVIDIA Driver:

# Ubuntu/Debian
sudo apt update
sudo apt install nvidia-driver-XXX

# Fedora
sudo dnf install akmod-nvidia

# Arch
sudo pacman -S nvidia nvidia-utils

Verify:

nvidia-smi

Install CUDA Toolkit (11.7 or higher):

# Ubuntu/Debian
sudo apt install nvidia-cuda-toolkit

# Verify
nvcc --version

Install Additional Dependencies:

sudo apt install gcc-11 g++-11 cpp-11
export LD_LIBRARY_PATH=$LD_LIBRARY_PATH:/usr/local/cuda/lib64

Enable in Jan:
- Open Jan
- Go to Settings → Local Engine → Llama.cpp
- Select CUDA backend (better performance than Vulkan)

CUDA offers significantly better performance than Vulkan for NVIDIA GPUs.

AMD or Intel Arc GPU Setup:

Ensure latest GPU drivers are installed
Verify Vulkan support:
```
vulkaninfo | grep "GPU"
```
Enable in Jan:
- Open Jan
- Go to Settings → Hardware → GPUs
- Toggle GPU acceleration ON
- Select Vulkan backend in Settings → Local Engine → Llama.cpp

Data Folder Location

Jan stores all data in:

# Default location
~/.config/Jan/data

# Or if XDG_CONFIG_HOME is set
$XDG_CONFIG_HOME/Jan/data

This includes:

Downloaded models
Chat history
Settings and preferences
Extensions and plugins

Jan Data Folder Guide

Complete folder structure and customization options.

Uninstalling Jan

Ubuntu/Debian (.deb):

# Remove application
sudo apt-get remove jan

# Remove all data
rm -rf ~/.config/Jan

AppImage:

# Remove application
rm jan.AppImage

# Remove all data
rm -rf ~/.config/Jan

Flathub:

# Remove application
flatpak uninstall ai.jan.Jan

# Remove all data
rm -rf ~/.var/app/ai.jan.Jan

These commands permanently delete all chat history, downloaded models, and settings. Back up important data first.

Building from Source

For developers who want to build Jan from source:

Prerequisites

Node.js ≥ 20.0.0
Yarn ≥ 1.22.0
Make ≥ 3.81
Rust (for Tauri)

Quick Build with Make

# Clone repository
git clone https://github.com/janhq/jan
cd jan

# Full development setup and launch
make dev

This handles everything: installs dependencies, builds core components, and launches the app. Available Make Targets:

make dev - Full development setup and launch
make build - Production build
make test - Run tests and linting
make clean - Delete everything and start fresh

Manual Build Commands

If you prefer manual control:

# Install dependencies
yarn install

# Build Tauri plugin API
yarn build:tauri:plugin:api

# Build core components
yarn build:core

# Build extensions
yarn build:extensions

# Launch development server
yarn dev

Platform-Specific Builds

Windows:

yarn build:tauri:win32

macOS:

yarn build:tauri:darwin

Linux:

yarn build:tauri:linux

Contributing Guide

Complete guide for contributing to Jan’s development.

Troubleshooting

GPU Not Detected

NVIDIA:

Verify driver installation: nvidia-smi
Check CUDA installation: nvcc --version
Ensure CUDA 11.7 or higher is installed
Restart Jan after installing drivers

AMD/Intel:

Verify Vulkan support: vulkaninfo
Update GPU drivers to the latest version
Enable Vulkan backend in Settings

Apple Silicon:

Metal acceleration is automatic
No configuration needed
If issues persist, try reinstalling Jan

Installation Fails

Windows:

Run installer as Administrator
Disable antivirus temporarily
Check Windows Defender exclusions

macOS:

Allow app in Security & Privacy settings
Right-click Jan → Open (first launch)
Check that macOS version is 13.6+

Linux:

Install missing dependencies:

sudo apt install libfuse2  # For AppImage

Check file permissions:
```
chmod +x jan.AppImage
```

Performance Issues

Enable GPU acceleration (Settings → Hardware)
Use smaller models (3B-7B instead of 13B+)
Lower quantization (Q4 instead of Q8)
Close other applications to free up RAM/VRAM
Check system resources (Task Manager / Activity Monitor)

App Won’t Launch

Windows:

# Check if process is running
tasklist | findstr jan

# Kill stuck process
taskkill /F /IM jan.exe

macOS/Linux:

# Check if process is running
ps aux | grep jan

# Kill stuck process
killall jan

Data Folder Issues

If you need to move or reset your data folder:

Close Jan
Back up existing data folder
Delete the folder (see locations above)
Restart Jan (creates fresh folder)
Restore backed-up models/chats if needed

Full Troubleshooting Guide

Comprehensive troubleshooting documentation for all platforms.

Getting Help

If you encounter issues during installation:

Check Troubleshooting Docs: jan.ai/docs/desktop/troubleshooting
Search GitHub Issues: github.com/janhq/jan/issues
Ask in Discord: Join #🆘|jan-help channel
Report Bugs: Create new issue

When reporting issues, include:

Operating system and version
Jan version (Help → About)
Hardware specs (CPU, RAM, GPU)
Complete error messages
Steps to reproduce

Next Steps

Quickstart Guide

Get from installation to your first chat in minutes.

Model Parameters

Learn how to fine-tune model behavior.

MCP Integration

Enable agentic capabilities with tools and integrations.

API Reference

Build integrations with Jan’s OpenAI-compatible API.

Get Started

Desktop App

Features

Integrations

​Installation

​Windows Installation

​System Requirements

​Installation Steps

​Data Folder Location

Jan Data Folder Guide

​Uninstalling Jan

​macOS Installation

​System Requirements

​Installation Steps

​Data Folder Location

Jan Data Folder Guide

​Uninstalling Jan

​Linux Installation

​System Requirements

​Installation Steps

​Data Folder Location

Jan Data Folder Guide

​Uninstalling Jan

​Building from Source

​Prerequisites

​Quick Build with Make

​Manual Build Commands

​Platform-Specific Builds

Contributing Guide

​Troubleshooting

​GPU Not Detected

​Installation Fails

​Performance Issues

​App Won’t Launch

​Data Folder Issues

Full Troubleshooting Guide

​Getting Help

​Next Steps

Quickstart Guide

Model Parameters

MCP Integration

API Reference

Build docs developers (and LLMs) love

Installation

Windows Installation

System Requirements

Installation Steps

Data Folder Location

Uninstalling Jan

macOS Installation

System Requirements

Installation Steps

Data Folder Location

Uninstalling Jan

Linux Installation

System Requirements

Installation Steps

Data Folder Location

Uninstalling Jan

Building from Source

Prerequisites

Quick Build with Make

Manual Build Commands

Platform-Specific Builds

Troubleshooting

GPU Not Detected

Installation Fails

Performance Issues

App Won’t Launch

Data Folder Issues

Getting Help

Next Steps