Study Buddy AI

🎓 An open-source AI personal tutor that runs locally on your computer

Based on Llama Tutor by @nutlope

About

Study Buddy is a desktop application that provides personalized AI tutoring without requiring internet access, accounts, or risking API abuse. It's a fork of the excellent Llama Tutor project, enhanced with:

• 🔌 Provider-agnostic architecture - Use Ollama (local), OpenAI, Together AI, or others
• 🖥️ Desktop application - Runs securely on your computer via Electron
• 🔒 Privacy-first - Default local mode means your data never leaves your device
• 💰 Free to use - No API costs with local Ollama mode
• 🎯 Student-focused - Simple interface designed for learners

Features

• 📚 Generate comprehensive tutorials on any topic
• 🔍 Smart search integration for enriched content
• 💬 Interactive chat for follow-up questions
• 🎨 Clean, intuitive interface
• 📱 Works offline after initial setup
• ⚡ Fast local inference with Ollama

Installation

Prerequisites

• Node.js 18+ installed
• (Optional) Ollama for local AI - recommended for students

Quick Start

1. Download the latest release from the Releases page

   • Windows: StudyBuddy-Setup-x.x.x.exe
   • macOS: StudyBuddy-x.x.x.dmg
   • Linux: StudyBuddy-x.x.x.AppImage

2. Install and run - that's it! Study Buddy will use Ollama if installed, or prompt for API configuration.

Development Setup

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/michael-borck/study-buddy.git
cd study-buddy

# Install dependencies
npm install

# Run in development mode
npm run electron-dev

# Build for production
npm run electron-pack

Configuration

AI Providers

Study Buddy supports multiple AI providers. Configure in Settings or via environment variables:

Local (Recommended for Students)

AI_PROVIDER=ollama
# No API key needed! Just install Ollama

OpenAI

AI_PROVIDER=openai
OPENAI_API_KEY=your_api_key_here

Together AI

AI_PROVIDER=together
TOGETHER_API_KEY=your_api_key_here

Adding New Providers

1. Create a new provider in utils/providers/
2. Implement the LLMProvider interface
3. Add to the provider factory in utils/provider-factory.ts

Usage

1. Launch Study Buddy from your Applications/Programs
2. Enter a topic you want to learn about
3. Click "Generate" to create your personalized tutorial
4. Ask follow-up questions in the chat interface
5. Save or export your sessions for later review

For Educators

Study Buddy can be deployed institution-wide:

• Self-hosted option: Deploy the web version on your school's servers
• Managed API keys: Configure with your institution's API keys
• Custom models: Use your preferred AI models
• Usage analytics: Monitor usage with built-in observability

See our Educator's Guide for deployment instructions.

Technical Stack

• Frontend: Next.js 14, React, TypeScript, Tailwind CSS
• Desktop: Electron
• AI Integration: Configurable providers (Ollama, OpenAI, Together AI)
• Search: Tavily API for enriched content
• Analytics: Helicone (optional)
• Database: Supabase (optional, for web deployment)

Contributing

We welcome contributions! Please see our Contributing Guide for details.

# Fork the repo, then:
git clone https://github.com/michael-borck/study-buddy.git
cd study-buddy
npm install
npm run dev

Roadmap

• Additional AI provider support (Anthropic, Cohere, local GGUF)
• Collaborative study sessions
• PDF/Document upload and analysis
• Study progress tracking
• Flashcard generation
• Mobile app (React Native)

Credits

Study Buddy is based on Llama Tutor by Hassan El Mghari (@nutlope). The original project showcased the power of AI in education, and we're building on that foundation to make it accessible to all students.

See our ACKNOWLEDGMENTS.md for a comprehensive list of all the amazing open source projects that make Study Buddy possible.

License

MIT License - see LICENSE file for details.

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Note: This is an independent fork and is not officially associated with the original Llama Tutor project.