Show HN: Pulse Local, a Mac budgeting app whose AI models run on your machine

Re:Show HN: Pulse Local, a Mac budgeting app whose AI models... by altmanaltman on Tuesday October 13, 2026 @08:33PM (#50080911)

I use budgeting apps on a daily basis, and I'll just share my personal feedback: I'm absolutely not downloading ~3 gigs for a budget app. Everything I need to "ask" the app is already available to me in the form of reports, charts, and tables. I don't really have many open-ended questions about my budget because anything important to track is already handled deterministically.

Also yes, it's local but the data you're importing is already with a private organization on the cloud. In that sense, having a local copy of it does not really do anything for me in terms of privacy etc.

As I said, I use budgeting apps daily (one for personal use (self-made), another for business (very old freenium era software that has not failed me in the last 5+ years of self-hosting it)) and I do not see any need for generative AI in that workflow from my pov. YMMV

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Re:Show HN: Pulse Local, a Mac budgeting app whose AI models... by niztk on Tuesday October 13, 2026 @08:43PM (#50080980)

Thanks for the feedback and describing your budgeting routine and needs. Just to add that the 2.5G checker can be switched off in Settings. The reader is only a small tuned 0.6B model (397 MB).

Chat is optional, the app is a complete and free budgeting app (reports, rules, money flow, forecast etc.). As for privacy, "local" usually means your data not your questions, sure the banks hold the transactions but your questions and analysis shouldn't go to the cloud hence this project.

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Re:Show HN: Pulse Local, a Mac budgeting app whose AI models... by lathiat on Tuesday October 13, 2026 @08:51PM (#50081037)

Why not leverage Apple Foundational models?

Downloads will already be on the machine.

https://developer.apple.com/documentation/foundationmodels

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Re:Show HN: Pulse Local, a Mac budgeting app whose AI models... by niztk on Tuesday October 13, 2026 @08:55PM (#50081062)

I've tried, they were really bad for this use case.

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Re:Show HN: Pulse Local, a Mac budgeting app whose AI models... by post-it on Tuesday October 13, 2026 @08:37PM (#50080942)

> Also yes, it's local but the data you're importing is already with a private organization on the cloud. In that sense, having a local copy of it does not really do anything for me in terms of privacy etc.

I'm not sure what you mean? Surely processing on your computer instead of Anthropic's computer is a significant privacy improvement?

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