Ptero
Free, open-source multi-model AI chat platform for developers with local-first chat storage and an OpenAI-compatible API.
At a Glance
About Ptero
Ptero is a free AI chat platform aimed at developers, students, and creators, with an open-source repository maintained under the Ptero-ai GitHub organization. It lets users chat with several hosted language models from one browser interface without creating an account. The site states that it is free and that it does not offer paid plans. At the time of crawling, the homepage displayed a maintenance notice and stated that chat was temporarily disabled by the site administrator.
What It Is
Ptero is a browser-based, multi-model AI chat service. Users pick a display name, choose a model from a selector, and start chatting. Modes include Smart (Auto), Fast Task, Complex, Quick Answer, Full Output and Agent Mode. Starter prompts cover writing emails, explaining topics, debugging code and analyzing files. Users can attach files and images, and a project-creation menu offers websites, web apps, mobile apps, Android APKs and scripts.
Privacy and Storage Model
Conversations are stored in the browser's local storage rather than on Ptero's servers. Messages pass through the server to the selected third-party provider to generate a reply. Chats filed inside a Project, along with project files, are the exception: they are stored in the cloud and tied to a GitHub or WordPress login. Inactive project files are deleted after 90 days. Backups of chats can be exported and imported as JSON.
Models and Developer API
The model list includes Ling 3.0 Flash, Deepseek v4.1 Flash, Atria-Dawn-Preview, Agnes 2.5 and 3.0 Flash, Claude Haiku 5.5, Laguna S 2.1 and Apodex 1.1 Mini. Apodex 1.1 Mini is unlocked by starring the GitHub repository. The README also names DeepSeek, Llama, Qwen, MiniMax and Mistral. A developer API offers OpenAI-compatible /chat/completions, /responses and /models endpoints under the site's wp-json path. It supports Bearer or X-API-Key authentication, streaming via Server-Sent Events, and a mode parameter. API keys require GitHub verification. An MCP server integration, currently in beta, lets users connect their own MCP servers and select tools for chat.
Deployment
Ptero is built with PHP, JavaScript, HTML and CSS, and it can run as a WordPress plugin. The README describes embedding the chat interface with the [mlp_ai_chat] shortcode. The README names the GPL v2 license, while the repository metadata and license file show Apache-2.0.
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Pricing
Free
Completely free AI chat platform with no paid plans; open source under Apache-2.0 per the GitHub license (the README states GPL v2 or later).
- Access to multiple AI models at no cost
- No signup required; chats stored locally in the browser
- Projects and media library
- Self-hostable open-source code (Apache-2.0 per LICENSE file; README states GPL v2 or later)
- Some models may require starring the GitHub repository to unlock
Capabilities
Key Features
- Multi-model AI chat with one-click model switching
- No signup required for guest use
- Local-first chat storage in the browser
- Projects with cloud-stored chats and custom files
- Media library and file/image uploads
- Work modes: Smart, Fast, Complex, Quick, Full, Agent
- OpenAI-compatible chat completions and responses API with streaming
- MCP server connections (beta)
- Chat export and import backups
- Embeddable WordPress plugin with shortcode
- Multilingual interface