Dyad
Dyad is a local, open-source AI app builder for Mac and Windows that its README compares to Lovable, v0 and Bolt, but running on your own machine. You download it, bring your own AI API keys, and build with no sign-up and no vendor lock-in. The code is Apache-2.0 except one directory of pro features, which is under the Functional Source License and turns Apache-2.0 two years after each release.
What does Dyad do?
Dyad's README introduces it as "a local, open-source AI app builder" and compares it to Lovable, v0 and Bolt, "but running right on your machine." It lists four points: it is local, "fast, private and no lock-in"; you bring your own keys, using your own AI API keys with no vendor lock-in; it is cross-platform, "easy to run on Mac or Windows"; and there is "no sign-up required. Just download and go."
The README is short. It does not name the model providers it supports, whether it runs local models through Ollama, which framework the generated apps use, or where they deploy; those are on the project's website and are not stated here. What it does state in detail is the licence split described under Key facts.
Key facts
- Licence: everything outside the src/pro directory is Apache-2.0, copyright Dyad Tech. The root LICENSE says content under src/pro is under that directory's own licence.
- src/pro is under the Functional Source License 1.1 with an Apache-2.0 future licence: any purpose except a competing commercial product or service, and each version becomes Apache-2.0 on the second anniversary of its release. The README calls this part "fair-source".
- Local: the app builder runs on your own machine rather than in a hosted service.
- Bring your own AI API keys, with no vendor lock-in, per the README.
- No sign-up required: download and run.
- Platforms: Mac and Windows, per the README.
- Model providers, local-model support, generated framework and deployment targets are not stated in the README.
- Latest tagged release when read: v1.15.0 on 2026-09-11; 21,576 stars on 2026-09-17.
What does it replace, and where does it fall short?
Dyad replaces Lovable, v0 and Bolt for someone who wants the prompt-to-app loop on their own computer, paying the model provider directly with their own key instead of a platform subscription, and keeping the generated code local. It is the pick for a desktop app builder on the open-source alternatives to Lovable page.
Where it falls short: the README says little about what it builds or with which models, so check the website before choosing. There is no Linux build named. The pro features sit under a licence that forbids offering them as a competing commercial product for two years, which matters only if you plan to resell Dyad itself. For a browser-based builder with a backend included, Chef.
How does Dyad run?
Download the app for Mac or Windows from dyad.sh and add your own AI API key. No account is required. The README describes no hosted version and no paid tier; the pro directory is source available under the Functional Source License rather than a paid product.
Who is Dyad for?
A builder who wants Lovable's workflow without a subscription, on a Mac or a Windows PC, with the code on their own disk. A team that needs the generated app hosted with a database from day one should look at Chef.
What limits does the README state?
None stated in the README.
Questions people ask
Is Dyad open source?
Mostly. Everything outside the src/pro directory is Apache-2.0. The src/pro directory is under the Functional Source License 1.1, which the README calls fair-source: use for any purpose except a competing commercial product, becoming Apache-2.0 two years after each release. This site labels Dyad open source and states the split.
Does Dyad need an account?
No. The README says no sign-up is required: download it and go. You supply your own AI API keys instead, and the README says that means no vendor lock-in, since you pay the model provider directly rather than a platform.
Does Dyad run on Linux?
The README names Mac and Windows only, under the heading cross-platform, and does not mention a Linux build. Check the download page on dyad.sh for the current list before planning around it; this page states only what the README says.
How does Dyad compare with Lovable?
Its README makes the comparison itself: an app builder like Lovable, v0 and Bolt, but running on your machine with your own keys. Lovable is a hosted platform with its own hosting and team features. The open-source alternatives to Lovable page compares Dyad with Onlook, Chef and Llama Coder.
Which AI models does Dyad use?
Whichever provider you give it a key for; the README says you bring your own AI API keys but does not list the providers or say whether local models work. The project's website covers that, and this page does not state what the README does not.
Sources
- Dyad README, root LICENSE and src/pro/LICENSE: github.com/dyad-sh/dyad, read 2026-09-17.
Compared with the others
On the open-source alternatives to Lovable page, Dyad is the pick for on your own computer, with your own keys. A desktop app for Mac and Windows whose README compares it to Lovable, v0 and Bolt running locally, with no sign-up and your own API keys.
Also on that page: Onlook for editing the result visually, Chef for a database and sign-in generated too, Llama Coder for small apps from one prompt.
On the open-source alternatives to v0 page, Dyad is the pick for on your own computer, with your own keys. A desktop app for Mac and Windows whose README compares it to Lovable, v0 and Bolt running locally, with no sign-up and your own API keys.
Also on that page: Onlook for editing the result visually, Chef for a database and sign-in generated too, Llama Coder for small apps from one prompt.
On the open-source alternatives to Bolt page, Dyad is the pick for on your own computer, with your own keys. A desktop app for Mac and Windows whose README compares it to Lovable, v0 and Bolt running locally, with no sign-up and your own API keys.
Also on that page: Chef for a database and sign-in generated too, Onlook for editing the result visually, Llama Coder for small apps from one prompt.
More ai app builders
An Apache-2.0 visual-first code editor for building Next.js and Tailwind sites and prototypes with AI, editing the page directly in the browser with a Figma-like interface while the code stays in sync.
An MIT open-source take on Claude Artifacts that generates small apps from one prompt with Llama 3.1 405B on Together AI and previews them in a sandboxed in-browser renderer.
Added September 17, 2026. Every claim above comes from the project's README, LICENSE or model card, read on September 17, 2026, or from the GitHub API on the date shown in the panel. Found an error? Write to reveneau@licheo.com and it is fixed in the next weekly pass. Repository: github.com/dyad-sh/dyad.
Running one of these inside your own environment, with your own data and your own security rules, is the kind of work Reveneau does. Read how a forward deployed engagement works.