The Legendary Clippy Returns as an AI Assistant with Support for Local Language Models

Developer felixrieseberg has unveiled a modern version of the iconic Clippy assistant from Microsoft Office 1997, preserving its original visual style but endowing it with artificial intelligence capabilities. The updated Clippy is capable of working with local language models, including Google Gemma 3, Microsoft Phi-4 Mini, and Qwen3, offering users the functionality of an AI assistant without the need to connect to cloud services.

The project, available for free download on GitHub, is distinguished by its ease of setup and automatic selection of the optimal way to launch AI models. Clippy supports offline operation and is compatible with three major operating systems – Windows, macOS, and Linux (in RPM and Debian formats for the x64 architecture).

This nostalgic project combines the recognizable interface of the late 90s with modern natural language processing technologies, offering an alternative to cloud AI services with an emphasis on local computing and data privacy. The developer emphasizes that the updated Clippy has retained all the charm of the original character, including his characteristic animation and style of interaction with the user.