Everything you need to run Refinix.

What you need

A computer you control

Windows, macOS or Linux. The work happens locally, so a machine with more memory answers faster.

A local model engine

Refinix talks to an engine on your own machine over 127.0.0.1 — Ollama on its default port is the usual choice. Refinix does not ship the model; you choose it.

At least one open-weight model

Any chat model the engine has pulled. Smaller models answer faster; larger ones answer better. You can switch at any time.

No internet connection

Not a requirement — the point. Once the model is on the machine, Refinix works with the network unplugged.

First run

1. Get the build Download it from the download section and check it against the published checksum. Refinix is Apache-2.0, so you can also build it from source.
2. Open Refinix and let it look around On first launch it checks this computer for a model engine and reports what it found. The line at the bottom-left of the window is the short version — Ready on this computer means the engine answered and a model is installed.
3. Check the engine in Settings Open Settings from the bottom of the sidebar. AI engine and model names the engine it reached, the model in use and any others available. If it says the engine did not answer, start the engine and press Re-check now.
4. Ask your first question Go back to Chat, type into the box at the bottom and press Enter. The first answer from a cold model is always the slowest — it has to be loaded into memory before it can reply.

The window

Refinix is one window in three columns. Both side columns fold away with the two buttons at either end of the header, so the conversation can have the whole width when you want it to.

The round button in the header switches between light and dark. The icon shows the theme that is on — a moon and star while dark, a sun and cloud while light — and the choice is remembered.

Chatting

Type into the box at the bottom and press Enter to send. Shift + Enter starts a new line instead, so you can write a paragraph without sending it half-finished.

• While it is working the mark beside the box turns and the header says the request is running. A Stop button appears next to Send — pressing it ends that reply and keeps everything already written.
• The model button at the bottom-right of the box names the model answering. Click it to switch to another model the engine has installed.
• Scrolled up mid-answer? A small arrow appears over the conversation; click it to jump back to the newest text. Refinix will not yank the view down while you are reading.
• Your draft is kept. If you type something and switch conversations, the half-written message is still there when you come back.

Managing conversations

The sidebar lists every conversation on this computer, newest first.

• + New conversation sits at the top of the list, above your history, so starting fresh never means scrolling.
• The magnifier beside the word Conversations opens a search box. It searches titles and message text; closing it puts the full list back.
• The … on a row opens the actions for that conversation — renaming and pinning among them.

Files and documents

The + button at the bottom-left of the message box attaches files to a request, or picks a document skill. You can also drag files onto the message box.

Reads today

txt, md, csv, json as plain text, and docx Word documents.

Writes today

docx.

Per request

Up to 10 files, 20 MB each.

Searching documents

Keyword search — it matches the words you type, not their meaning. No embedding model is installed, and the product labels this rather than implying more.

Changing code

The Code surface edits files in a project folder you choose. The order is always the same: pick the folder, pick the files that may change, describe the change, then read the diff.

1. Choose a project Choose project above the message box picks the folder. Nothing outside it is ever read or written.
2. Select the files Use + to pick the files that are allowed to change. Refinix sends the minimum set — not the repository.
3. Describe the change and press Propose You are asking for a proposal, not an edit.
4. Read the complete diff, then approve Every line that would change is shown before anything is written to disk. Nothing is saved until you say so.

How much it remembers

A model can only consider so much text at once. That budget is the context window, and Refinix divides it between the conversation it sends and the room it leaves for the reply. You can see the exact split in Settings → Advanced → Conversation limits, drawn as a single bar.

• When a conversation gets long, older complete exchanges are left out of the next request so it still fits.
• Your saved history is never changed. Leaving an exchange out of one request does not delete it — scroll up and it is still there.
• The meter beside + shows how full the current request is, so a long conversation is visible before it becomes a surprise.

Settings and Advanced

Settings answers one question per card: is this computer ready, is the engine ready, is anything else connected, and is anything running right now.

Advanced is collapsed by default and nothing in it is needed for ordinary use. It opens with three charts of what this computer has actually been doing — how long replies take, which hours it was busy, and how requests ended — followed by the engine address, model settings, the token window, addresses and the recent job record.

Not in this build

PDF files

Not read. A reviewed PDF text adapter has not landed yet.

Scans and photographs of text

Not read. There is no OCR in this build, and Refinix will not guess at words in a picture.

Meaning-based document search

Not available — search matches words, not meaning.

Creating, deleting or renaming files

Not available on the Code surface in any access mode.

Running commands, Git, installing packages

Not available.

Sharing work with another computer

Pairing is shown in Settings but no worker is paired yet.

Common questions