Everything you need
to get started.

Two ways to work

Portable Offline AI uses models stored on the drive. Portable AI uses online services you connect. Online requests need internet; offline work needs no internet after engine setup. If an online model fails, the app tries another service, then falls back to the models on your drive.

What’s on the drive

• Portable AI for Windows / Mac — the launcher for your computer.
• Materials — your lesson files and generated resources.
• Music — classroom audio stored on the drive.
• Encyclopedia — offline Wikipedia, once downloaded.
• START-HERE.txt — a short getting-started guide.
• The data folder — chats, lessons, settings, and keys.

First launch

1. Plug in the drive. Open the Portable AI launcher for your computer.
2. If blocked on Mac, right-click the launcher and choose Open. On newer macOS, check System Settings → Privacy & Security → Open Anyway. On Windows, review the warning and use More info → Run anyway if you trust the app.
3. Choose Yes when asked to set up the engines. This one-time download needs internet and may take 20–60 minutes on a new kind of computer.
4. Press Let’s start to open the welcome setup.

Make it yours

Enter your name, students’ levels and exams, visual style, and menu layout. The optional one-minute tour points out the app’s main areas. Repeat setup or the tour from Memory.

Every day

Open the correct launcher. When finished, choose Quit Portable AI before ejecting the drive. On Windows, the Mac launcher appears as a folder; use the Windows launcher.

Find your way around

• New chat starts a conversation. Chat history searches titles and messages; Ctrl+K opens it.
• The drive gauge shows free space. Engine status lights show when text and image models are ready.
• The star opens favorites. The bell lists completed or failed jobs.
• Connection status: green means online, red means offline, orange means internet is disabled in the app.
• Settings → Layout places the menu left, right, top, or bottom.

The chat bar

• Model menu — choose Portable AI or Portable Offline AI.
• Speak — voice typing. Picture — attach a photo or screenshot.
• Create image — describe an image to generate.
• Send arrow — submits your request; becomes Stop while the AI replies.

Use a reply in class

When a reply includes an activity, the floating star offers Teach it on the board, Word game, or Live quiz. Drag the star to reposition it.

Remember and organize

Start a message with “Remember that…” to save information for future chats. Search Chat history or organize chats by topic. Deleted chats remain in the Deleted tab for 30 days; use Restore or the immediate Undo action to recover them.

Make a worksheet

1. Open Create, or choose a sheet type in Worksheets.
2. Enter a topic. Choose the level and PDF or Word format.
3. Select Portable AI for connected online services or Portable Offline AI for a local model.
4. Click Create. Continue working while it runs, then open the file from its notification.

What to expect

Finished sheets include a title, instructions, exercises, and an answer key. Some types are built instantly from local word lists and texts; AI-written sheets take longer. If all models fail, open the error notification, change the model or wording, and choose Try again.

Grammar

Find rules, forms, examples, and common mistakes. Teach a topic on the board, create a worksheet or live quiz, or save it to Favorites.

Writing

Explore emails, essays, reviews, stories, and reports, with model texts, useful language, and plans. Show a model on the board or make a writing task.

Reading

Choose a level and graded text with questions. Reading questions link to supporting sentences, so students can show the evidence on the board.

Speaking

Use discussion topics, picture prompts, role-plays, and useful phrases for pair or group work.

Start and resume

1. Open a topic and choose Teach on the board.
2. Move with Next, Back, or the arrow keys.
3. Press Esc or close the player. Your place is saved.
4. Open Lessons taught and choose Resume to continue.

Show evidence in reading

Choose an answer, then click the sentence that proves it. The correct sentence lights up and confirms the answer. Expand the text to fill the screen.

Annotate your lesson

• Pen — draw or write freehand.
• Highlighter — mark words. Note — add a typed sticky note.
• Eraser — remove marks. Colours — change pen and highlighter colors.
• Undo — take back your last mark. Steps, drawings, highlights, and notes save automatically.

Host a live quiz

1. Connect students’ phones and your computer to the same Wi-Fi.
2. Open Live and choose a quiz, or create one from a grammar topic.
3. Click Host. Show the join address and code on the board.
4. Students open the address, enter the code and their name, and join the lobby.
5. Click Start. Questions, timers, answers, and the leaderboard update live.

Word games

1. Open Word games → New set. Add words with clues or meanings, or make a set from a topic.
2. Open the set and choose a game.
3. Play on the board with the class or teams.

Dictionary & encyclopedia

The dictionary works offline and includes meanings, parts of speech, pronunciation, examples, and related words. Ask for more examples or save a word. Download the offline encyclopedia, search an article, and send it to chat to simplify it for your level.

Materials & music

Materials gathers generated files and resources you add. Open, preview, or show them on the board. Music plays classroom audio stored on the drive.

Images & models

Describe images for flashcards, story prompts, or slides; the local image model generates them on your computer. Models shows your offline models, their sizes, and the jobs that use them.

Connect a service

1. Open Settings → Online AI models.
2. Choose a service and Get a key. Sign in on that service’s website and create an API key.
3. Paste the key into the app and click Connect. The app tests the key and confirms the connection.

Availability & credit

Supported services described in the guide include Gemini, Groq, OpenRouter, Mistral, Cerebras, and OpenAI. Service limits, free tiers, and pricing can change; check with the provider. OpenAI requires API credit separately from a ChatGPT subscription.

Check models

If a service reports a key, credit, or quota issue, click Check models. The app tests models and retains those that work with your key. Online fallback tries another connected service, then your offline models.

Control internet access

The network panel’s Internet in Portable AI switch turns off internet for this app. Jobs then use offline AI; your computer’s Wi-Fi remains available to other apps.

Keys

The guide describes keys as encrypted on the drive and sent only to their service. Error messages remove keys, phone access cannot manage them, and Disconnect deletes a key from the drive. Online AI requests are sent to the service you connect.

Notifications & favorites

The bell lists finished and failed jobs. Open a file or retry a task from its notification. Mute suppresses pop-ups during a lesson while notifications continue to collect. Use stars to save topics, chats, and words to Favorites.

Use your phone

1. In Settings → Phone access, turn access on.
2. Connect the phone or tablet to the same Wi-Fi as the computer.
3. Open the displayed address and enter the access code.
4. Turn access off when finished. Key management remains on the computer.

Back up your work

Copy the whole drive to back up chats, files, lessons, favorites, and settings. Keep the backup somewhere secure.

The app won’t open

Use the correct Windows or Mac launcher from the drive. Review platform security prompts and close any other running copy.

It feels slow

Offline speed depends on your computer’s memory and processor. Close heavy programs or use a connected online service.

A job failed

Open its error notification, change the model or request, and choose Try again.

Wrong key, no credit, or a limit reached

Open Settings → Online AI models. Replace the key or choose Check models. Check credit and quota with the provider.

Online but the app shows offline

Open the network panel and check whether Internet in Portable AI is disabled.

Unexpected formatting

Update to the latest build if replies show stray symbols or formatting.

I deleted a chat

Open Chat history → Deleted → Restore. Deleted chats remain for 30 days.

What can phones access?

According to the guide, students see only what you open for them behind an access code. Phones cannot manage API keys.