What it does Vane wraps web search (via SearxNG), document uploads, and multiple LLM providers into a single interface that answers questions with cited sources. It runs locally through Docker, supports Ollama for local models, and plugs into OpenAI, Claude, Groq, and others when you need more horsepower. You can search the web, limit queries to specific domains, upload PDFs and images, or browse a “Discover” feed of trending content.

The interesting bit The project is essentially a well-integrated glue layer: it pairs SearxNG’s privacy-respecting metasearch with LLM synthesis, then adds quality-of-life features like widgets (weather, stocks, calculations) and three search modes (Speed, Balanced, Quality). The Docker image bundles both Vane and SearxNG, so the “self-hosted” promise requires only one command—not a weekend of plumbing.

Key highlights

• Citation-first answers: Every response includes sourced references, not just confident prose.
• Model flexibility: Mix local LLMs (Ollama) with cloud providers; no vendor lock-in.
• Domain-specific search: Restrict queries to technical docs or academic papers when you know where the answer lives.
• File Q&A: Upload PDFs, text, or images and query their contents directly.
• Browser integration: Add http://localhost:3000/?q=%s as a custom search engine to replace Google entirely.

Caveats

• SearxNG dependency: The default setup requires a working SearxNG instance with JSON format and Wolfram Alpha enabled; misconfigure this and Vane goes quiet.
• Ollama networking gotchas: Docker-to-Ollama connections need OS-specific URLs (host.docker.internal on Windows/Mac, private IP on Linux), which trips up enough users to merit a dedicated troubleshooting section.
• No authentication yet: Listed as an upcoming feature; currently anyone on your network can access the instance.

Verdict Worth a spin if you want Perplexity-style answers without sending every query to a third party. Skip it if you need enterprise-grade access controls today or if debugging SearxNG configuration sounds like a hobby, not a task.