Lovable and v0 are slick, but Dyad runs on your machine instead

What it does

Dyad is a desktop AI app builder that runs locally on Mac or Windows. You supply your own API keys and generate applications without creating an account or uploading code to a hosted service. The README is light on implementation details, but the project pitches itself as a self-controlled counterpart to tools like Lovable, v0, and Bolt.

The interesting bit

The repo wears its licensing split on its sleeve: everything outside src/pro is Apache 2.0, while the src/pro directory is “fair-source” under the Functional Source License. That is a transparent way to fence off premium features, though it means the codebase is not uniformly open. Also, “no sign-up required” is almost rebellious in a category obsessed with SaaS onboarding funnels.

Key highlights

• Runs locally with your own API keys — no vendor lock-in, no account required.
• Cross-platform desktop app for Mac and Windows.
• No sign-up needed to download.
• 20,803 GitHub stars and a Reddit community at r/dyadbuilders.
• Core is Apache 2.0; the src/pro directory is fair-source under FSL 1.1.

Caveats

• The README is essentially a landing page: it never explains the build workflow, output format, or target frameworks.
• Linux is not listed as a supported platform.
• The fair-source src/pro directory means the complete feature set is not uniformly open-source.

Verdict

Developers who want an AI app builder but refuse to hand their API keys or source code to a cloud service should look here. If you need thorough documentation, a Linux build, or a fully open-source codebase without proprietary carve-outs, this is still a wait-and-see.