piailot:ai

Self-hosted AI chat gateway powered by OpenRouter free models.
Run your own AI assistant on a Raspberry Pi.

$ curl -sSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/LSDLabsHQ/piailot/main/install.sh | bash
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Python 3.11+ · 1GB RAM · MIT License

Features

Multi-user PIN auth

Each user gets a unique 4-digit PIN. No passwords, no accounts, no OAuth. Just a PIN and you're in.

AI skills system

Create custom system prompts that shape AI behaviour. Build skills for coding, writing, translation, analysis -- whatever you need.

Built-in tools

Web search, calculator, and other utilities available to the AI. Attach tools to skills for task-specific capabilities.

Auto-failover

Automatically cycles through free OpenRouter models if one is rate-limited. Always finds a model that works.

Streaming responses

Real-time token streaming via Server-Sent Events. Responses appear as the AI thinks, not after.

Admin panel

Manage users, monitor system health, view model status, and track usage -- all from a web interface.

Lightweight

Runs comfortably on 1GB RAM. Raspberry Pi, cheap VPS, old laptop -- if it runs Python, it runs piailot.

No database required

File-based storage using JSON and Markdown. No PostgreSQL, no Redis, no Docker. Just files on disk.

Terminal aesthetic

Clean, monospace UI with a hacker-friendly feel. Dark theme, green accents, zero bloat.

Get Started

Get an OpenRouter API key

Sign up at openrouter.ai/keys -- free tier gives you access to dozens of AI models at no cost.

Run the installer

One command sets up everything: clones the repo, creates a virtualenv, installs dependencies, configures nginx and systemd.

Open your browser

Navigate to http://your-pi.local and create your first user. That's it -- you're chatting with AI.

pi@raspberry ~
$ curl -sSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/LSDLabsHQ/piailot/main/install.sh | bash

  [+] Python 3.11
  [+] pip3
  [+] nginx
  [+] git

  [*] Cloning repository...
  [*] Installing dependencies...
  [+] Dependencies installed.

  [*] Enabling and starting services...
  [+] Services started.

  +-------------------------------------+
  | |
  | piailot:ai is now running! |
  | |
  +-------------------------------------+

Private Access

piailot binds to 127.0.0.1 by default — it's only accessible on your local network. For secure remote access from anywhere, pair it with Tailscale.

Install Tailscale on your Pi

curl -fsSL https://tailscale.com/install.sh | sh && sudo tailscale up

Install Tailscale on your devices

Add your phone, laptop, or tablet to the same Tailscale network. All free for personal use.

Access from anywhere

Open http://<your-pi-tailscale-name> from any device on your Tailnet. Encrypted, no port forwarding, no exposed services.

pi@raspberry ~
$ sudo tailscale up

  To authenticate, visit:
  https://login.tailscale.com/a/xxxx

  Success.

$ tailscale status
  100.x.x.x  raspberry    linux   -
  100.x.x.x  macbook      macOS   -
  100.x.x.x  iphone       iOS     -
Why Tailscale? — No open ports. No dynamic DNS. No certificates to manage. Your Pi stays invisible to the internet while you access it from anywhere on Earth. Free for up to 100 devices.

Specs

<1GB
RAM required
0
databases
free models
1
command install
MIT
license

Thank you, OpenRouter

piailot exists because OpenRouter gives everyone access to powerful AI models for free. No gatekeeping, no waitlists, no credit card. Just an API key and you're building. That's the kind of infrastructure that makes projects like this possible.