Documentation
QuickStart

QuickStart

Get up and running with Jan in minutes. This guide will help you install Jan, download a model, and start chatting immediately.

Step 1: Install Jan

  1. Download Jan
  2. Install the app (Mac, Windows, Linux)
  3. Launch Jan

Step 2: Download Jan v1

We recommend starting with Jan v1, our 4B parameter model optimized for reasoning and tool calling:

  1. Go to the Hub Tab
  2. Search for Jan v1
  3. Choose a quantization that fits your hardware:
    • Q4_K_M (2.5 GB) - Good balance for most users
    • Q8_0 (4.28 GB) - Best quality if you have the RAM
  4. Click Download

Download Jan v1

Jan v1 achieves 91.1% accuracy on SimpleQA and excels at tool calling, making it perfect for web search and reasoning tasks.

HuggingFace models: Some require an access token. Add yours in Settings > Model Providers > Llama.cpp > Hugging Face Access Token.

Add HF Token

Step 3: Enable GPU Acceleration (Optional)

For Windows/Linux with compatible graphics cards:

  1. Go to () Settings > Hardware
  2. Toggle GPUs to ON

Turn on GPU acceleration

Install required drivers before enabling GPU acceleration. See setup guides for Windows & Linux.

Step 4: Start Chatting

  1. Click New Chat () icon
  2. Select your model in the input field dropdown
  3. Type your message and start chatting

Create New Thread

Try asking Jan v1 questions like:

  • "Explain quantum computing in simple terms"
  • "Help me write a Python function to sort a list"
  • "What are the pros and cons of electric vehicles?"

Want to give Jan v1 access to current web information? Check out our Serper MCP tutorial to enable real-time web search with 2,500 free searches!

Managing Conversations

Jan organizes conversations into threads for easy tracking and revisiting.

View Chat History

  • Left sidebar shows all conversations
  • Click any chat to open the full conversation
  • Favorites: Pin important threads for quick access
  • Recents: Access recently used threads

Favorites and Recents

Edit Chat Titles

  1. Hover over a conversation in the sidebar
  2. Click three dots () icon
  3. Click Rename
  4. Enter new title and save

Context Menu

Delete Threads

⚠️

Thread deletion is permanent. No undo available.

Single thread:

  1. Hover over thread in sidebar
  2. Click three dots () icon
  3. Click Delete

All threads:

  1. Hover over Recents category
  2. Click three dots () icon
  3. Select Delete All

Advanced Features

Custom Assistant Instructions

Customize how models respond:

  1. Use the assistant dropdown in the input field
  2. Or go to the Assistant tab to create custom instructions
  3. Instructions work across all models

Assistant Instruction

Add an Assistant Instruction

Model Parameters

Fine-tune model behavior:

  • Click the Gear icon next to your model
  • Adjust parameters in Assistant Settings
  • Switch models via the model selector

Chat with a Model

Connect Cloud Models (Optional)

Connect to OpenAI, Anthropic, Groq, Mistral, and others:

  1. Open any thread
  2. Select a cloud model from the dropdown
  3. Click the Gear icon beside the provider
  4. Add your API key (ensure sufficient credits)

Connect Remote APIs

For detailed setup, see Remote APIs.

OverviewMac