Documentation
Installation
Windows

Windows Installation

Compatibility

System requirements:

  • Operating System: Windows 10 or higher.
  • CPU
  • Intel: Haswell (Q2 2013) or newer
  • Intel Celeron/Pentium: Tiger Lake (Q3 2020) or newer

Processor must support AVX2 or newer. See full list of supported processors (opens in a new tab). Performance is significantly degraded on AVX-only processors.

  • Memory (RAM)
    • 8GB → up to 3B parameter models (int4)
    • 16GB → up to 7B parameter models (int4)
    • 32GB → up to 13B parameter models (int4)

Newer RAM generations provide better performance.

  • GPU:
    • 6GB → up to 3B parameter models
    • 8GB → up to 7B parameter models
    • 12GB → up to 13B parameter models

Minimum 6GB VRAM recommended for NVIDIA, AMD, or Intel Arc GPUs.

  • Storage: 10GB free space minimum for app and models

Install Jan

Step 1: Download Application

Step 2: Install Application

  1. Run the downloaded .exe file
  2. Wait for installation to complete
  3. Launch Jan

Data Folder

Default installation path:


# Default installation directory
~\Users\<YourUsername>\AppData\Roaming\Jan\data

See Jan Data Folder for complete folder structure details.

GPU Acceleration

Step 1: Verify Hardware & Install Dependencies

1.1. Check GPU Detection

Verify GPU is recognized:

  • Right-click desktop > NVIDIA Control Panel
  • Or check Device Manager > Display Adapters

1.2. Install Required components NVIDIA Driver:

  1. Install NVIDIA Driver (opens in a new tab) (version 470.63.01 or higher)
  2. Verify installation:

nvidia-smi

CUDA Toolkit:

  1. Install CUDA toolkit (opens in a new tab) (11.7 or higher)
  2. Verify installation:

nvcc --version

Step 2: Enable GPU Acceleration

  1. Navigate to Settings () > Local Engine > Llama.cpp
  2. Select appropriate backend in llama-cpp Backend. See our guide.

Uninstall Jan

Step 1: Remove Application through Control Panel

  1. Open Control Panels
  2. Go to Programs section
  3. Click Uninstall Program
  4. Search for Jan
  5. Click the Three Dots Icon > Uninstall
  6. Click Uninstall again to confirm
  7. Click OK

Step 2: Clean Up Remaining Files

Remove app data:

  1. Navigate to C:\Users\[username]\AppData\Roaming
  2. Delete Jan folder

or via Terminal:


cd C:\Users\%USERNAME%\AppData\Roaming
rmdir /S Jan

⚠️

Deleted data folders cannot be recovered. Backup important data first.

MacLinux