AI coding tools that work completely offline (2026)

“AI coding tool” has become a marketing term that means almost anything. Some tools run entirely on your machine. Some have local model support but still phone home for telemetry, indexing, or account sync. And some use “local AI” in the headline while routing most real work through a cloud API.

This post is specifically about tools that work with zero internet connection. No cloud fallback, no telemetry requirement, no account login to activate local mode. Pull the ethernet cable and the tool still works.

What “fully offline” actually means

For a coding tool to work offline, three things need to be true:

• The AI inference runs on a local model (Ollama, LM Studio, etc.)
• The tool doesn't require an internet connection to authenticate or function
• No critical features silently fail or degrade when offline

A surprising number of tools fail criterion two or three while advertising local model support. Test before you commit.

Tools that work fully offline

Bodega One

Bodega One is a local-first AI desktop environment built for offline use by design. The full feature set (Monaco IDE, AI chat, and autonomous coding agent) runs on your machine with no internet required. The air-gap mode goes further: 9 enforcement layers that block every possible outbound path, including tool calls, shell commands, and auto-updater.

Setup: install Bodega One, install Ollama or LM Studio, point Bodega One at your local endpoint. That's the full setup. No account, no API key, no cloud model required.

• Type: Full desktop IDE + autonomous agent
• Offline capable: Yes, fully. Air-gap mode enforces it.
• Local providers: Ollama, LM Studio, vLLM, llama.cpp, and 5 more
• Pricing: $79 one-time (Personal)

Aider

Aider is an open-source CLI agent that works well with local models. Git-first workflow . Every change is committed with a meaningful message. Supports Ollama and any OpenAI-compatible endpoint. No telemetry, no account required. The tradeoff: it's a command-line tool, so the workflow is different from a full IDE.

• Type: CLI agent
• Offline capable: Yes, fully
• Pricing: Free, open source

Continue.dev

Continue is a VS Code extension with strong local model support. It keeps your existing editor and adds AI chat and inline suggestions powered by your local Ollama setup. The free solo tier requires no account and works offline. Team features require a Continue server.

• Type: VS Code plugin
• Offline capable: Yes (solo tier)
• Pricing: Free solo / $10/mo teams

Void

Void is an open-source VS Code fork with local-first AI built in. No subscription, no cloud dependency. It is still early-stage, so expect rough edges, but the codebase indexing is promising for a tool this new. If you want the VS Code extension ecosystem with a local-first AI layer, keep it on your radar.

• Type: VS Code fork
• Offline capable: Yes
• Pricing: Free, open source

Tools that partially support offline

Several popular tools support local models but have caveats you should know about:

• Cursor: Has local model support in settings, but the core Tab completion and codebase indexing are cloud-dependent. Cursor in airplane mode is a meaningfully degraded experience.
• Windsurf: Similar situation to Cursor. Local model routing is available but not the default, and some features require connectivity.
• GitHub Copilot: Entirely cloud-dependent. There is no offline mode. Pull the cable and it stops working.

What you need to run local models

All of these tools need a local model server. The two most common:

• Ollama: Easiest setup. One command to install, one command to pull a model. Works on Windows, macOS, and Linux.
• LM Studio: GUI-first. Easier for people who prefer not to use the terminal. Strong on macOS with Apple Silicon.

The model you can run depends on your VRAM. A rough guide: 6-8GB runs Qwen3-8B well, 12-16GB gets you to 14B-30B models, and 24GB+ opens up Qwen2.5-Coder-32B which competes with GPT-4o on coding benchmarks. See the full GPU guide for local AI.

The bottom line

If you need an AI coding tool that works with no internet, your options in 2026 are real and mature. The tools exist. The models are good enough. The main variable is whether you want a full IDE experience (Bodega One), want to stay in VS Code (Continue.dev, Void), or prefer a terminal-first workflow (Aider).

For teams in regulated industries where offline is not optional, the air-gap mode post covers the enforcement layers in detail.