What is pinokio?

Pinokio is a desktop application that lets you install and run open-source AI tools with a single click. Think of it as a terminal wrapped in a friendly graphical interface: instead of typing commands to download and configure software, you click a button and Pinokio handles the rest. It stores everything it installs in a dedicated folder on your computer, keeping it separated from the rest of your system. There are two ways to use scripts in Pinokio. You can write your own, the same way you would write shell scripts in a terminal. Or you can browse the Discover page, which lists scripts that have been reviewed and approved by the Pinokio team. Scripts on the Discover page are stored under an official GitHub organization, which means they are publicly visible and frozen in place so they cannot be silently modified after approval. The verification process for featured scripts is thorough. Script authors must first be personally verified, then invited to the official GitHub organization. They transfer their repository there before any review begins. The Pinokio admin reads through each script, tests it, and checks several specific things: that all commands run inside the app's own folder, that Python dependencies are installed in a virtual environment local to that app, and that any third-party packages stay within the isolated Pinokio environment. No script is approved until it has been tested personally. Security is also built into how the script format works. Scripts are written in plain JSON, which makes them easy to read before you run anything. A path attribute controls where each command executes, defaulting to the app's own folder. A venv attribute handles Python isolation automatically. When you install a script from an outside source, Pinokio shows a warning screen with a link to the original repository so you can inspect the code yourself before anything runs. The project is written in JavaScript and has over 7,000 stars on GitHub. It is aimed at people who want to run open-source AI tools locally without dealing with the command line.