Beginner's guide
If you have used an AI chat, you are qualified.
You chat with ChatGPT or Claude, but everything beyond that feels foggy — this is the map.
What is this site?
The world is overflowing with free AI tools — on GitHub, on Hugging Face, in official services. The problem is jargon: most people never see the entrance to the treasure vault. Mirondo curates that vault so you can browse it like picking a game.
The one thing to know: tools come in kinds
Not everything is an install-and-run app. Knowing the kind saves you all the confusion.
Install and use like any normal software. The friendliest kind.
Works in the browser, nothing to install. Often has a free tier.
Adds AI powers to Chrome or Firefox in a couple of clicks.
The brain itself. You load it into an app like LM Studio or Ollama.
A plug-in that gives an AI assistant a new ability (files, browser, GitHub…).
Driven by typed commands in the terminal. Powerful, needs some comfort.
A building block for programmers, not an app you run directly.
Not a tool — a well-maintained directory worth browsing.
Three words you will keep seeing
API key— a spare key that lets a tool use an AI company's brain. You get one from the company's site; usage may cost money (free tiers are common).
Terminal — the black screen where you type commands instead of clicking. If it is not your thing, plenty of tools here never need it.
Install— same as any software. On GitHub, downloads live under "Releases".
Try things safely in three steps
1. Start from tools marked easy to start.
2. Prefer desktop apps and web services at first.
3. Stuck? Paste the tool's link into your usual AI chat and say: I want to use this — walk me through setting it up on my computer, step by step. That is the modern cheat code.
Even quicker: take the three-question quiz and get picks matched to your answers.
Five tools to start with (install and go)
Mirondo lists descriptions and official links only — we never distribute files. Whether to install is always your call, made with the facts on each page.