Data & Privacy

Everything runs on 127.0.0.1, transcripts stay in your own space, and secrets live only in the macOS keychain.

from praisonaiagents import Agent

agent = Agent(
    name="Assistant",
    instructions="You are a helpful assistant.",
)
# This agent runs on your machine — its transcripts stay local.
agent.start("Nothing leaves this Mac unless the model does")

Quick Start

Find your data

Everything lives under ~/Library/Application Support/PraisonAI.

Export it

Use Export all — it copies your data to the clipboard.

Delete it

Delete all removes stored conversations; Reveal in Finder opens the folder.

Where Data Lives

The data directory is ~/Library/Application Support/PraisonAI, overridable with the PRAISONAI_DESKTOP_HOME environment variable.

Path	Contents
`chats/*.json`	One append-only transcript per conversation
`settings.json`	Your settings — no secrets
Engine log ring buffer	Recent engine activity (in memory, bounded)
macOS keychain (`ai.praison.desktop`)	Secrets such as `api_key`

Export writes to the clipboard, not a file. The webview sandbox blocks self-initiated downloads, so the app copies your data out instead.

What Stays Local

Nothing leaves your machine unless the model itself does — the engine listens only on 127.0.0.1, and cloud API keys are the sole path off-device.

Secrets are never written to settings.json. The api_key is stored in the macOS keychain and stripped before the file is saved.

Best Practices

Back up the chats folder

Transcripts are plain JSON you can read, diff, and back up. Copy chats/ to keep your history safe across app updates.

Override the home for isolation

Set PRAISONAI_DESKTOP_HOME to point the app at a separate data directory — useful for testing or keeping profiles apart.

Use a local model for full privacy

Point base_url at a local server so even the model runs on-device and no data leaves the machine.

Models & API Keys

How keys are kept in the keychain

Conversations

How transcripts are written and stored

Getting Started

Install

Core Concepts

Guides

Features

Models

Databases

Observability

Memory

Telemetry & Analytics

Knowledge

RAG

Persistence

Tools

Other Features

Developers

Configuration

Best Practices

Getting Started (No Code)

Quick Start

Where Data Lives

What Stays Local

Best Practices

Models & API Keys

Conversations

​Quick Start

​Where Data Lives

​What Stays Local

​Best Practices

​Related

Models & API Keys

Conversations

Quick Start

Where Data Lives

What Stays Local

Best Practices

Related