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Offline survival assistant – local LLM and Kiwix, runs from a USB stick

github.com29 points16 comments
Screenshot of Offline survival assistant – local LLM and Kiwix, runs from a USB stick

Survival AI is a portable, offline emergency-preparedness assistant for Windows, macOS, and Linux, designed to keep working when internet access and online services are unavailable. It combines practical guides in English, Portuguese, and Spanish with a locally running language model and Kiwix offline libraries. Topics include water, shelter, food, first aid, medicine, hygiene, energy, navigation, and emergency checklists. The assistant searches its guides and Kiwix files, then generates answers that cite sources; without an AI model, users can still search for relevant passages. A browser-based interface runs locally and can be shared with phones over Wi-Fi.

Users prepare the kit once while online, choosing a model size, offline libraries, supported operating systems, and optional portable Python, then copy the complete folder to an exFAT USB drive. The default AI setup needs about 8 GB of RAM; a lighter model can run with 4 GB, while a recommended Kiwix collection takes roughly 25-40 GB. A minimal search-only setup works on a computer with Python 3.8 or later. Users can add their own text or Markdown files, such as local maps, contacts, and equipment manuals, for searching and citation. The project emphasizes that its educational health guidance does not replace medical professionals or emergency services, and notes that models and downloaded libraries have separate licenses.

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