I Ran ChatGPT on a Raspberry Pi Locally!

Introduction

This tutorial guides you through the process of running a ChatGPT-like model locally on a Raspberry Pi using the Alpaca model. By following these steps, you can set up a powerful language model on your own device, allowing for a variety of applications in natural language processing.

Step 1: Download the Required Files

1. Download the Zip File

   • Choose the appropriate zip file for your operating system from the latest release:
     • Windows: alpaca-win.zip
     • Mac (Intel or ARM): alpaca-mac.zip
     • Linux (x64): alpaca-linux.zip
   • Access the latest release at GitHub Releases.

2. Download Model Weights

   • Download the model weights file ggml-alpaca-7b-q4.bin from Hugging Face.
   • Place the ggml-alpaca-7b-q4.bin file in the same folder as the chat executable from the zip file.

Step 2: Run the Model

1. Execute the Chat Program
   • For MacOS and Linux:
     • Open a terminal and navigate to the folder containing the files.
     • Run the command:

       ./chat
       

   • For Windows:
     • Open Command Prompt and navigate to the folder.
     • Run the command:

       .\Release\chat.exe
       

2. Interact with the AI
   • Once the program is running, you can type to the AI in the terminal, and it will generate replies.

Step 3: Building from Source (Optional)

If you prefer to build the program from source, follow these steps:

1. Clone the Repository
   • Open a terminal and run:

     git clone https://github.com/antimatter15/alpaca.cpp
     

2. Navigate to the Directory
   • Change to the cloned directory:

     cd alpaca.cpp
     

3. Build the Chat Application
   • Run the following command to build:

     make chat
     

4. Run the Application
   • Execute the chat program:

     ./chat
     

5. Download and Place Model Weights
   • Download the ggml-alpaca-7b-q4.bin file as instructed in Step 1 and place it in the main Alpaca directory.
   • For Windows, run:

     .\Release\chat.exe
     

   • Interact with the AI in the terminal.

Conclusion

You have successfully set up and run a ChatGPT-like model locally on your Raspberry Pi. This powerful setup allows you to harness the capabilities of large language models for various applications. Explore further by experimenting with the model's responses or integrating it into other projects. For additional resources and updates, consider visiting the GitHub repository and related documentation.