QVAC Workbench guide

QVAC Workbench is Tether's flagship app for running AI models directly on your own device — the reference example of what QVAC can do. If you want to try local AI without writing any code, Workbench is the front door. Here's what it is and how to think about it.

What it is

Workbench is a private, local AI application available on Android, iOS, Windows, and macOS. It lets you run and experiment with AI models entirely on your device — nothing goes to the cloud. It was first released in October 2025, and it's built with QVAC, so it doubles as a showcase of the SDK's capabilities.

The tagline captures the intent: your AI assistant, 100% local. Per its app store listing, the developer collects no data from the app.

What you can do with it

Workbench is more capable than a simple chat window:

Run multiple AI models locally — it supports popular open-source models like Llama (and health-oriented models like MedGemma), with the ability to add others.
Customize model configs and inference parameters — temperature, context, and more.
Organize work with projects and threaded conversations.
Prompt engineering — a space to experiment with advanced prompts.
Vision — attach images and test multimodal capabilities.
On-device voice transcription — dictate accurately, locally.
RAG — retrieval-augmented generation over your own content.
Delegated inference — offload heavy tasks from your phone to your desktop over an encrypted P2P link, keeping everything private and local.
Cross-device sync — keep Workbench instances in step across devices, so you're not juggling disconnected copies.

Why it's interesting

Two things stand out. First, delegated inference is a genuinely novel feature: your phone can hand a heavy AI task to your more powerful laptop on the same network, without any of it touching the cloud. That's QVAC's peer-to-peer plumbing doing something most local-AI setups can't. → Full deep-dive

Second, it's a zero-data-collection app that still feels usable — a rare combination in local AI tooling, which often trades polish for privacy.

Who it's for

Workbench is aimed at developers, researchers, and AI enthusiasts who want to explore local models hands-on. If you want to use and experiment with models, Workbench is the tool. If you want to build your own app on the same foundation, that's the QVAC SDK.

How it relates to what we build

Workbench is Tether's own showcase app. At localhost/AI, we're building on the same QVAC foundation but for focused consumer use cases — private notes and private finance (Local Notes and Local Money, both coming soon). Where Workbench is a general-purpose local-AI playground, our apps are purpose-built products on the same engine.

Getting it

QVAC Workbench is available on the Apple App Store and Google Play (published by Tether Data), and for desktop. Search "QVAC Workbench," or start from the official QVAC site.

Features and availability change over time; check the current app store listing for the latest.