Thunderbolt

2026-05-14 · source · source ↗ · raw capture · wiki page

Tagline: "AI You Control: Choose your models. Own your data. Eliminate vendor lock-in."

Overview

Thunderbolt is an open-source, cross-platform AI client from the Thunderbird team (MZLA Technologies Corporation, a subsidiary of Mozilla Foundation). It supports web, iOS, Android, Mac, Linux, and Windows. Compatible with frontier, local, and on-premises models. Enterprise-ready with support and FDEs. Self-hostable via Docker or Kubernetes. Licensed under Mozilla Public License 2.0 (MPL-2.0).

Repository stats (as of May 2026): 4.6k stars, 309 forks, 155 releases (v0.1.96).

Status

The project is early-stage and under active development, currently undergoing a security audit. It depends on authentication and search functionality (search can be disabled). Users must add their own model providers. Recommends Ollama or llama.cpp for free local inference, or OpenAI-compatible API providers.

Tech Stack

Languages: TypeScript (96.4%), CSS, Shell, Astro, JavaScript, Rust
Backend: Postgres database with PowerSync
Frontend: Vite-based build system
Desktop apps: Tauri framework
Testing: Playwright, Vitest, Storybook

Getting Started

make doctor    # verify development tools
make setup     # install dependencies
make up        # start PostgreSQL and PowerSync in Docker
make run       # start backend (port 8000) and frontend (port 1420)

Documentation

FAQ and deployment guides
Architecture documentation with system diagrams
Development quick-start and testing instructions
Release process and telemetry information

Community & Security

Follows Mozilla Community Participation Guidelines; includes Code of Conduct. Vulnerabilities should be reported via their vulnerability reporting form, not public issues.

License

Mozilla Public License 2.0 (MPL-2.0).