AI-Gist: a privacy-first AI cue word management tool

AI-Gist is a privacy-focused AI cue word management tool designed to help users efficiently manage and optimize their personal AI cue word collections. The tool supports local storage to ensure data security, and also provides variable substitution, Jinja templates, AI generation and tuning. Users can manage cues through a simple interface, record historical versions, and support cloud backup for multi-device synchronization.AI-Gist is designed from the user's needs to solve the complexity and privacy issues in cue management. The latest version v1.2.2 has updated the app icon and optimized the user experience. The project has been open-sourced on GitHub, received more than 100 Stars and over 1200 downloads, and has been widely welcomed by users.

Function List

• Privacy Priority Storage: Supports local storage, cue word data is not uploaded to the cloud to ensure the safety of user data.
• Variable substitution: Allow users to dynamically generate customized content by inserting variables into the prompts.
• Jinja Template Support: Uses the Jinja template language to make it easy for users to create complex cue word logic.
• AI generation and tuning: Generate cue words by built-in AI function and support users to optimize manually.
• Version history: Automatically saves cue word modification history for easy backtracking and comparison.
• Cloud Backup: Supports optional cloud synchronization and cross-device access to cue words.
• shortcut call: New shortcut function to quickly open a tool or perform an operation.
• Multi-platform support: Compatible with many operating systems and suitable for different devices.

Using Help

Installation process

AI-Gist is an open source project hosted on GitHub and users need to follow the steps below to install and use it:

1. Accessing GitHub Repositories: Open your browser and type https://github.com/yarin-zhang/AI-Gist, go to the project homepage.
2. Download the latest version: On the Releases page, find the latest version (e.g. v1.2.2, released on July 4, 2025). Click to download the corresponding installation package (e.g. Windows, macOS or Linux version).
3. installer: Depending on the operating system, double-click the downloaded installation package and follow the prompts to complete the installation. windows users may need to confirm permissions, macOS users need to allow applications from unknown sources.
4. launch an application: Once the installation is complete, open the AI-Gist application. The first launch will prompt you to set the storage path, it is recommended that you choose a local disk to ensure data privacy.
5. Configuration environment: If you need the cloud backup feature, log in to your GitHub account and authorize AI-Gist to access the cloud storage. Users can also skip this step by choosing to fully localize the operation.

Functional operation flow

The interface of AI-Gist is simple, and its core functions are centered around cue word management. The following are detailed instructions for using the main functions:

1. Creating and managing prompts

• Creating PromptsAfter launching AI-Gist, click the "New prompt" button in the main interface. Input the content of the prompt, for example, "Generate a 500-word scientific article with the subject of {subject}". Here {主题} is a variable placeholder.
• Save & Name: When you are done editing, click the "Save" button to name the cue and choose a storage path. The default storage path is ~/AI-Gist/promptsThe
• History View: Every time you save a cue, the system will automatically record the version. Click the "History" button to the right of the cue name to view all versions and revert to any version.

2. Variable substitution and Jinja templates

• Variable substitution: Insert variables in the prompt, e.g. {公司名称} maybe {日期}When using the program, click on the Run button and you will be prompted to enter a variable value. To use it, click the "Run" button and you will be prompted to enter the value of the variable. For example, enter "Company Name: xAI" and the generated content will automatically replace the variable.
• Jinja templates: Supports Jinja template syntax for complex logic. For example, writing {% if user_type == 'admin' %}生成管理报告{% else %}生成用户总结{% endif %}The following is an example of a program that can be used to create a new program based on the input of the user_type Dynamically generated content with values. Users need to edit the prompts in "Template Mode", save them and run them directly.

3. AI generation and tuning

• AI Generate CuesAI-Gist will automatically generate a prompt template that can be further edited by the user.
• Manual tuningOnce generated, click on the "Optimize" button and AI-Gist will analyze the clarity and logic of the prompt and suggest improvements. For example, the prompt "Write an article" might be optimized to "Write a 300-word article with a clear topic and concise language".

4. Cloud backup and synchronization

• Enable Cloud Backup: Select "Cloud Sync" in Settings and sign in to your GitHub account. The prompts will be encrypted and uploaded to GitHub's private repository. Users need to ensure a stable internet connection.
• Multi-device synchronization: Log in to the same account on another device and click the "Synchronize" button to download the cues from the cloud. Once the synchronization is complete, the prompts can be used seamlessly across multiple devices.

5. Shortcut invocation

• Setting Shortcuts: Find the "Shortcuts" option in Settings and assign customized shortcuts, e.g. Ctrl+Shift+G Quickly open AI-Gist.
• Using shortcuts: Press the shortcut key and the AI-Gist window pops up, allowing the user to enter prompts directly or run existing templates.

caveat

• Privacy: By default, all cues are stored locally, and it is recommended that the storage folder be backed up regularly to prevent data loss.
• Update check: AI-Gist automatically checks for new versions. Users can manually check for updates in Settings to ensure that they are using the latest features.
• Community Support: Submit an Issue in the GitHub repository and the community will help.

application scenario

1. AI Developer Debugging Cue Words
   When training AI models, developers need to test the effect of cue words repeatedly, AI-Gist provides variable substitution and version logging functions, which are convenient for developers to quickly adjust the cue words and compare the output effect of different versions.
2. Content creators generate content in bulk
   Content creators can use Jinja templates to batch generate articles, social media posts, and more. For example, set the template "Write a {word} word ad copy for {product}" to quickly generate multiple versions of the copy.
3. Personal knowledge management
   Users can organize frequently used AI prompts in AI-Gist and access them on different devices via cloud synchronization, suitable for knowledge workers who need to call up prompts at any time.
4. Education and training
   Teachers can use AI-Gist to design pedagogically relevant prompts, such as "Generate math practice problems for {grade} students," and optimize the quality of the problems through version history.

QA

1. Is AI-Gist completely free?
   AI-Gist is an open source project and is free to use. Users can download and use all features from GitHub without paying.
2. How do you ensure data privacy?
   AI-Gist stores data locally by default, and users can choose not to enable cloud backups. Cloud backups use encrypted transmission and are stored only in the user's authorized GitHub account.
3. What operating systems are supported?
   AI-Gist is compatible with Windows, macOS, and Linux systems, and the installation package is available on the GitHub Releases page.
4. How to use Jinja templates?
   Edit the prompt in "template mode", using Jinja syntax (e.g. {% if %} maybe {{ variable }}). Once saved, enter the variable values when running the template to generate the content.