# FlowDown - Open & Fast AI — Get your task done smooth.

> Minimalist AI chat app for controlled interaction with large language models. (iPhone/iPad app by 子衎 王.)

- Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/flowdown-open-and-fast-ai/id6740553198 (this page in markdown: same URL + `.md`)
- Developer: [子衎 王](https://appshunter.io/developer/1710838888)
- Category: Utilities, Reference
- Price: Free (on sale, was $3.99)
- Rating: 4.30/5 from 28 App Store ratings · 15 written reviews indexed
- Age rating: 17+
- Requires: iOS 17.0 · 127 MB
- Languages: American English, French (France), German (Germany), Japanese, Korean, Chinese (Simplified, China), European Spanish
- Released: 2025-03-03
- Data updated: 2026-08-22
- Monetization: paid
- User reviews in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/flowdown-open-and-fast-ai/id6740553198/reviews.md

## What is FlowDown?

FlowDown is a fast, minimal AI chat app that makes working with large language models feel smooth, focused, and under your control.

For guides, tips, and advanced setup help, visit flowdown.ai.

Why FlowDown

Lightweight and efficient  
Focus on your conversation, not the app. FlowDown launches quickly, stays out of your way, and keeps long chats responsive, even on busy machines.

Rich formatting with Markdown  
Get clear, readable answers. FlowDown renders Markdown beautifully, so code blocks, bullet lists, tables, and headings in AI responses are easy to scan and use.

Works with the tools you already have  
Connect to any OpenAI-compatible API, from major cloud providers to services running in your own home lab. If it speaks the OpenAI API, FlowDown can talk to it.

Talk with text, images, and audio  
Show, not just tell. Paste screenshots, drop in images, or record your voice to ask questions. Use it to:
- Transcribe meetings or lectures
- Summarize voice notes
- Ask about the content inside a photo

Smooth, instant-feeling conversations  
Blazing-fast text rendering makes responses stream in fluidly, so you can start reading and refining your prompt without waiting for the model to finish.

Automatic chat titles  
Stop hunting for the right thread. FlowDown names your conversations automatically based on their content, so you can quickly find that "API bug fix" or "Trip planning" chat later.

Shortcut integrations  
Use FlowDown inside your workflows. With Shortcuts support, you can:
- Send selected text from another app to your model
- Generate drafts, summaries, or replies with one tap
- Build custom automations that call your favourite model

Privacy by design  
Your data is yours. FlowDown does not collect your chats. For maximum confidentiality, you can run models locally on your own machine with no external server involved.

Open source and transparent  
Every line of code is available on GitHub. Inspect it, audit it, or adapt it for your own setups. You can see exactly how your AI client works.

Free trial and open code

FlowDown is fully open source, and we provide a free trial so you can confirm it fits your workflow before buying.

Source code and trial builds are available at:  
https://github.com/Lakr233/FlowDown  
To try it, open the Releases section and download the latest trial version.

Local models

For offline, private usage, FlowDown can run models locally on Apple Silicon devices with sufficient memory.

Supported model families include:  
Cohere, Gemma, Gemma2, Gemma3, InternLM2, Llama / Mistral, OpenELM, Phi, Phi3, PhiMoE, Qwen2, Qwen3, Starcoder2, MiMo, and GLM4.

This gives you:
- Full control over your data
- No dependency on external servers
- The ability to experiment with different open models

Remote models

A complimentary remote model is included so you can start chatting immediately. This starter service is best-effort, with rate limits and no uptime guarantee.

For consistent, reliable use, we recommend:
- Bringing your own API, or
- Hosting your own inference server on local or home-lab hardware

FlowDown supports all OpenAI-compatible endpoints, making it ideal for connecting to tools like Ollama and LM Studio running on your own machine for maximum privacy.

Some setups require technical knowledge. If you are new to self-hosted AI or custom endpoints, please read our documentation carefully; the app can be challenging without it.

We strongly recommend using the free trial before purchasing, as refunds may not be available. For advanced or enterprise use, configuration examples and best practices are documented on our website.

Important note

AI-generated content can be inaccurate or misleading. Always verify critical information and use FlowDown responsibly; you are responsible for how you use the output.

© 2025 FlowDown Team. All rights reserved.

## Key features

- Fast and efficient AI chat
- Rich Markdown rendering
- Connects to OpenAI-compatible APIs
- Supports text, image, and audio input
- Automatic chat titles
- Shortcut integrations
- Privacy-focused design

## Recent user reviews (10 of 15)

All indexed reviews: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/flowdown-open-and-fast-ai/id6740553198/reviews.md

### 1/5 — Very confusing and wrong AI

*2026-08-11, version 4.11.0*

Appreciate that it’s free but it breaks often and is totally confidently wrong all the time so is useless

### 2/5 — Too cumbersome to configure

*2026-08-08, version 4.10.2*

The settings & configuration UI needs work. I’ve been trying lots of different chat UI tools, and this is the first I’ve come across that wants me to manually configure JSON just to add a provider API key.

### 1/5 — 配置新模型的体验极其糟糕

*2026-04-22, version 4.8.6*

这是我用过的同类 app 中配置模型方式最不直观，最难用的，App 本身的功能也就那样，没有特别出彩的地方，但是配置体验真的烂到家了，新手别买，花钱是小事，纯粹给自己添堵

### 5/5 — Near perfect

*2026-01-23, version 4.5.3*

This has almost every feature I want in an AI client: fluid interface, no lag with long conversations, attachment support, web lookup, voice transcription, iCloud sync and even a pretty usable memory feature.

My only complaint is that it’s a bit complicated to add new models. If you are tech-literate, it shouldn’t be too much of a challenge. But it could be easier.

Other than that, it’s perfect.

### 5/5 — 很实用，智齿

*2026-01-12, version 4.5.0*

很实用，智齿

### 5/5 — The best private option for the buck

*2026-01-07, version 4.4.8*

FlowDown AI is a worthy contender. No longer do I have to worry about where my data is and what is being done with it. I have peace of mind knowing that my data is saved locally

### 5/5 — 超级好用

*2025-12-13, version 4.2.3*

快捷指令能够直接获取回复的内容实在是太爽了，可以干好多事情

而且支持自定义api，基本上可以接入所有模型，简直无敌

### 5/5 — 美观、流畅第一

*2025-10-06, version 3.5*

特别好的客户端，作者审美也很厉害。现在迫切希望改善：1/ prompt固定，一个prompt下可以有多个子集对话；2/ API 模型添加能支持多个模型，且能自定义名称。3/ MCP 工具继续自定义命名！！！！！现在多个mcp添加进来直接混乱了。

### 4/5 — Great, Smooth App. Needs Automatic Model Fetching

*2025-10-06, version 3.5*

The app looks and feels great, with fluid animations, and adopting native macOS design. Definitely recommend this app to people! The only feature request to the developer is that the model management is cumbersome, as it is manual, and unclear how to input API keys, etc. If there can be an API key field, and all the models of an API provider can be managed in one place (instead of saving individual models), this app would rock!

### 5/5 — A-list LLM Client

*2025-07-11, version 2.0*

The performance of FlowDown is amazing! I was truly impressed by the rendering performance, even during the beta testing stage — it's significantly better than the native official ChatGPT app. I also hold a similar attitude with the developer (or project leader), toward the concept of native app & privacy. As someone who has been using this app since literarily day one, I can really see the effort the team has put into it. The project leader is active in the Discord group, constantly working to fix bugs and add new features.

That said, there are still a few frustrating issues. I have to admit that the process to add a model from external service provider is way too complicated. I understand this is partly due to Apple’s restrictions, but I really hope a more streamlined solution can be found. Also, the macOS app is not ‘that’ native. While the performance is solid, the user interface doesn’t fully align with the desktop experience—especially the right-click menu and the settings page, which feel out of place.

## Frequently asked questions about FlowDown

### What is FlowDown's pricing structure?

FlowDown is a paid application with a one-time purchase price of $6.99. The app offers a free trial so users can test its functionality before committing to a purchase.

### Can I use FlowDown offline?

Yes, FlowDown can run models locally on Apple Silicon devices with sufficient memory, enabling offline and private usage. This allows for full control over your data without external server dependencies.

### What kind of AI models does FlowDown support?

FlowDown supports a wide range of model families including Cohere, Gemma, Llama/Mistral, Phi, Qwen2, and Starcoder2, among others. It can connect to any OpenAI-compatible API.

### How does FlowDown handle user privacy?

FlowDown is designed with privacy in mind and does not collect user chats. For maximum confidentiality, users can run models locally on their own machines with no external server involvement.

### What are the system requirements for FlowDown?

FlowDown is available on macOS, iPhone, and iPad. For local model execution, Apple Silicon devices with sufficient memory are recommended.

### How often is FlowDown updated?

The latest version of FlowDown is 4.6.6, last updated on March 22, 2026. The app is open source, suggesting potential for frequent updates based on community contributions.

### What makes FlowDown's conversations feel smooth?

FlowDown features blazing-fast text rendering that makes responses stream in fluidly. This allows users to start reading and refining their prompts without waiting for the entire model response.

### Can FlowDown integrate with other apps?

Yes, FlowDown supports Shortcuts integration, allowing users to send selected text from other apps, generate drafts or summaries with a single tap, and build custom automations that call their favorite models.

## Version history (last 5 releases)

### 5.1.4 — 2026-08-19

Bug Fixes.

### 5.1.0 — 2026-08-12

We removed outdated logic that was designed for older models, so everything works better with the latest improvements. You will notice a faster, more reliable experience right away as we significantly improved performance.

We also fixed several hangs that could happen during MCP tool calls, so your requests complete smoothly without getting stuck.

We hope you enjoy this release.

### 4.11.0 — 2026-08-11

Fixed numbers of bugs when doing text layout with list items.

### 4.10.2 — 2026-08-04

We fixed an unexpected blink when output.

### 4.9.10 — 2026-08-01

We updated the local model database.

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All apps by 子衎 王: https://appshunter.io/developer/1710838888

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*Data collected daily from the US App Store and indexed by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/). User reviews are verbatim App Store reviews. Ratings, prices and chart positions refresh continuously; this snapshot is from 2026-08-22.*
