Survival LLM 0.3.4 adds reasoning limits to offline emergency AI assistant
The full reference library is a 9 GB download. Recommended AI tiers start at 16 GB of memory, with model downloads ranging from 6 GB to 80 GB.
By BenchdictPublished Oct 28, 20263 min read
Survival LLM, an offline AI assistant built for emergencies when the internet is down, added reasoning limits in version 0.3.4 on October 27. When a search finds articles but yields no answer, the app now gives its large language model the best retrieved articles for one more attempt.
For outage preparation, 0.3.4 offers reliability fixes for local models rather than a capability jump. Recommended AI use starts at 16 GB; tiers scoring 19–21 on the project's 22-question blackout and first-aid test require at least 32 GB. Those scores cannot establish dependable emergency advice; a current-version evaluation by human emergency-care experts would change that assessment.
Key facts
- Latest update
- Version 0.3.4, October 27
- Recommended starting memory
- 16 GB
- Full library
- 9 GB download
- Essentials library
- 1.3 GB download
Reasoning caps and a retry
The project’s site details a replacement for its “Think harder” control: a reasoning budget, which caps how many tokens the model spends thinking before answering. Tokens are units of text. Presets include 1,000, 4,000 and 16,000 tokens. At the selected limit, thinking stops and the model answers from what it has.
The preceding Mac update, version 0.3.3, addressed resource cleanup. Its release notes say Cmd+Q, the Mac quit shortcut, now stops the AI engine and releases model memory, rather than leaving it running in the background.
The hardware behind offline access
The project’s site lists Apple Silicon Macs running macOS 14 Sonoma or newer and 64-bit Windows 10 or 11 as supported systems. Setup requires internet access; subsequent use can run offline. The app checks available memory and downloads a suitable model.
The landing page lists the application download as 212 MB on Mac and 25 MB on Windows, before these model downloads:
| Project tier name | Listed memory requirement | Model download |
|---|---|---|
| Granite | 16 GB | 6 GB |
| Qwen | 32 GB on Mac | 18 GB |
| Lightning | 32 GB on Windows | 25 GB |
| Super | 128 GB on Mac | 80 GB |
The repository documentation permits library searching on an 8 GB computer but recommends no tested AI model for that capacity. It also documents a daily update check while the app runs, so offline operation does not mean it never contacts the network.
References and personal documents
The product page lists about 930,000 Wikipedia articles alongside medical, emergency, survival and repair references. The full library is a 9 GB download; the smaller Essentials library downloads 1.3 GB and occupies 3 GB installed. Articles retain their own licenses, including some restricted to non-commercial use.
Users can open cited articles with the relevant passage highlighted, according to the feature description. However, the update notes also mention answers from model memory or unopened search results, so source links do not back every answer.
The project supports importing PDFs, Word documents, ebooks and notes for local searching. The repository adds a limit for people assembling their own reference collection: the app cannot yet read scans or photographs of pages.
A 22-question test with AI judges
The product page reports a comparison using 22 blackout and first-aid questions, graded blind against official guidance. Granite received 14 correct answers, Qwen and Super 21 each, and Lightning 19.
The repository qualifies those figures: independent AI judges graded the answers, and the comparison predates the addition of Wikipedia. It cautions that the results are not a guarantee for the downloadable version.
Sources
- Survival LLM: AI assistant and emergency library that runs on your own computerPrimaryHacker News (front page), Oct 27, 2026.What we took from it: October 27 version 0.3.4 changes; reasoning-budget presets; preceding Mac cleanup fix; supported platforms; setup requirements; application and model downloads; memory tiers; library contents and sizes; licensing; document imports; source highlighting and its qualification in update notes; reported benchmark scores.
- GitHub - anonnerdfrenzy/survival-llm: A free AI assistant and survival library that runs on your own computer, with no internet needed. Shows the source of every answer.DocsGitHub, Oct 28, 2026.What we took from it: 8 GB library-only access; daily update checks; inability to read scans or page photographs; AI-judge methodology; comparison predating Wikipedia; warning against treating scores as a guarantee for the downloadable version.
Benchdict, Edited and published by Jason, Editor & Publisher. Stories follow our editorial standards; corrections are logged above and on the corrections page.