Project Nomad – Knowledge That Never Goes Offline

It could use some own wisdom not to use nodejs..

So this thing is based on Kiwix, which is based on the ZIM file format.

In the meanwhile, wikipedia ships wikidata, which uses RDF dumps (and probably 8x less compressed than it should be).

https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Wikidata:Database_download

There is room for a third option leveraging commercial columnar database research.

https://adsharma.github.io/duckdb-wikidata-compression/

I like the idea of an LLM that acts as a public knowledge base. But that doomsday framing on the site is pretty annoying.

In a world where this is useful, you aren't going to be spending your precious battery on running an LLM...

I like this idea! I don't need the LLM bits, and want it to run on an old Android tablet I have lying around. Can anyone recommend similar software where I can get wikipedia / street maps / useful tutorial videos nicely packaged for offline use?

Anyone thought about using a Steam Deck with this? Or explored the concept of a "Nomad Deck"?

See I really want this in a simpler format. Like a single file embedded database on my filesystem that I can point a single/or few tools at for my model to use when it needs.

Missing a chance to note (or configure for?) installation on a Raspberry Pi --- that'd make an affordable option to leave powered down, but ready to go in an EMI-shield/Faraday Cage.

Really clever targeting of a niche. I’d be interested to hear if they find success!

turns out I have the same setup (sans local LLMs - they are pretty useless on 2018 cards) but in Obsidian :)

whatever I think might be useful later, I capture through the web clipper extension. [0]

[0]: https://obsidian.md/clipper

Great premise for a science fiction story

So how does that work?

I was expecting the game from my childhood and was disappointed.

Anyone thought about using a Steam Deck with this? Or explored the concept of a "Nomad Deck"?

Missing a chance to note (or configure for?) installation on a Raspberry Pi --- that'd make an affordable option to leave powered down, but ready to go in an EMI-shield/Faraday Cage.

I was expecting the game from my childhood and was disappointed.

It could use some own wisdom not to use nodejs..

turns out I have the same setup (sans local LLMs - they are pretty useless on 2018 cards) but in Obsidian :)

whatever I think might be useful later, I capture through the web clipper extension. [0]

[0]: https://obsidian.md/clipper

See I really want this in a simpler format. Like a single file embedded database on my filesystem that I can point a single/or few tools at for my model to use when it needs.

In a world where this is useful, you aren't going to be spending your precious battery on running an LLM...

Solar cells work no matter what, I agree that maybe less processing is more useful but LLM is uniqely useful as well

This is not true for me. I would want an LLM after the apocalypse. I'd become like the Wizard of Oz, the all-knowing oracle.

No need for a battery, you just need someone to hit the pedals on that dynamo.

I like the idea of an LLM that acts as a public knowledge base. But that doomsday framing on the site is pretty annoying.

So this thing is based on Kiwix, which is based on the ZIM file format.

In the meanwhile, wikipedia ships wikidata, which uses RDF dumps (and probably 8x less compressed than it should be).

https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Wikidata:Database_download

There is room for a third option leveraging commercial columnar database research.

https://adsharma.github.io/duckdb-wikidata-compression/

Really clever targeting of a niche. I’d be interested to hear if they find success!

Great premise for a science fiction story

A friend made this years ago. I never used it but the idea is awesome.

https://github.com/ligi/SurvivalManual

I think there’s a difference between doomsday framing and preparedness.

Offline access and local models aren’t about assuming collapse—they’re about treating knowledge as infrastructure instead of something implicitly guaranteed.

That feels more like resilience than pessimism.

There are internet and electricity outages in many places over the world, controlled and uncontrolled. Also natural desasters take out infrastructure at least temporarily.

One "popular" example for those whose horizon doesn't extend over US country borders:

"Hurricane Katrina devastated communications infrastructure across the Gulf Coast, incapacitating telephone service, police and fire dispatch centers, and emergency radio systems. Almost three million customer phone lines were knocked out, telephone switching centers were seriously damaged, and 1,477 cell towers were incapacitated. Most of the radio stations and many television stations in the New Orleans area were knocked off the air. Paul McHale, the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Homeland Defense, summarized the damage by stating, “The magnitude of the storm was such that the local communications system wasn’t simply degraded; it was, at least for a period of time, destroyed."

https://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/reports/katrina-...

"Our preparedness culture must also emphasize the importance of citizen and community preparedness. […] Thus, citizens and communities can help themselves by becoming more prepared. If every family maintained the resources to live in their homes without electricity and running water for three days, we could allocate more Federal, State, and local response resources to saving lives. Similarly, if every family developed their own emergency preparedness plan, they almost certainly would reduce the demand for outside emergency resources. As the 9/11 Commission Report states, “One clear lesson of September 11 is that individual civilians need to take responsibility for maximizing the probability that they will survive, should disaster strike."

https://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/reports/katrina-...

This is not just a random idea.

AlexNet -> Tansformers -> ChatGPT -> Claude Code -> Small LMs serving KBs

Large LLMs could have a role in efficiently producing such KBs.

Doomsday may not be the end of the world, but simply living in a country where you're being unjustifiably bombed by a foreign government lead by a delusional sociopath, and so access to information sources becomes limited.

And for those who are only vaguely familiar, this ZIM file format is not the same as the https://zim-wiki.org one.

So how does that work?

It never goes offline by already being offline.

This is not true for me. I would want an LLM after the apocalypse. I'd become like the Wizard of Oz, the all-knowing oracle.

Solar cells work no matter what, I agree that maybe less processing is more useful but LLM is uniqely useful as well

No need for a battery, you just need someone to hit the pedals on that dynamo.

A friend made this years ago. I never used it but the idea is awesome.

https://github.com/ligi/SurvivalManual

It never goes offline by already being offline.

There are internet and electricity outages in many places over the world, controlled and uncontrolled. Also natural desasters take out infrastructure at least temporarily.

One "popular" example for those whose horizon doesn't extend over US country borders:

https://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/reports/katrina-...

You’ll be hanged from a construction crane if they’ll catch you with this project in Iran… :)

What Gulf state do you live in? UAE?

I think there’s a difference between doomsday framing and preparedness.

Offline access and local models aren’t about assuming collapse—they’re about treating knowledge as infrastructure instead of something implicitly guaranteed.

That feels more like resilience than pessimism.

This is not just a random idea.

AlexNet -> Tansformers -> ChatGPT -> Claude Code -> Small LMs serving KBs

Large LLMs could have a role in efficiently producing such KBs.

If current frontier online LLMs are made inaccessible due to a local or global cataclysmic event running models locally will be the least of your concerns.

This isn’t prepping for anything it’s cosplaying as a vault dweller.

P.S. Having TED talks as part of the “educational” curriculum of this project is probably the biggest circle jerk imaginable.

And for those who are only vaguely familiar, this ZIM file format is not the same as the https://zim-wiki.org one.

I am actually only vaguely familiar and I was wondering about that every time I saw the format referenced but never bothered to check, your comment is informative!

What Gulf state do you live in? UAE?

You’ll be hanged from a construction crane if they’ll catch you with this project in Iran… :)

I am actually only vaguely familiar and I was wondering about that every time I saw the format referenced but never bothered to check, your comment is informative!

If current frontier online LLMs are made inaccessible due to a local or global cataclysmic event running models locally will be the least of your concerns.

This isn’t prepping for anything it’s cosplaying as a vault dweller.

P.S. Having TED talks as part of the “educational” curriculum of this project is probably the biggest circle jerk imaginable.

Project NOMAD

100% Free & Open Source

Wikipedia, AI, maps, and education tools running on your own hardware — completely free. No internet required.

Get Project NOMAD Free on GitHub See What's Inside

NOMAD Command Center Dashboard — your central hub for offline knowledge, AI, maps, and education

What is Project N.O.M.A.D.?

Node for Offline Media, Archives, and Data — a free, open source offline server you install on any computer. Download the content you want, and it works without internet — forever. Similar products cost hundreds of dollars. Project NOMAD is free.

Offline Knowledge

Wikipedia, guides, medical references

Local AI

Run LLMs completely offline

Offline Maps

Navigate without cell service

Education

Khan Academy & courses offline

Built For Those Who Prepare

Whether you're planning for emergencies or living off-grid, Project NOMAD has you covered.

Emergency Preparedness

When infrastructure fails, NOMAD keeps working. Medical references, survival guides, and encyclopedic knowledge — no internet required.

Off-Grid Living

Cabin, RV, or sailboat — bring a complete library, AI assistant, and offline maps wherever you go. True digital independence.

Tech Enthusiasts

Run local LLMs, self-host your knowledge base, own your data. Built for beefy hardware and those who want full control.

Education

Khan Academy, Wikipedia for Schools, and more — complete learning resources for families anywhere, even without connectivity.

What's Inside

Project NOMAD bundles best-in-class open source tools into one cohesive system.

Content Explorer — browse and download Wikipedia, medical references, survival guides, and curated content collections

Information Library

Offline Wikipedia, Project Gutenberg, medical references, repair guides, and more — terabytes of human knowledge at your fingertips.

AI Chat interface — have conversations with a local AI model, completely offline and private

AI Assistant

Run powerful large language models completely offline. Chat, write, analyze, code — all without sending data anywhere.

Offline maps viewer — navigate and explore detailed maps without internet or cell service

Offline Maps

Full offline mapping with OpenStreetMap data. Navigate, plan routes, and explore terrain without any cell service.

Easy Setup Wizard — choose capabilities like Information Library, Education Platform, and AI Assistant with one click

Education Platform

Khan Academy courses, educational videos, interactive lessons — complete K-12 curriculum available offline.

See It In Action

Watch the full walkthrough to see what Project NOMAD can do on your hardware.

Why Project NOMAD?

Other offline products charge hundreds and lock you into specific hardware. Project NOMAD runs on any PC you choose — with GPU-accelerated AI — for free.

Built for Robust Hardware

NOMAD runs on serious hardware so you get serious AI. While other offline products are stuck on Raspberry Pis, NOMAD supports GPU-accelerated inference on models with real intelligence. Community builds range from refurbished desktops to GPU-powered rigs scoring 10 to 95 on the NOMAD Benchmark.

Looking for something lightweight for a Raspberry Pi? Check out projects like Internet in a Box. Project NOMAD is for when you want the full experience.

View Hardware Guide See the Leaderboard

Recommended Specs

ProcessorAMD Ryzen 7 with Radeon graphics or Intel i7+

Memory32 GB RAM

GraphicsIntegrated AMD Radeon 780M+, or dedicated NVIDIA GPU

Storage1 TB SSD

Ubuntu or Debian-based Linux recommended. Windows support via Docker Desktop for development.

System Benchmark — measure your NOMAD Score and compare with the community leaderboard

Install in 60 Seconds

One command on any Ubuntu or Debian machine. Project NOMAD handles the rest.

$ curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Crosstalk-Solutions/project-nomad/main/install/install\_nomad.sh -o install_nomad.sh && sudo bash install_nomad.sh

Requires Ubuntu 22.04+ or Debian 12+. Docker is installed automatically if needed.

Ready to Go Offline?

Project NOMAD is free, open source, and ready to deploy. Get started in minutes with a single command.

Get Project NOMAD Free on GitHub

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New content packs, AI model recommendations, and hardware guides. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.

Project NOMAD is Free. Help Keep It That Way.

No subscriptions, no paywalls. Project NOMAD is funded by the community that uses it.

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Project Nomad – Knowledge That Never Goes Offline

Discussion

Discussion

What is Project N.O.M.A.D.?

Offline Knowledge

Local AI

Offline Maps

Education

Built For Those Who Prepare

Emergency Preparedness

Off-Grid Living

Tech Enthusiasts

Education

What's Inside

Information Library

AI Assistant

Offline Maps

Education Platform

See It In Action

Why Project NOMAD?

Built for Robust Hardware

Recommended Specs

Install in 60 Seconds

Ready to Go Offline?

Get Project NOMAD Updates

Project NOMAD is Free. Help Keep It That Way.