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Tech riderRev. 4 Oct 2026

Cinestar

Ch 087.0of 24AI Video Search Tools
  1. 1Runs onLinux, Mac
  2. 2CostsFree plan
  3. 3Visual searchYes
  4. 4Audio searchYes
  5. 5Multimodal searchYes
5 lines stated Written from the maker's own pages: cinestar.sourceforge.io
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The Cinestar homepage

Overview

Cinestar is an open-source application for searching images and videos with locally run AI services. It can ingest folders or videos, transcribe audio with Whisper, embed frames with BGE, and create captions with Moondream. Natural-language searches return matching moments with timecodes and thumbnails. Cinestar stores vectors in SQLite-Vec and uses Llama 3.2 for language tasks and content organization. The maker says it has no analytics, telemetry, usage tracking, or data uploads. It is available for Linux and macOS under the MIT license, and the listed open-source core is free. Local AI services require Ollama; the install guide lists BGE, Moondream, and Llama 3.2 model downloads totaling about 2–4 GB. The site describes plugins for functions including face recognition, metadata extraction, collaboration, backups, and multi-user access, plus an open API for custom plugins. The maker presents it for personal media managers, content creators, media organizations, and academic or market researchers. Its changelog lists v0.1.52, dated October 11, 2025, as the latest release on that page.

Who it is for

It may suit personal media managers, content creators, media organizations, and academic or market researchers who want local AI search for image and video collections. Users need Ollama and the listed model downloads for local AI services.

What is good

  • Natural-language searches return moments with timecodes and thumbnails.
  • AI processing runs locally, according to the maker.
  • The MIT-licensed core is listed at no cost.
  • An open API supports custom plugins.
  • Available for Linux and macOS.

What to know first

  • Local AI services require Ollama.
  • Listed model downloads total about 2–4 GB.
  • The latest release listed is v0.1.52, dated October 11, 2025.

Verdict

Cinestar combines media ingestion, transcription, captions, and searchable moments, with AI processing described as local. Setup requires Ollama and model downloads, so account for those requirements before choosing it.

Cinestar plans and pricing

All plans
Cinestar (MIT open-source core) Free Open-source core; local AI services require Ollama cinestar.sourceforge.io · 4 Oct 2026

Compared on AI video search tools

Visual search
Yescinestar.sourceforge.io
Audio search
Yescinestar.sourceforge.io
Multimodal search
Yescinestar.sourceforge.io

Facts

Purpose
Cinestar searches images and videos using local AI.cinestar.sourceforge.io · 4 Oct 2026
Media ingestion
It can ingest folders or videos, transcribe audio with Whisper, embed frames with BGE, and generate captions with Moondream.cinestar.sourceforge.io · 4 Oct 2026
Search results
Natural-language queries return moments with timecodes and thumbnails.cinestar.sourceforge.io · 4 Oct 2026
Indexing
Cinestar stores vectors in SQLite-Vec and uses Llama 3.2 to process and organize content.cinestar.sourceforge.io · 4 Oct 2026
Privacy
The maker says AI processing runs locally and that Cinestar has no analytics, telemetry, usage tracking, or data uploads.cinestar.sourceforge.io · 4 Oct 2026
Models
The site lists BGE embeddings, Moondream v2 for image and video captions, and Llama 3.2 (3B) for language tasks.cinestar.sourceforge.io · 4 Oct 2026
Intended users
The maker presents personal media managers, content creators, media organizations, and academic or market researchers as use cases.cinestar.sourceforge.io · 4 Oct 2026
License
The site identifies Cinestar as open source under the MIT license.cinestar.sourceforge.io · 4 Oct 2026
Setup requirement
The install guide says Ollama is required for local AI services and lists BGE, Moondream, and Llama 3.2 models totaling about 2–4 GB to download.cinestar.sourceforge.io · 4 Oct 2026
macOS install
The install guide provides steps for downloading Cinestar.app, moving it to Applications, and opening it past Gatekeeper.cinestar.sourceforge.io · 4 Oct 2026
Linux install
The install guide includes Linux commands for installing Ollama and names Linux in the site's Mac/Linux install link.cinestar.sourceforge.io · 4 Oct 2026
Release information
The changelog lists v0.1.52, dated October 11, 2025, as the latest release on that page.cinestar.sourceforge.io · 4 Oct 2026

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