Make yourself at home
with Lemonade.

Install and set up Lemonade

Get the app, a local model, and your first answer.

1. Download Lemonade from the download section. Run the Windows installer. On Linux, make the AppImage executable in your file manager and open it.
2. Open Lemonade. In the setup screen, let it use an existing Ollama installation or install its own runtime when prompted. Stay connected while the runtime and models download.
3. Under A model to think with, choose One model for everything for a simple start, or Specialists for separate models by task. Keep the required embedding model selected and click Download.
4. Optionally choose a folder under Your files. You can add folders later in Settings.
5. Click Start using Lemonade and ask a simple question. The first reply may take longer while the model loads into memory.

You do not need a model API key or a Lemonade account. Leave room on disk for the app, runtime, and the models you choose; the download screen shows model sizes.

Find your way around

Use the small panel for quick questions or expand it for longer work.

1. Click the Lemonade bubble or press Ctrl + Space to open the panel. Hover over a title-bar icon to see its name.
2. Use Chat, Projects, and History to switch between your current conversation, saved project material, and previous chats.
3. Click Expand for more room, the conversation sidebar, and supporting information. Click Collapse to return to the compact panel.
4. Use the title-bar buttons for Apps, Talk to your model, Meetings, and Settings. Click the model status strip in the compact panel to open Models.
5. Close to tray hides the panel. Open it again with the bubble or your toggle shortcut; use the tray menu when you want to quit the app.

Chat, follow up, and manage conversations

Tell Lemonade the task, the source material, and what you want back.

1. Click New chat for a new topic. Type a request such as Help me turn these notes into a one-page project brief.
2. Press Enter to send. Use Shift + Enter for a new line. Use the stop control if you want to end a reply in progress.
3. Read the answer and any source references. Follow up with a specific change, such as Make the actions a checklist and keep the dates.
4. Open History to search and reopen a conversation. Pin a chat you return to often. Use its delete control when you want to remove it.
5. Start a fresh chat when switching to unrelated work. This keeps the previous discussion from confusing the next request.

Attach files and ask questions

Use a few specific documents without setting up a watched folder.

1. In Chat, click Attach files or drag files onto the panel. Check the file chips to confirm what you attached.
2. Ask a focused question: Compare these two reports. List changed figures and cite the relevant sections.
3. If a permission prompt appears, review the requested file and click Allow once to continue.
4. Open the cited source or file link and check the important details. Ask a follow-up in the same chat.
5. Remove an attachment chip before sending if you picked the wrong file.

Readable formats include text and Markdown, CSV/TSV, PDF, DOCX, PPTX, XLSX/XLSM, and many source-code formats. Image-only scans may need a screenshot or image question instead of text extraction. File readers have size limits; split a large document when the app reports one.

Search folders and your local knowledge

Make frequently used documents available to future questions.

1. Open Settings and choose Index from Jump to…. This takes you to Local knowledge.
2. Click Add folder, select the folder, and let indexing finish. Keep an embedding model installed; it powers semantic search.
3. Check the document count and indexing status. Keyword search can be available while passages are still waiting for embeddings.
4. Return to Chat and ask Find the cancellation terms in my client contracts and show the source. For a known filename or exact phrase, tell Lemonade what to find and which folder to search.
5. Use Reindex if the index needs rebuilding. Remove a watched folder with its remove control when it should no longer be watched.

Use Open folder beside Lemonade content folder to find generated documents and readable copies of saved work. Changing the embedding model rebuilds the index.

Ask about an image or your screen

Bring the exact part you need help with into the conversation.

1. Install a model with image/vision support in Models, or use the multimodal setup option.
2. Click Capture a region and select the area, or Capture the window for a window capture. The default shortcuts are Ctrl + Shift + 2 and Ctrl + Shift + 3.
3. Review the screen-capture permission prompt if one appears. You can also paste an image from the clipboard into the message box.
4. Check the attached image, then ask a specific question: Explain this error and suggest the next thing to check.
5. If the relevant text is too small, take a tighter capture and try again.

Captures are provided to the local model for the question. This is not continuous screen monitoring.

Create a project and collect material

Keep the sources and working notes for one task together.

1. Open Projects and choose Create a project or New project. Enter a project name and an optional goal, then click Create project.
2. Open the project and click Add material. Choose Files to save file snapshots or Web page to save a page from its address.
3. Choose From Lemonade to add an email, meeting, or conversation. Email requires a connected mailbox. Choose New note for your own text and optionally record why it matters.
4. Use Find material, the type filter, and the sort control to find what you need. Select an item to see its saved content and source.
5. Open Activity to review project changes, or Related chats to return to conversations about the work.

A project keeps saved copies and source links. Editing a project note or restoring a project snapshot does not overwrite the original file or email.

Work with a project in chat or voice

Keep the conversation connected to the right task.

1. In a project, click Chat about this project. In an existing chat, use the Working in selector to choose the project.
2. Ask a question about its material: Use this project’s sources to list the unanswered questions before we draft the proposal.
3. To file a chat, click Add to project, choose the destination, and confirm. You can also say or type Add this to Customer proposal.
4. Open the project and check Material and Related chats for the saved work.
5. Use No project in the working-project selector when the next conversation should be independent.

Filing a chat with Add to project keeps its conversation, files, and links together without changing the current working project. Check the confirmation to see what was saved.

Compare versions, restore snapshots, and link items

Understand how saved material changed without losing earlier copies.

1. Open a project item. Use Refresh snapshot when you want a new copy of its source.
2. Choose a Saved version, then another version under Compare with to see supported text differences.
3. For a note, click Edit note, make the change, add a reason, and choose Save new version.
4. To bring back earlier content, select its version and use Restore saved version. This creates a new project version and preserves the history. Use Export this version for a separate file.
5. Under Related items and backlinks, choose an item, describe the relationship, and click Link items. If competing versions are shown, use Review competing versions before resolving them.

Very large documents cannot be compared inline. Export the versions if the interface asks you to compare them outside Lemonade.

Export, import, and manage projects

Move a project with its saved material and history.

1. Open Project options. Set Your name in version history and click Save name if you want your changes attributed.
2. With a project selected, choose Export project and save the bundle. It includes saved content and history, so choose its recipients accordingly.
3. On the receiving installation, open Project options and choose Import a project. Select the exported bundle, then review the imported material and any competing versions.
4. Use Copy project link or Copy item link to reference existing local work. A link by itself does not transfer the saved content to another computer.
5. To delete a project, expand Delete this project, type its name, and confirm. Original files, emails, meetings, and chats remain in their original locations; previously exported bundles also remain.

Create a document or deliverable

Ask for a real file in the format you want to use.

1. Attach the source material or start a project chat. Specify the output and its purpose: Create a DOCX project brief from these notes, with a summary, scope, milestones, and open questions.
2. Name the required format: DOCX for a document, PDF for a shareable document, XLSX for a workbook, PPTX for slides, or Markdown for plain-text notes.
3. With Write files set to Ask, review the proposed file, preview, and changes in the permission panel. Choose Write it, or edit the proposal and choose Write my version. Use Deny to decline.
4. Wait for the saved-file link in the reply. Open it to inspect the actual output, or choose Show in folder to locate it.
5. Ask for a revision in the same conversation or open the file in Lemonade’s editor. Check names, figures, formatting, and source references before sharing.

Generated files are kept in the Lemonade content folder. A request for a file is complete when you have a saved-file link, not just a draft in the chat.

Edit documents, PDFs, and Markdown

Use the document editor for direct changes or a focused revision request.

1. On a supported file link, click the sparkle control labelled Open in the editor. The editor opens in its own resizable window.
2. For DOCX, PDF, or Markdown, edit the text and use the formatting controls for headings, lists, bold, italic, underline, and quotes.
3. Use Ctrl + B, I, or U for text formatting. Use Ctrl + S to save.
4. To ask for a change, use Ask Lemonade to change this document…. Review the request and any write prompt in Chat.
5. Open the saved file to check the result. If the file changed while you had unsaved edits, review the editor’s notice before saving.

Lemonade edits a reconstructed document and saves a new rendering of the file. It is best suited to documents created here; complex imported layouts may not be preserved exactly.

Build and edit spreadsheets

Turn data into a workbook you can continue working with.

1. Attach a CSV or readable workbook and ask for an XLSX output. Be explicit about columns, grouping, formulas, and totals.
2. Review and approve the proposed file if prompted. Open its Open in the editor control.
3. Select a cell and change its value or formula. Use the formula bar to inspect expressions such as =SUM(B2:B9). Supported formulas recalculate in the grid.
4. Use Add row, Add column, and Add sheet as needed. Double-click a sheet tab to rename it.
5. Save with Ctrl + S and open the workbook in your spreadsheet application to review formulas and formatting.

The local editor supports a subset of spreadsheet behavior. Check workbooks that rely on advanced Excel features in Excel. Creating an XLSM file does not mean arbitrary VBA macros are generated or executed.

Create and revise slide decks

Give the model an audience, a purpose, and a slide count.

1. Ask Create a six-slide PPTX project update for the client. Include progress, risks, next steps, and speaker notes. Attach the material it should use.
2. Approve the file if prompted, then open it in the editor. Select a slide in the filmstrip.
3. Edit the content and choose a slide layout. Use Add slide or Duplicate to extend the deck.
4. Use Move up, Move down, and Delete slide to organize it. Click Notes to edit speaker notes.
5. Save and inspect the PPTX in your presentation application before presenting or sharing it.

Calculate, analyze data, and work with code

Ask for a reproducible result instead of relying on mental arithmetic.

1. Attach the relevant data or point Lemonade to a readable local file. State the units, columns, and rules.
2. Ask it to calculate the result: Calculate monthly totals from this CSV, show the formula, and flag missing values. Lemonade can run local JavaScript calculations for this work.
3. Review any file-read or shell permission prompt. A calculation and a shell command are different actions; check the action being requested.
4. Review the result and the assumptions. Ask for a spreadsheet or document if you want a saved deliverable.
5. For code help, attach the relevant source files and request an explanation, bug analysis, or specific edit. Review proposed file changes before approving them.

The built-in calculation tool is a restricted JavaScript environment, not a full Python environment or a package installer. Shell access is permission-gated and limited by the app’s command rules.

Build and keep small local apps

Make a reusable tool for a repeat task.

1. In Chat, ask for a small app and describe its behavior: Build a habit tracker with daily checkboxes, a weekly summary, and local saved progress.
2. Review any permission request and wait for the app to be created. Open it and try its main controls with sample data.
3. Click Apps in the title bar to find it again. Use the app’s controls to rename it, mark it as a favourite, or remove it.
4. Use its revision control to request a targeted change, such as larger text or another input. Check the updated app when the change finishes.
5. As your collection grows, use the search and favourites filter in Apps to find a tool.

Mini apps run locally with their own private storage and no network access. They are useful for calculators, trackers, and small utilities, not as published websites or connected services.

Set up your microphone and speaking voice

Install the components for dictation, meetings, and spoken conversations.

1. Open Settings → Voice. Click Install runtime if the speech runtime is missing.
2. Choose a Speech model and click its Download button. Wait until both the runtime and selected model are installed.
3. Choose your Microphone and Output, or leave them on System default. Use the available audio test controls to check your devices.
4. For spoken replies, install the missing component under Speaking, then choose and download a Voice when prompted.
5. Keep Send dictated messages immediately off if you want to review text before sending. Adjust Pause before committing a sentence or How soon it answers if it cuts in too early.

Downloads need a connection. Speech recognition and voice replies then run on your computer. Microphone access is also controlled in Settings → Permissions and by your operating system.

Dictate a message

Speak into the message box and edit the words before sending.

1. Complete voice setup, open Chat, and click the microphone in the composer.
2. Allow microphone access if prompted and speak. Watch the recognized words appear in the message box.
3. Click the microphone again to finish, or press Enter while dictating to finish the dictation. Press Escape to discard the current dictation.
4. Review the text and correct any names or numbers, then send the message. If you enabled immediate sending, dictation may be sent without this review step.

Have a spoken conversation

Talk with the model and hear its replies.

1. Complete speech and speaking-voice setup. Click Talk to your model in the title bar.
2. Click Start talking, allow microphone access, and wait for the listening state.
3. Ask your question naturally. Lemonade shows listening, thinking, and speaking states as it responds.
4. Talk over a reply to add information, or use Stop talking to interrupt its speech. Say cancel when you want to stop the task.
5. Review the transcript, source links, and Actions shown for the conversation. Click End when finished.

Voice tasks still use the normal permission prompts. If a task needs approval, review the prompt in the app.

Record and transcribe a meeting

Capture a meeting locally and return to its transcript later.

1. Complete speech setup, choose the correct microphone, and let participants know you are recording.
2. Open Meetings and click Record a meeting. Review microphone and system-audio permission prompts.
3. Check the You and Them meters. If Lemonade says only your microphone is being recorded, the remote side is missing; fix system-audio capture before relying on a full transcript.
4. Watch the transcript appear and click Stop recording when finished. Allow remaining transcription work to complete.
5. Open the saved meeting. Review speaker names and uncertain lines; rename speakers or reassign a line where needed. Use Export for a saved transcript copy.

The meeting view retains the transcript rather than an audio recording. Linux system-audio capture depends on an available PulseAudio or PipeWire monitor source.

Turn a meeting into notes and actions

Create a summary you can check against what was said.

1. Open a completed meeting and choose the Notes tab.
2. Click Generate notes. Keep the app open while the local model works through the transcript; a long meeting can take several minutes.
3. Review the summary, Decisions, Actions, and Open questions. Click a source reference to jump to that moment in the transcript.
4. Correct speaker assignments or source material where necessary, then use regenerate if you need fresh notes.
5. Enable meeting recall in Settings → Memory to ask about this meeting in later chats, or add it to a project through Add material → From Lemonade → Meeting.

Search the web and check sources

Use current public information alongside your local work.

1. In Chat, make the request explicit: Search the web for the current documentation on this feature and cite the sources.
2. When prompted, review the search query or network request and choose Allow once to proceed.
3. Read the answer and open the source links. Check the date and whether each source actually supports the claim.
4. Ask a follow-up or request a saved summary. To retain a particular page, add its URL through Projects → Add material → Web page.

Web search needs the internet and sends search terms to external services. Keep private details out of the query. The separate Deep Research mode is not enabled in the current release.

Connect, search, and summarize email

Bring selected messages into local work without giving Lemonade sending access.

1. Open Settings → Mail. Choose Connect for Gmail or Outlook and complete the provider’s sign-in and consent flow in your browser.
2. Return to Lemonade and check that the mailbox appears as connected. If Connect is unavailable, read the provider-configuration or credential-storage message shown there.
3. In Chat, click Attach an email. Search your mailbox, select the relevant messages, and attach them. You can also ask Lemonade to find a message by sender or subject.
4. Approve the network request if prompted, then ask for a summary, dates, action items, or a draft you can copy into your mail app.
5. Use Disconnect in Settings to remove the saved login from this machine. To revoke the provider grant too, remove Lemonade’s access in your Google or Microsoft account.

Mail access is read-only. Lemonade cannot send, reply to, or delete messages. Connection availability depends on the provider being configured in your build and secure credential storage being available.

Add connected tools with MCP

Advanced: connect an external tool server you choose to run.

1. Install and configure the tool server according to its own instructions. Have its executable command, arguments, and required credentials ready.
2. Open Settings → Connected tools and click Config file. Add the server in the supported mcpServers JSON format, using the server’s actual command and arguments.
3. Save the configuration and click Restart servers. Check the server name, displayed command, running status, and tool count. Resolve any error shown before continuing.
4. Ask Lemonade to perform the task using the connected tool. Review its permission request and result.
5. Remove or disable the server in the configuration, save, and restart servers when you no longer want it available.

Lemonade communicates with these servers through local pipes. A server is separate software and may contact its own services; its tools do not automatically inherit the privacy properties of local model inference.

Manage recall and learned preferences

Decide which saved work can be used in later answers.

1. Open Settings → Memory. Set Remember past conversations, Recall generated documents, and Recall meetings and notes for the categories you want available.
2. Start a new chat and ask about prior work, giving a useful clue: What did we decide about the proposal deadline? Review the returned source.
3. Under Remembered, click Review to inspect learned preferences and corrections.
4. Use Forget this for an incorrect lesson, or Forget everything and confirm Forget all to clear learned lessons.
5. Delete a conversation, meeting, or generated library file through the appropriate surface when you want its saved searchable content removed. Manage separately saved project copies in Projects.

Turning recall off excludes a category from answers but keeps the saved content. Forgetting learned preferences is separate from deleting conversations, documents, or project history.

Control permissions and review actions

Choose when Lemonade should ask before using a capability.

1. Open Settings → Permissions. Review Read files, Write files, Run shell commands, Capture the screen, Use the microphone, Record system audio, and Web and connected mail.
2. Choose Ask to review each request, Allow to permit that scope without repeated prompts, or Never to block it.
3. When a request appears, read its action, target, and any proposed changes. Click Allow once for a single action, or Write it for a reviewed file write.
4. Choose Always only when you want to change the permission for that scope. Choose Deny or press Escape to refuse.
5. Review the tool activity and saved-file results after a task. Return to Permissions whenever your preferences change.

File writes ask by default. If you change Write files to Allow, do not expect an approval dialog before every write.

Install models and choose one per task

Keep the models that suit your work and your computer.

1. Open Models using the model status strip in the compact panel. Review installed models, available memory, and the suggested choices.
2. Use Get beside a suggested model, or enter a model tag under Pull a model and click Pull. Wait for the download to complete.
3. In Settings → Generation, leave Auto-route models on to let Lemonade choose by task. Turn it off and set Default model when you want a fixed general model.
4. In Model per task, select an installed model for Chat, Code and apps, Reasoning, Summarising, Images, or Indexing. Choose auto to release a task-specific override.
5. Adjust Context window and Temperature if needed. A larger context consumes more memory. Use Delete in Models to remove an unwanted download, keeping models required for your workflows.

A task-specific selection takes precedence over auto-routing. Images need a vision-capable model, and indexing needs an embedding model. A “cold” model is installed but not currently loaded.

Manage model memory and advanced runtimes

Use the default runtime first, then enable advanced options for a specific need.

1. Open Settings → Runtime. Set Release the GPU after to unload idle models after your preferred interval.
2. Leave Ollama host at the local default unless you deliberately run Ollama elsewhere. Changing it to another computer changes where inference runs.
3. For a supported sparse MoE model, enable Tier mid-range MoE models. In Models, use the tiered-runtime installation control if it is missing, then select a supported model.
4. Check the runtime and placement information in Models. The app may fall back to Ollama if the tiered runtime cannot start.
5. Use Adaptive expert preload only with the expectation shown in the UI: it becomes active when the installed native runtime supports the required protocol.

Tiered execution uses GPU memory together with system RAM and storage. It does not make every large model fit or guarantee a speed increase.

Use optional Needle Swarm workers

Advanced: let narrow local read-only tasks run through parallel workers.

1. Open Settings → Runtime and find Needle runtime. Click Install and wait for the ready state.
2. Enable Needle Swarm if it is not already enabled after installation.
3. Choose one to four Swarm workers. Start small and keep the default confidence threshold until you have a reason to change it.
4. Ask a task that has independent local evidence checks, then review the resulting tool activity and answer. The planner decides whether eligible work can use the workers.
5. Turn Needle Swarm off to return to the normal execution path.

Only eligible read-only tools whose permission is already Allow can use the swarm. It does not parallelize file writes, shell commands, web requests, mail, screen capture, or MCP tools.

Try experimental local tool guidance

Advanced: evaluate Laya’s tool suggestions on supported Windows x64 builds.

1. Open Settings → Runtime → Local tool guidance and read the installation status.
2. Click Install Laya and wait for installation to finish.
3. Choose Evaluate only to check suggestions in the background without changing replies, or Assist tool selection to allow suggestions into normal selection.
4. Use a normal task and review the reported suggestion and any errors. Continue to review the actual tool requests and outputs.
5. Set Mode to Off when you no longer want it active.

This feature is experimental, uses additional memory, and may add latency. It does not replace your chat model or remove permission checks.

Change the theme, launcher, and shortcuts

Make Lemonade fit your desktop.

1. Open Settings → Appearance and choose a light, dark, or system theme.
2. Choose a Launcher style and a Corner for the collapsed bubble.
3. Use Settings → Runtime to see the configured Toggle hotkey, Region capture, and Window capture shortcuts.
4. Use Expand or Collapse to choose how much workspace you need. Your website theme and desktop-app theme are separate preferences.

Activate your licence and install updates

Keep the app current and manage the computer using your licence.

1. Open Settings → Licence and open the licence controls. Review your trial or activation status.
2. To activate, paste the key from your purchase email and click Activate. Activation requires an internet connection.
3. Use Release this machine before moving its activation to a different computer. If you lost the key, use licence recovery on the website.
4. In the licence screen’s Updates section, enable automatic checks or click Check now. Wait for an available update to download.
5. Save your work, then click Restart and install when the downloaded update is ready.

The trial lasts 14 days. Trial expiry does not delete your files or conversations. On a platform without an in-app updater, use the current download for that platform.

When something is not working

Start with the part of the workflow that is missing.

1. No answer or slow first reply: open Models, confirm a runtime is reachable and a chat model is installed, and allow time for a cold model to load. Try a smaller model or a shorter context if memory is tight.
2. Missing document answers: confirm the file type is readable, the folder is included, the embedding model is installed, and indexing has completed. Use Reindex if the displayed index is stale.
3. No microphone or remote meeting audio: verify the selected devices and system permissions, then check Lemonade’s permission settings and the meeting’s You/Them meters.
4. No file or tool result: look for a pending or denied permission, inspect the tool error, and verify a saved-file link exists. Retry with a smaller, more specific request.
5. A control is missing: check your installed version and platform, then check for updates. For help, email support@aionx.aionapp.org with your version, operating system, the feature, and the exact error. Include only material you want support to see.