[Thomas Messerschmidt]

Hi! 🤖👋

I’m finishing a section of my book, "A VERY Gentle Introduction to LLM AI" that walks readers through downloading, installing, and coding with the GPT4All API. Before I publish it, I’d love a few volunteers to “dry run” my instructions on their own computers and tell me what breaks, what’s confusing, and what needs clearer screenshots/steps.

What you’ll do (simple + fun 😄)

• Follow my step-by-step install instructions (GPT4All + the Python API setup)

• Run a small “hello world” style example

• Tell me what worked / what didn’t

Prerequisites (important!)

• You must already have Visual Studio Code installed

• You must already have Python set up and working in VS Code (you can run a simple Python script successfully)

• Please do NOT already have GPT4All installed on that computer (I need testers starting from a clean slate so the instructions are truly beginner-proof)

Computer requirements (so this doesn’t turn into a sad robot noise situation 🥲)

• RAM: 16 GB recommended (8 GB is the minimum, but 16 GB is much smoother for bigger models)

• Operating system: Windows 10+ or macOS 12.6+ or Ubuntu 22.04+

• CPU: must support AVX/AVX2 (most modern Intel/AMD CPUs do)

• Free disk space: at least ~10 GB free (the app + one or two models can be several GB each)

• GPU: optional (it can run on CPU-only), but if you have a decent GPU you’ll likely get faster responses

  • If you do have one: NVIDIA/AMD or Apple Silicon is great; 8 GB+ VRAM is a nice-to-have

Time commitment

• About 30–60 minutes, depending on downloads and whether your machine decides to be dramatic that day 😅

If you can help, please reply with:

• Your OS (Windows/macOS/Linux)

• RAM amount (ex: 16 GB)

• Whether you have a GPU (and what kind, if you know)

• Confirmation that you have VS Code + Python working already, and GPT4All is not installed yet

• When you might be available

Thank you in advance—this is one of those “measure twice, publish once” moments, and your feedback will directly improve the book. 🙌

Thomas

[Chris Albertson]

The hard question to answer, that you can’t get from a test like this, is “Will these instructions still work in 2 years or even after 6 months?”

There is a balancing act: if the instructions are very “cookbook” like and detailed, those instructions break when software versions change or they only work on one kind of system, maybe Ubuntu but not Mac or Windows.   But on the other hand, if you don’t make it very specific, then people who lack the required prerequisite skills cannot follow the instructions.

One example is what if I write, “Go to GitHub someone/somerepository and clone it to a suitable place on your computer”.  That is very good instructions and enough for most people, but what about the person who does not understand what GitHub is and how it works?       But if you try to put in instructions that can be cut and pasted, they break if any of 100 things change.  And in time, they always change.        

Not saying it is impossible, just that you have to balance and you have to pick your audience.

On Jan 27, 2026, at 11:51 PM, Thomas Messerschmidt <thomas...@gmail.com> wrote:

Hi! 🤖👋

I’m finishing a section of my book, "A VERY Gentle Introduction to LLM AI" that walks readers through downloading, installing, and coding with the GPT4All API. Before I publish it, I’d love a few volunteers to “dry run” my instructions on their own computers and tell me what breaks, what’s confusing, and what needs clearer screenshots/steps.

What you’ll do (simple + fun 😄)

• Follow my step-by-step install instructions (GPT4All + the Python API setup)

• Run a small “hello world” style example

• Tell me what worked / what didn’t

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[Thomas Messerschmidt]

True. 

Thomas Messerschmidt

-  

Need something prototyped, built or coded? I’ve been building prototypes for companies for 15 years. I am now incorporating generative AI into products.

Contact me directly or through LinkedIn:   

https://www.linkedin.com/in/ai-robotics/

On Jan 28, 2026, at 9:47 AM, Chris Albertson <alberts...@gmail.com> wrote:

The hard question to answer, that you can’t get from a test like this, is “Will these instructions still work in 2 years or even after 6 months?”

To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/hbrobotics/96190477-73A3-4216-A982-A6C2D844F06C%40gmail.com.