Plain-AyI

Open-source AI projects, explained in plain words.
A free, read-only guide for non-technical people and developers, with a connector for AI assistants.

plain-ayi.com · New this week · Connector setup · Privacy

What it is

Some of the most useful AI tools are open source, but they're scattered across GitHub and described in developer language. Plain-AyI gathers a growing, non-exhaustive list of them and explains each one in everyday words:

what it does and who it's for
whether you need to code
what it costs, including when a paid AI account is needed
whether your data stays on your device
simple first steps, with safety notes before you install anything

New projects are added every day. Ratings reflect public activity (stars, contributors, downloads, recent updates), not a verdict on which project matters most.

Use it from your AI assistant

Plain-AyI has a read-only MCP connector, so your AI assistant can search the guide for you, for example "find me a free tool that turns my voice recordings into text, without them leaving my laptop".

Connector address: https://plain-ayi.com/mcp. No account or API key is needed.

Claude (web, desktop and mobile)

Find Plain-AyI in Claude's connector directory and click Connect. Or add it yourself: Customize → Connectors → Add custom connector, name it Plain-AyI, and paste https://plain-ayi.com/mcp.

Claude Code

claude mcp add --transport http plain-ayi https://plain-ayi.com/mcp

Cursor

Add to ~/.cursor/mcp.json, or to .cursor/mcp.json in a project:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "plain-ayi": { "url": "https://plain-ayi.com/mcp" }
  }
}

GitHub Copilot in VS Code

Add to .vscode/mcp.json in your project:

{
  "servers": {
    "plain-ayi": { "type": "http", "url": "https://plain-ayi.com/mcp" }
  }
}

Gemini CLI

Install it as an extension:

gemini extensions install https://github.com/AyodejiOO/plain-ayi-connector

Or add to ~/.gemini/settings.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "plain-ayi": { "httpUrl": "https://plain-ayi.com/mcp" }
  }
}

The Plain-AyI skill

The connector gives your assistant the data. The Plain-AyI skill teaches it how to help with it well. It asks a question or two when a request is vague, suggests a few options rather than one "winner", checks the details, and explains each option's cost, coding needs and privacy in plain words, with a short safety note before anything is installed.

Claude Code (skill and connector together)

Install the plugin, which adds both:

/plugin marketplace add AyodejiOO/plain-ayi-connector
/plugin install plain-ayi@plain-ayi

Claude (web and desktop)

Add the connector first (see above).
Download plain-ayi-skill.zip from the latest release.
In Claude, open Customize → Skills, choose to upload a skill, and select the zip.

The skill's instructions are in skills/plain-ayi/SKILL.md, so you can read exactly what it tells your assistant.

Tools

Tool	What it does
`search_projects`	Finds projects by what they do, with optional category and "no coding needed" filters
`get_project`	Full details of one project: cost, privacy, licence, first steps and official links
`list_categories`	The categories in the guide

All three tools are read-only. The connector can't change anything, and it keeps no record of who asked. See the privacy page.

Also listed in the official MCP Registry as io.github.AyodejiOO/plain-ayi.

Feedback

Spotted a wrong description, or looking for a tool that isn't listed? Open an issue, or use the "Report a problem" link on any project page.

About

Plain-AyI is an independent, non-commercial project by Ayodeji Ogunniyi, made as a small way of giving back to the open-source community. With gratitude to everyone who builds in the open and makes intelligence more accessible at no cost.

Plain-AyI links to each project's official pages but doesn't host, review or endorse their software. Please download and install at your own discretion.

This repository holds the connector's public description and setup files. The website's source is maintained separately.

plain-ayi

Documentation