BA Copilot Local Edition is the desktop version of BA Copilot for Windows and macOS. It runs the same application code as the cloud version, so the chat, the BPMN editor, the properties panel, versions, folders, team spaces, imports, exports and the Agent all work the way the rest of this help centre describes.
The difference is where your work lives and where the AI runs. In Local Edition, your process maps, chats and settings are stored in a database on your computer, and process maps are generated by the AI engine you choose: the bundled offline model, a model on your own network, or a cloud model you bring your own key for.
What works the same
- Chat and generation. Describe a process and get up to three process map options, then refine them in the same chat. See Using the AI chat interface.
- Editing. The full BPMN editor, properties panel, metadata, versions, and diagram styling.
- Organising. Team spaces, private spaces, folders, linked process maps, and the process directory.
- Imports. Map from files, BPMN and Visio import, and bulk import.
- Exports. PDF, PNG, SVG, BPMN, Word and Visio exports, including branded documents.
- The Agent. The Agent page works across your whole organisation, as long as the active engine supports tool calling. See What the Agent can do.
- MCP. The local MCP configuration lets tools such as Claude Desktop talk to your local BA Copilot.
What is not available
Local Edition is a single-user product. Everything that depends on other people or on the BA Copilot cloud service is switched off:
- Team members and invitations. You cannot invite colleagues, assign roles, or manage seats. The Team page in Settings is not shown. Team spaces still exist, but only you use them.
- Sharing links, feedback collection and review workflows with other users. Publish-for-review, external feedback links, and the "invite a reviewer" chips are hidden.
- Marketplace and listings. You cannot list templates or process maps for other BA Copilot users.
- Billing pages. There is no subscription. Local Edition is licensed with a licence key instead. See Licence, evaluation mode and updates.
- Notifications and in-app changelog. These need the cloud service. Product announcements still reach you through the in-app announcement dialog when automatic update checks are on.
- Automatic model choice. The cloud version picks a model for you. In Local Edition you choose the engine. See Choose and add an AI engine.
Where your data is
Everything is stored in a single database file in your user profile:
- Windows:
%APPDATA%\ba-copilot-local\ba-copilot-local.db - macOS:
~/Library/Application Support/ba-copilot-local/ba-copilot-local.db
Back up that file and you have backed up all of your work. Nothing is uploaded to BA Copilot. When you use a cloud model, only the prompt for that request is sent to the model provider you configured, under your own account with them.
Getting help
The help centre you are reading is the same for both editions. In Local Edition the Help link opens it in your browser.