For documents you can’t upload
Ask a question across thousands of pages and FaultBench opens the exact page with the answer. It runs entirely on your laptop, so nothing is ever uploaded.
Court cases
Hired to explain what went wrong, with thousands of pages of case documents a court says stay private.
“Where does the record say the valve was inspected?”
Compliance
Policies, contracts and evidence that can't leave the company, and an auditor who wants the exact clause.
“Which contracts let the supplier subcontract?”
Investigations
Interview notes and internal records that stay confidential while the facts get pieced together.
“Who mentioned the 14 May meeting?”
Client work
Client documents covered by a non-disclosure agreement, which uploading to an AI company would break.
“What does the handbook say about remote access?”
The rules are catching up with AI. Three things changed in the last year.
More court orders, contracts and company policies now say confidential documents must not go into public AI tools.
In court cases, the other side has asked for people’s AI prompts and chat logs, and judges have ordered them handed over.
One claim with no page behind it can cost you the reader’s trust, in a report, an audit or a courtroom.
General information, not legal advice. Check your own contract, court order or policy.
ChatGPT reads PDFs well, but your documents have to go to its servers first. FaultBench keeps them on your laptop.
| Feature |  ChatGPT Claude GeminiCloud chatbots | FaultBenchOn your laptop |
|---|---|---|
| Answers questions about your PDFs | Yes | Yes |
| Your documents stay on your laptop | NoUploaded to their servers | Yes |
| Your questions stay on your laptop | NoSent to their servers | Yes |
| Opens the exact page beside the answer | PartlyCan quote a passage | Yes |
| Tells you when your files don't cover it | PartlyMay fill the gap | YesBuilt to say so |
| Works with no internet | NoNeeds the internet | Yes |
| Knows things outside your files | Yes | NoBy design: it answers from your files |
ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini are trademarks of their owners and are not affiliated with FaultBench. Compared against their standard chat apps, October 2026.
No upload, no cloud, no account. Here is what happens when you ask a question.
Unplug the internet and all four steps still work.
What does touch the internet: the one-time download of the AI model, and feedback, only when you press Send. Some rules limit any AI use, even on your own laptop, so check yours.
Go on, click something. This one’s live. Pick a question, hit Ask, then click a [1] and the real document opens on the page that answer came from.
Ask a question
Ask the way you’d ask a colleague who has read the whole file.
Try a question (click to use)
When someone asks “where does it say that?”, you need a page to point to. Every part of FaultBench is built around that.
Document name and page number on every line. Click it and the page opens with the passage highlighted.
If your documents don’t cover the question, it’s built to say so instead of filling the gap.
It finds the pages. You read them and form the opinion.
The relief valve was not replaced before the incident. The work order was still open, waiting on the part.
This is early. Here’s exactly where it stands.
Free for early adopters while we build it with you. After that, one of two plans, and early adopters keep a founding price.
$179 for 90 days
One case, audit or investigation. Unlimited files and questions for 90 days.
$499 per year
Every project, all year, and every update as new features land.
Planned prices, in US dollars. They may change before launch; early adopters hear first.
We’re looking for a small group of people who work with confidential documents: engineers on court cases, compliance and audit teams, investigators, consultants under NDA. Bring a real (or old) file, tell us what breaks, and help decide what gets built next. Free while we build it, and a founding price after.
Leave your work email. I’ll reply personally to set up a short call.
No newsletter, no spam. One reply from the founder.
Get the current build. Windows, Linux and Apple Silicon Macs. Free, no card.
FaultBench 0.1.2-alpha · free during early access
Checking what you’re running…