SCSU Library AI Initiative

Meet HuskyBot — the academic AI built for SCSU.

A custom AI assistant that helps Huskies research faster, write stronger, and cite confidently — powered by an open-weight model fine-tuned for academic work.

Why HuskyBot?See Features

HuskyBot Lite is ready to test

Runs offline on your own Windows PC. Testers wanted: anyone is welcome, and the download includes a 20-minute tester guide.

Download for SCSU students Open model on Hugging Face

Hugging Face: Mac, Linux and Windows · Ollama or LM Studio

Send feedback: [email protected]

Windows says “Bad Image … ggml.dll … 0xc0e90002”?

This is not a broken download. Windows 11 Smart App Control blocks programs that are not yet digitally signed, and the HuskyBot Lite runtime is open source and unsigned for now. We are working on signed builds.

Check first

Open Windows Security → App & browser control → Smart App Control settings. If it says On or Evaluation, that is the cause.

Option 1: unblock the files (quick, may not be enough)

Open PowerShell, paste this command, press Enter, then start HuskyBot Lite again:

Get-ChildItem "$env:LOCALAPPDATA\Programs\HuskyBot Lite" -Recurse | Unblock-File

Option 2: turn off Smart App Control (always works)

Windows Security → App & browser control → Smart App Control settings → Off. Then start HuskyBot Lite again.

Note: on many Windows 11 PCs, Smart App Control cannot be turned back on without resetting Windows. Microsoft Defender antivirus keeps protecting your PC either way. On a university-managed PC, ask IT first.

Still stuck? Email us a screenshot of the error.

Open source
Web + download
Built at SCSU

Built for Everyone on Campus

One assistant. Three communities. Real impact.

HuskyBot is designed to serve students, faculty, and library staff — each with tailored advantages.

For Students

Save hours of research, write stronger papers, and cite with confidence.

Explore advantages

For Faculty

Better-prepared students, faster literature reviews, a teaching-ready tool.

Explore advantages

For the Library

Modernize the library experience and scale reference services 24/7.

Explore advantages

What HuskyBot Does

A purpose-built academic AI — not a generic chatbot.

Citation-Aware

Generates APA, MLA, Chicago, and IEEE citations grounded in real sources.

Research Paper Assistant

Outline, draft, and refine papers with academic-tone checking built in.

Library-Integrated

Connects to SCSU library resources — catalogs, databases, and guides.

Privacy-First

Runs on SCSU infrastructure. Your data stays on campus. No third-party data harvesting.

Downloadable

Take HuskyBot offline — a packaged version runs on your own machine.

Open Source

Fully open-weight model and codebase. Inspect it, fork it, contribute back.

View Full Feature Catalog

Lean by design

A flagship AI initiative — built remarkably lean.

HuskyBot proves that high-quality academic AI doesn't require a corporate budget. By leveraging open-weight models, free academic datasets, and parameter-efficient fine-tuning, we're building something genuinely useful — and genuinely scalable.

Open-source foundation — no per-seat fees, no vendor lock-in

Highly scalable — the same architecture serves 1 student or 10,000

Reproducible — other universities can stand it up too

Web-Accessible

On the SCSU library site

Downloadable

Run it locally, offline

Highly Scalable

From pilot to campus-wide

Open Source

Inspect, fork, contribute

“We’re not building another chatbot. We’re building the academic AI we wish we had — owned by SCSU, accountable to our community, and free for everyone to use and improve.”

The HuskyBot Team — St. Cloud State University Library

Get involved.

Whether you're a student, faculty member, library partner, or open-source contributor — we'd love to hear from you.

Contact the Team See Project Details