Fooocus is a free, open-source AI image generator built on SDXL that focuses on simplicity: type a prompt and get a great image, with no complicated settings. It is often described as an open-source, offline alternative to Midjourney.
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Fooocus in 2026
Fooocus is in long-term support mode: it receives bug fixes but no major new features, and it is built around SDXL models. It is still one of the easiest ways to create high-quality AI images. For newer models like FLUX.2, use ComfyUI or Forge.
Hardware Requirements
| Minimum | Recommended | |
|---|---|---|
| GPU | NVIDIA 4 GB VRAM (slow) | NVIDIA RTX 8–12 GB+ |
| RAM | 8 GB (+ large page file) | 16–32 GB |
| Disk | ~40 GB for models | SSD |
How to Install Fooocus on Windows
- Download the Fooocus 7z package from the official GitHub releases page.
- Extract it (for example with 7-Zip).
- Double-click
run.bat. The first start downloads the default SDXL models (several GB). - Fooocus opens in your browser at http://127.0.0.1:7865.
Using Fooocus
- Styles: pick from 200+ styles such as Fooocus V2, Cinematic or Anime.
- Performance: Speed, Quality or Lightning/Hyper-SD for very fast generations.
- Image Prompt: use reference images for style, composition or face swap.
- Inpaint/Outpaint and Upscale/Variation tools under Input Image.
Tips and Troubleshooting
- Slow generation: choose Lightning or Hyper-SD performance, or use a faster GPU.
- Out of memory: close other apps and increase the Windows page file (Fooocus needs lots of virtual memory).
- Model download fails: download the SDXL checkpoint manually into
Fooocus\models\checkpoints.
Run Fooocus on a Cloud GPU
No powerful GPU at home? You can run Fooocus on a rented GPU server instead. RunPod and Vast.ai have Fooocus templates on RTX 4090s from about $0.30–$0.34/hour. For a fixed monthly price, GPU Mart (RTX A4000 VPS from $119/month, RTX 4090 $409/month) and HOSTKEY (RTX 4090 from €279/month) offer dedicated servers you can keep running 24/7.
FAQ
Yes, Fooocus is free and open source.
Yes on Apple Silicon, but it is much slower than on an NVIDIA GPU.
No. Fooocus is built for SDXL; use ComfyUI or Forge for FLUX.
Conclusion
Fooocus remains the simplest way to get beautiful SDXL images. If your PC is too slow, run it on a cloud GPU or a GPU Mart server.