FAQ
Deciding whether to use it
Section titled “Deciding whether to use it”Is it hard to set up?
Section titled “Is it hard to set up?”One command installs it. After that you finish setup either in a browser or by answering two questions in a terminal — about ten minutes either way, plus the time it takes to download a model. See the Quickstart.
Does it cost money?
Section titled “Does it cost money?”No. There is no subscription and no per-message charge. The model runs on hardware you already own, so the cost is the electricity it uses.
Do I need a GPU?
Section titled “Do I need a GPU?”No, but it helps a lot. A recent processor runs a small model well enough to be useful; a GPU makes answers several times faster. The model catalog lists what each model needs — though you do not have to read it, because setup picks one that fits.
Which tools work with it?
Section titled “Which tools work with it?”Claude Code, OpenCode and OpenClaw work out of the box. Any client that speaks the OpenAI or Anthropic API can point at your model — see Use it from a chat app.
Is it open source?
Section titled “Is it open source?”The client — everything that runs on your machines — is open source and readable at GitHub. The coordination service that introduces your devices to each other is hosted for you.
Hardware and models
Section titled “Hardware and models”Which models can I run?
Section titled “Which models can I run?”Waired bundles a catalog of coding models and picks the best one your machine can actually run. You can switch at any time: Choose which model runs.
How does Waired choose a model for me?
Section titled “How does Waired choose a model for me?”It looks at your processor, memory and GPU, and picks the highest quality model that fits with room to spare — on a computer with a separate GPU, that means fitting on the card, not spilling over into system RAM — then measures the real speed and offers a lighter one if this machine cannot keep up. It will not fill your disk: if space is short it steps down rather than failing halfway.
Can I run a model that is bigger than recommended?
Section titled “Can I run a model that is bigger than recommended?”Yes. Waired warns you and shows the shortfall, but does not block you. Slightly over usually works and is just slower; genuinely too big fails to load. See I chose a model bigger than my hardware.
Privacy and networking
Section titled “Privacy and networking”Is it private?
Section titled “Is it private?”Your prompts and answers travel between your own devices over an end-to-end encrypted connection. Waired’s control plane introduces your devices to each other and never receives what you send; the relay, used only when a direct connection is impossible, forwards sealed data it cannot read. Full detail: Privacy.
What if my model is down — does my data go to the cloud?
Section titled “What if my model is down — does my data go to the cloud?”No. A Claude Code turn on a Waired entry runs on your own computers or
fails with a reason shown at once — it is not sent to the Anthropic API. If
you want that turn in the cloud, pick an Anthropic model in /model; that
choice is the only thing that sends a turn to Anthropic. See
Use it from Claude Code.
Do I need to open ports or set up a VPN?
Section titled “Do I need to open ports or set up a VPN?”No. Your computers connect directly when the network allows it, and fall back to an encrypted relay when a firewall or strict NAT gets in the way. Both are automatic.
How does signing in work?
Section titled “How does signing in work?”You sign in with Google. Every computer signed in with the same account joins the same private network and can reach the others — that shared sign-in is the whole mechanism. There is nothing to pair and no address to copy.
Can I use it offline?
Section titled “Can I use it offline?”Once a model is downloaded, the computer running it can answer with no internet connection at all. Reaching that computer from another device needs a network path between them — on the same home or office network that works offline too.
Running it
Section titled “Running it”How do I update?
Section titled “How do I update?”waired update, or the update entry on the Waired icon when one is available.
See Update Waired.
How do I remove it?
Section titled “How do I remove it?”One command, about ten seconds — and you choose whether to keep your downloaded models. See Uninstall.
Something is wrong. Where do I start?
Section titled “Something is wrong. Where do I start?”waired doctor. It checks everything and repairs what it can. Then
Troubleshooting, which is organised by symptom.