Connect local services.

Connect makes supported local services reachable through a tunnel. Runtime executes recipes; Ollama, ComfyUI, and Blender have their own service adapters. Connecting a service does not install every model or prove it can perform your intended job. This guide covers CLI 0.9.0.

#Start Runtime and a tunnel

kaitoi connect login
kaitoi connect whoami
kaitoi up

up starts or reuses Runtime on port 8766, then keeps a tunnel running in the foreground. The default Kaitoi tunnel uses a stored relay login; setting a platform API token is a separate mechanism and does not replace that login. The supported tunnel provider choices are kaitoi and cloudflare.

Studio reaches a tunnel endpoint, which forwards to the machine's Runtime. Runtime then executes installed recipe code and returns outputs. Relay account identity and Runtime's machine token serve different purposes. The tunnel can stop while a separately started Runtime stays running. A direct local Code model uses its local endpoint without this tunnel.

The machine cutaway follows the example hello-text recipe through recipe.yaml and run.py to outputs/result.txt. The returned local file and the connection process are separate objects.

In Studio, open Settings → Integrations → Runtime. This area is available when your account has local integration access. Check connection status and Installed Recipes, then inspect or install the capability you need.

#Connect a specific service

kaitoi connect runtime --host localhost --port 8766 --auto-start
kaitoi connect scan

Runtime can be reused or started through --auto-start. The service commands ollama, comfyui, and blender accept host/port, provider, --check-only, and --target auto or --target scan. ComfyUI also accepts --wrapper-port; Blender accepts --blender-path. connect scan currently discovers Ollama, ComfyUI, and Blender, not Runtime. Use the specific command's --help for its port defaults and prerequisites.

For a custom service, the two command forms use different health options:

kaitoi tunnel 3000 --name my-app --health /health
kaitoi connect custom 3000 --health-path /health

Use one form for the service you intend to expose. A custom tunnel makes that service reachable; consider what its endpoints allow before starting it.

#Keep credentials and model routes distinct

Runtime's machine bearer token authenticates its local API and forwarding. It is separate from your platform account token and relay login. Do not replace one with another when diagnosing a connection.

Code's local:ollama provider talks directly to a local model endpoint and needs no tunnel. Hosted provider ollama means Ollama Cloud. A healthy connection does not prove a model is downloaded, memory is sufficient, a recipe is installed, or its outputs have passed a real run.

#Stop and restart intentionally

kaitoi status
kaitoi stop

stop stops local tunnels and Runtime processes. restart stops them and starts fresh. Interrupting the foreground tunnel with Ctrl+C does not guarantee that the separately launched Runtime stops. Lower-level connection cleanup stops resources owned by that invocation and preserves pre-existing services. Check status when you need to confirm that the machine is no longer serving work.