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Use your other computers: a cluster

A cluster joins your computers through Circuit. Add a second computer to the Circuit you already use, and the AI models on it appear in every model picker on all your devices, under that computer's name. Chats on those models run on that computer.

The usual reason is a more powerful machine in the next room: a Mac Studio with plenty of memory, or a PC with a large graphics card such as an RTX 3090. You keep working on your laptop, phone or tablet; the big models run on the big machine.

1. Install Circuit on the other computer

Your computer (Circuit)Same Wi-FiPaid plan

  1. On the other computer, get Circuit from the Downloads page, install it and open it. It runs as an icon in the menu bar (Mac) or system tray (Windows, Linux).
  2. Note its address: the IP Address line at the top of the Circuit icon's menu, such as 192.168.1.20. Clicking it copies it.

The computer you already use runs Circuit too. That one is the main computer of the cluster: the one your devices connect to.

2. Let Circuit through the computer's security

Your computer (Circuit)Same Wi-Fi

The two computers talk over your home network, so each one's security settings have to let Circuit in. Do this on both computers.

Windows

  1. The first time Circuit starts, Windows Defender Firewall asks whether to allow it. Tick Private networks and click Allow access.
  2. Check that Windows treats your home network as private: Settings → Network & internet → Wi-Fi (or Ethernet) → your network → Network profile type → Private network. On a network marked Public, Windows blocks Circuit even after you allowed it.
  3. If you dismissed the question: Windows Security → Firewall & network protection → Allow an app through firewall → Change settings, then tick Private next to Circuit.

Mac

  1. When macOS asks whether Circuit may find and connect to devices on your local network, click Allow.
  2. If you missed it: System Settings → Privacy & Security → Local Network, and turn on Circuit.
  3. If the macOS firewall is on: System Settings → Network → Firewall → Options, and set Circuit to allow incoming connections.

Other security software (antivirus suites with their own firewall) may need the same: allow Circuit on your home network.

3. Get models on the other computer

Your computer (Circuit)Your own AI

  • Ollama: install it from ollama.com and download a model, for example ollama pull qwen3:30b.
  • LM Studio: install it from lmstudio.ai, download a model, and start its local server (the Developer tab).
  • On a Mac: Circuit can also set up and download MLX models for you. See Run AI on your own computer.

There is nothing to set up in Circuitry on that computer: its Circuit finds the Ollama and LM Studio models on it by itself, about once a minute. Embedding models are left out.

4. Add it to the cluster

Your computer (Circuit)Same Wi-FiPaid plan

  1. On the main computer, click the Circuit icon and choose Cluster…. You can also use Settings → Circuits → Cluster in Circuitry, or Set up AI… → Local models → On your other computers.
  2. Type the other computer's IP address and click Add. A four-digit code appears.
  3. On the other computer, Circuit asks Join [main computer]'s cluster? Check that it shows the same code.
  4. Give the computer the name you want to see it by, such as PC or Studio.
  5. Leave Also let it run code here ticked if you want to send workflow steps and CodeBook cells to this computer (see below), then click Join.

It has two minutes to answer. Back on the main computer, the computer shows in the list with a green dot and the number of models it shares.

You can also ask the agent in a chat: "add my PC at 192.168.1.20 to my cluster".

5. Use its models

Any deviceYour computer (Circuit)Paid plan

Open the model picker in a chat, or the chip in the Ask box. The other computer's models are listed with its name. Pick one and the chat runs on that computer. This works on every device connected to the main computer, including your phone and tablet, and away from home with Home Circuit.

The first answer from a large model can take a while: the computer loads the model into memory first.

What the other computer shares

A computer in a cluster shares its AI models, and runs code sent to it if you ticked Run code here. Its files and terminals stay private: the main computer cannot reach them.

You can change Run code here at any time in that computer's Cluster… window, under Clusters this computer is in.

To stop sharing, choose Leave under Clusters this computer is in in that computer's Cluster… window. To take a computer out from the main computer, choose Remove. Either way its models leave the pickers.

Run code on a particular computer

Any deviceYour computer (Circuit)Paid plan

A workflow code node or a CodeBook cell can run on a computer in your cluster, for example the PC with the graphics card for a training step. The computer must allow it: Run code here ticked in its Cluster… window.

  • A workflow code node: select the node and, in its settings, set Execution to Circuit: PC (cluster).
  • A CodeBook: click the gear in the bottom toolbar and choose PC under Execution Target. Cells you add after that run on it.

The code runs with that computer's own Python or Node.js and its files. The packages a step needs have to be installed there.

This is for runs in Circuitry, on your own devices. A workflow you deploy to the cloud, on a schedule or a webhook, does not reach your computers: its steps run in the cloud as usual.

At the same time on several computers: put a Fork node before the steps and give each branch's code node a different computer. The branches of a Fork run at the same time; a Join collects their results. Steps that follow one another, or several lines leaving an ordinary node, run one after another, and a CodeBook runs its cells one after another.

To reach that computer's files and terminals as well, pair your device with it directly, as with any computer: see Connect your phone or tablet to your computer, or on a computer use Settings → Circuits → Add Server with an access key from its Circuit Preferences....

Without Circuit on the other computer

If you would rather not install Circuit there, you can let Ollama or LM Studio accept connections from your network and add the model by its address. The cluster is simpler: with Circuit on the other computer, neither app needs to be opened to the network.

Ollama

  • In the Ollama app's settings, turn on Expose Ollama to the network.
  • Or set the environment variable OLLAMA_HOST to 0.0.0.0 and restart Ollama. On Windows: Settings → System → About → Advanced system settings → Environment Variables, add it under your user, then quit Ollama from the tray and start it again. On a Mac: run launchctl setenv OLLAMA_HOST "0.0.0.0" in Terminal, then quit and reopen Ollama.

LM Studio

  • In the Developer tab, open the server settings and turn on Serve on Local Network, then start the server.

Then, in Circuitry, open Settings → Models → + Add Custom Model and use the computer's address with the app's port: http://192.168.1.20:11434 for Ollama, http://192.168.1.20:1234 for LM Studio. Anyone on your network can then use that model server, so do this only on a network you trust.

If it doesn't work

  • "Nothing answered at …": Circuit is not running on the other computer, the computer is asleep, or its security settings block it. Go through step 2 on that computer; on Windows, check the network is Private.
  • The computer is not in Execution: tick Run code here in its Cluster… window. It shows within a minute.
  • No dialog appeared: the other computer's Circuit is too old. Update it from the Circuit icon's menu (Check for Updates…), then add it again.
  • The computer shows "Not answering": it went to sleep or Circuit was closed. It comes back on its own within a minute of starting again.
  • A model is missing: check it is downloaded in Ollama, or loaded with the server running in LM Studio, on that computer.

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