Setup – Private AI Link

Connect Your Phone to Your Local AI

This page walks you through two ways to use Private AI Link:

Option A: Local Wi-Fi only (offline, no domain needed)
Option B: Secure remote access with Cloudflare Tunnel

Choose Option A if you only need access while you are at home or in your office. Choose Option B if you want to reach your private AI from anywhere with an internet connection.

Step 1 – Prepare Your Home or Office Computer

1. Install a local AI engine such as Ollama or LM Studio on your computer.
2. Download and install at least one open-source model (for example, Llama, Gemma, or Mistral).
3. Start the AI service:

For Ollama (example command):

ollama serve

For LM Studio, open the application and enable its local server or API mode if available.

Keep this computer running while you use Private AI Link. This is your local AI “Home Box”.

Option A – Local Wi-Fi Only (No Internet Required)

A1. Find Your Computer’s Local IP Address

On Windows:

Press Windows key, type cmd and open the Command Prompt.
Type ipconfig and press Enter.
Find the IPv4 Address, for example: 192.168.1.42.

On macOS or Linux:

Open the Terminal.
Type ifconfig or ip addr and look for your local IPv4 address.

A2. Connect from Your Phone

Make sure your phone is on the same Wi-Fi network as your computer.
On your phone, open a web browser.
In the address bar, enter the local IP and port of your AI server, for example:
http://192.168.1.42:11434 (replace with your actual IP and port).
You should now see your AI interface or API page.

A3. Add to Home Screen (PWA Style)

With the AI page open in your phone’s browser, open the browser menu.
Select Add to Home screen or Install app.
An icon will appear on your home screen for quick access.

You now have a private AI assistant that works over local Wi-Fi without using the internet. All data stays inside your own network.

Option B – Secure Remote Access with Cloudflare Tunnel

Use this option if you want to access your local AI from outside your home or office, for example over mobile data or public Wi-Fi.

B1. Install Cloudflare Tunnel (cloudflared)

On Windows (using Winget, run in Command Prompt or PowerShell):

winget install --id Cloudflare.cloudflared

On macOS (Homebrew example):

brew install cloudflared

On Linux:

sudo apt install cloudflared

B2. Start a Temporary Secure Tunnel (No Domain Needed)

From a terminal on your AI computer, run:

cloudflared tunnel --url http://localhost:11434

Replace 11434 with your local AI server port if different.

Cloudflare will print a public HTTPS URL, for example:

https://silver-meadow-1234.trycloudflare.com

Keep this terminal window open while you are using the tunnel. If you close it, the tunnel stops.

B3. Connect from Your Phone (Anywhere)

On your phone, turn on mobile data or connect to any Wi-Fi network.
Open your browser and enter the Cloudflare URL exactly as shown.
The browser will securely reach your Home Box AI through the encrypted tunnel.
Use your AI as usual—your prompts and responses still end up only on your own computer.

B4. Add to Home Screen

With the Cloudflare URL open, use your browser menu.
Select Add to Home screen or Install app.
You now have a home screen icon that opens your private AI from anywhere.

Note: Every time you restart the temporary tunnel, Cloudflare may give you a new URL. For a permanent custom address (for example, https://ai.yourdomain.com), you can create a named tunnel and tie it to your own domain through Cloudflare.

Summary

Option A gives you a completely offline, private AI assistant that works over your local Wi-Fi. Option B adds secure remote access through Cloudflare Tunnel so you can reach your AI from anywhere. In both cases, the AI engine runs on your own machine and your data stays under your control.