# Running on a cell phone (on-device or thin-client)

"Runs on a cell phone" can mean two things; the app supports both via one env switch.

## The inference switch

`server/model.py` reads `INFERENCE_BASE_URL`:

- **Unset (default):** the GGUF is loaded in-process via `llama-cpp-python` (the Space / a laptop).
- **Set:** generation is delegated to a remote **OpenAI-compatible / llama.cpp server** at that URL.
  Same agent code, different inference location.

```bash
export INFERENCE_BASE_URL="http://127.0.0.1:8080/v1"   # a llama-server on the phone
export INFERENCE_API_KEY="..."                          # optional
export INFERENCE_MODEL="gemma-e4b"                       # optional label
```

So "on the phone" = run a `llama-server` **on the device** and point the agent at `127.0.0.1`.

## On-device model profile (Gemma E4B edge)

A 31B Q4 GGUF (~18–20 GB) needs a GPU and will not run on a phone. Use the lightweight **Gemma E4B**
edge variant (see [PLAN.md](../PLAN.md) and the README *Accuracy upgrade* section), with a small
context window:

```bash
export MODEL_REPO="<your-or-community gemma E4B GGUF repo>"
export MODEL_FILE="<gemma-e4b-*-Q4_K_M.gguf>"
export N_CTX=4096           # keep the KV cache small on a phone
export N_GPU_LAYERS=0       # CPU; on a Mac use Metal layers instead
```

## Android (Termux) — genuinely on-device

```bash
pkg install python git cmake clang
git clone <this repo> && cd imessage-calendar-agent
pip install -r requirements-ci.txt llama-cpp-python   # CPU build
# Option 1: run the whole app (UI + /agent) on the phone
USE_STUB_EXTRACTOR=0 python app.py                    # http://127.0.0.1:7860
# Option 2: run only a llama-server and point a client/app at it
#   llama-server -m <gemma-e4b.gguf> --port 8080
#   then set INFERENCE_BASE_URL=http://127.0.0.1:8080/v1
```

Expect multi-second latency per request on phone CPU — keep `N_CTX` small and threads short.

## iOS — the honest limit

iOS does **not** allow background message access or a persistent background LLM server. You cannot
run an autonomous on-device agent for iMessage on an iPhone. The supported iOS path is the
foreground **Shortcut** in [automations.md](./automations.md), optionally pointing at a remote
`INFERENCE_BASE_URL` for the model.