# Getting started

Relmio sets up provider sign-in connections for local apps, private companions
for n8n, and an optional self-hosted local-model workflow. SuperGrok is available
for local apps and existing n8n deployments on the same computer or a VPS. It
uses its own official device sign-in and never requires or reads ChatGPT
credentials.
| Need | Choose | Credential |
| --- | --- | --- |
| SuperGrok for a local backend | Grok Build adapter | Official subscription OAuth and a local bearer |
| SuperGrok for existing local or VPS n8n | Private SuperGrok companion | Official subscription OAuth and a local bearer |
| Claude plan for text workflows in existing local Docker or VPS n8n (experimental) | Private Claude companion | Official Claude Code sign-in in your own terminal and a one-time local Relmio bearer |
| Trusted native Codex client | Codex App Server relay | SIWC registration and a high-trust local bearer |
| Read-only local Codex chat | Codex Chat Adapter | SIWC registration and a separate local bearer |
| ChatGPT plan use from local or self-hosted n8n | Private OpenAI-compatible sidecar | Separately granted ChatGPT plan permission and a one-time local Relmio bearer |
| n8n AI Assistant tools | Code Sandbox, with optional SearXNG | A generated sandbox key and a model credential entered in n8n |
| Provider-free model for a self-hosted n8n workflow | Local model for n8n | No provider sign-in; Ollama's required API-key field is ignored |

Identity sign-in, plan permission, and successful model access are separate.
ChatGPT sign-in is not an OpenAI Platform API key. Relmio does not import a
personal Codex login, merge accounts by email, or fall back to Platform API
billing. The website's `/api/chat` returns `410 Gone`; local SIWC setup does
not enable hosted inference. See the
[2026-10-05 source check](openai-source-check-2026-10-05.md).

## Install

On macOS, Linux, or WSL with Node.js 24 or newer:

```bash
npx --yes --ignore-scripts relmio@latest
```

The foreground wizard opens on `127.0.0.1` without creating persistent Relmio
state. On a first-run machine with no `.relmio` directory or local n8n stack,
it still opens and presents missing prerequisites in the browser. Choose
**ChatGPT on my server** to use the local sign-in and VPS flow; use
`relmio local` only when you explicitly want setup for this computer.

The ChatGPT flow stores each verified registration separately. If the
provider grants identity but not `chatgpt.tokens.use.direct`, the account
remains connected without plan use. Enable that permission in a separate
ChatGPT consent step. After a new registration's first verified plan grant,
Relmio enables eligible text plan use. Choose **Got it** on **You're using your
ChatGPT plan** before model access. Existing paused registrations stay paused
on reconnect, and **Pause plan use** remains available. Sign-in opens in the
same browser when a new tab is allowed; a blocked tab uses the system browser.
Closing the reserved tab before it launches cancels that attempt. These controls
do not approve background n8n workflows or enable the separate image add-on;
**Manage usage** opens ChatGPT's usage settings. Existing personal Codex
credentials are never imported.

After an install, **Plan and usage** shows the requests sent through the n8n
sidecar in the last 30 days. Relmio shows no plan percent, reset time or
credits; they stay on ChatGPT's Usage page. See
[VPS and n8n](vps-and-n8n.md#see-plan-and-usage) and
[the local dashboard](local-dashboard.md#plan-and-usage).

The VPS wizard has five visible steps: **Choose setup**, **Check server**,
**Choose n8n**, **Review**, and **Ready**. It confirms the SSH fingerprint
before authentication. Review shows the verified server identity and exact
write plan; the final remote-write confirmation is separate. For transfer,
Relmio initializes a distinct destination host ID, freezes the source session,
and makes the destination the sole refresh owner after it verifies a receipt.
An unknown transfer outcome stays frozen for inspection.

Local endpoints use `127.0.0.1`; n8n sidecars join a selected private Docker
network and publish no host port. Installing for n8n needs separate background
workflow approval. For n8n created by Relmio, approved ChatGPT, local-model,
SuperGrok and local Claude add-ons try to import their connection credential. Other n8n
installations require manual entry. OpenAI tokens stay in the ChatGPT sidecar.
See [New local n8n with optional ngrok](local-n8n-stack.md) for setting up a
private stack and its separately reviewed add-ons.

On Git Bash, use the hosted launcher. It downloads a checksum-verified temporary
Node.js runtime and uses Git for Windows' bundled `winpty` bridge so the wizard
keeps its interactive terminal:

```bash
curl -fsSL https://relmio.jpfusin.tech/install.sh | sh
```

Direct NPX on Git Bash 2.38.1 still needs `MSYS=enable_pcon` for that one
process. Native PowerShell and Command Prompt installers are also available.

## Use the setup guide

The first time you open the wizard, it asks whether to start the setup guide.
Relmio, the mascot from the logo, then takes you through the page one quest
at a time, such as **Check your server**. It points at the box or button you
need with a short label like **Type here** or **Press this** and says what it
is for in plain words. Where it helps, it shows an example such as
`203.0.113.10`, and **Where do I find this?** says where to look the value
up. Examples are documentation values, and the guide never types into a
field for you.

**Next tip** and **Back** move between tips. **Show me** points at the
quest's tips one after another, then scrolls to the one you need and moves
focus to it. A key press, click, scroll or touch stops it. If your system is
set to reduce motion, it numbers the tips instead. Each finished quest earns
a badge, and the Ready screen lists your badges and next steps.

If a step fails, the guide explains the error, lists what to do next and
points at the control that fixes it. A **Need help with this error?** button
opens the same help. **Help** is available on every wizard page even after
you skip the walkthrough. Open it for the current step, or choose a topic under **This step**,
**Questions** or **Words**. Open an optional section first to include its
controls in **This step**.

If **Check the server** is unavailable, choose **Help with Check the server**
beside the account status. Identity-only sign-in points to **Allow ChatGPT plan
use**. A paused plan points to **Use ChatGPT plan**. A granted plan with an
unread notice points to **Review plan notice**, then **Got it**. A transferred
or unresolved registration points to its installation's management or recovery
controls. Preview and busy states explain their own restriction. None of these
actions verifies model access by itself.

In contextual help, **Show me** highlights the named control and moves focus
to it if it is enabled. It never clicks a button, checks consent or installs
anything. If that control is absent or hidden, help says so and omits **Show
me**. Choose **Current step** or open the relevant section to recover.

The down arrow at the top of the guide (**Hide guide**), or Escape while the
guide has focus, folds it into a chip. The chip shows the current tip title
while the walkthrough is on, **Help** when it is off, and **Need help with
this error?** after a failure. Press the chip to open that tip. An unopened
guide stays clear of the field you are using, the step's buttons and error
messages, and folds instead of covering them when the window is too small.
**Skip guide** turns the walkthrough off and keeps **Help** available. The
**Setup guide** button in the top bar, or in the menu on very narrow
windows, turns it on or off at any time. Read marks and badges stay in session
storage for the current browser tab; no other guide progress is saved. Only
the guide on/off choice is stored in Relmio's preferences. Every wizard page
has the guide, including the dashboard on this computer, the Assistant wizard
and **Hosting options**.

**About this help** lists the bundled help revision, source version, review
date and source guides. Help runs on this computer using fixed FAQ entries,
the visible step and bounded state rules. It makes no model requests and
saves no question history. Unknown state or unsupported metadata falls back
to the current view's instructions, without suggesting an unverified action.

Relmio saves only the on or off choice, in `ui-preferences.json` in the
ChatGPT sign-in folder (`N8N_OPENAI_OAUTH_HOME`, or `~/.n8n-openai-oauth`), so
the next run remembers it. See [Security](security.md#what-the-wizard-does).

## Existing cloud n8n and SSH access

For a provider-free model on an existing Linux VM, choose **Local model · your
VPS**. Hosting guidance covers Hetzner, Contabo, AWS EC2/Lightsail, DigitalOcean
Droplets and OCI Compute. Enter the actual image/administrator username, use a
key already loaded into a local SSH agent or an approved password, verify the
host fingerprint, and review the final plan. Relmio does not collect private
keys or change SSH policy.

The host needs rootful Docker Engine, Compose v2 and Buildx targeting that same
local daemon, a running official n8n container on an eligible existing bridge,
sufficient measured resources and a safe preexisting root-owned `/docker`.
The model route can use verified
**Passwordless sudo -n (model only)**; OAuth bridge, AI Assistant, SuperGrok and Claude
VPS routes still require existing approved direct-root access. Agent setup
does not grant sudo or expand those routes.

Render's service SSH is not host administration. A separate paid Render private
model service is possible with manual setup, its own persistent disk and
internal DNS; it is not a Relmio-managed deployment. Read
[Hosting compatibility](hosting-compatibility.md) before choosing a route.

## Keep the dashboard available

Install a persistent command with Node.js 24 or newer, then use its explicit
lifecycle commands:

```bash
npm install --global --ignore-scripts relmio@latest
relmio start
relmio status
relmio open
relmio stop
```

`relmio start` runs the owner-scoped dashboard in the background. `relmio
status` verifies only that process without printing its private session value.
`relmio open` starts it when needed and opens its private page. `relmio stop`
stops only that process; it does not stop or restart n8n, ngrok, endpoints,
bridges, Assistant companions, or unrelated containers.

The hosted curl, PowerShell, and Command Prompt launchers can use a verified
temporary runtime. Git Bash always uses that path so its native Node child can
run through `winpty`. In those cases the wizard remains a foreground, one-shot
process and ends with that terminal session. The temporary runtime is removed,
so install Relmio persistently before relying on these lifecycle commands.

## Choose a guide

- [Local dashboard](./local-dashboard.md) for launch commands, service states,
  available actions, and credential boundaries.
- [Local endpoints](./local-endpoints.md) for the gateway, Codex, the Chat
  Adapter, the n8n bridge, and local Assistant tools.
- [New local n8n with optional ngrok](./local-n8n-stack.md) if you do not already run n8n.
- [AI Assistant companion](./ai-assistant.md) for Assistant setup and its
  limits.
- [VPS and n8n](./vps-and-n8n.md) for the remote sidecar route.
- [Private local models](./local-models.md) for measured capacity, model
  choices, local/VPS installation, network trust, and explicit cache removal.
- [Hosting compatibility](./hosting-compatibility.md) for VM, PaaS, and
  container-platform boundaries.
- [SuperGrok on a VPS](./vps-supergrok.md) for the provider-specific VPS flow.
- [Claude subscription (experimental)](./claude-subscription.md) for the
  wizard and command-line setup of the owner-only Claude Code companion for n8n,
  and its limits.
- [Troubleshooting](./troubleshooting.md) when setup stops.
- [Security](./security.md) for account, network, and credential rules.

On the hosted docs site, **Find a guide** matches guide titles and summaries
and lists any matching guide section, even if its guide did not match. The
section index loads when the search field is first used.