Initial setup

Connect the device that will run your model, then make it available to Workspace or your software.

For the Aventail Link 2.0.0 desktop walkthrough, you need an Apple Silicon Mac, an available device slot and internet access. The package installs for your macOS user. Allow disk space and memory for the model and its engine. Terminal alternatives are under Connect your device.

Use the same account and environment in Control and Aventail Link. The captured 2.0.0 build opened development Control; use the download and account for your intended environment. Production and development registrations are separate.

AVENTAIL / CONTROL

Full view

Control sign-in page

The account controls are on the right of the sign-in page.

Slide 1 of 4: Control sign-in page.

Sign-in interface example; use the same account in Link. Use the arrows or progress marks to move between slides.

Choose your sign-in method

Open Control and use Google, GitHub or your email and password. Use the provider you originally registered with.

Continue into setup

For a new account, review the terms and close What’s new. Control opens the three-stage setup wizard.

Read the sign-in steps

Open Control. Choose Continue with Google, GitHub, or enter your email and password and select Sign In. Complete authentication to open the Dashboard.

On first sign-in, review the Terms & Conditions and accept if you agree. Close What's new if it appears to reach the setup wizard below.

Trouble signing in?

Use the provider you originally used; another provider may open a different account.
For email/password access, select Forgot password? to start recovery.
If your organisation manages access, ask its administrator which sign-in method to use.

Web setup wizard

The production Control walkthrough shows Register your first device, with Platform → Connect → Deploy. This is separate from Aventail Link's Connect → Models → Serving → Finish desktop setup; an organisation's development interface can differ.

AVENTAIL / CONTROL

Connect your first device

Full view

Control setup wizard

The setup wizard opens over the dashboard. Start with the Platform stage.

Slide 1 of 6: Control setup wizard.

Control setup screens captured 28 September 2026. Use the arrows or progress marks to move between slides.

Connect your first device — all walkthrough steps:

Choose a platform

Choose macOS for the Apple Silicon desktop app, then Continue. Terminal alternatives are under Advanced.

Download and connect

Install Link, then sign in with the same Control account. Wait for your Mac to connect before continuing.

Older Control capture. Check the downloaded version; Aventail Link 2.0.0 has a different installer and setup.

Deploy the starter model

Choose Deploy model and keep Link running. After deployment, open Serving to start the model.

The device name and available model can differ.

Resume setup

Close the wizard to minimise it. Use Finish setup to return; check deployment progress before retrying.

Read the wizard steps

Open setup

After first sign-in, the wizard opens over the Control Dashboard with macOS · Alpha · Apple Silicon selected. If it is minimised, use Finish setup at the bottom-right.

Choose a platform

Apple Silicon Mac: select Continue for the desktop app. Older Control screens label the button Download Locai Link for macOS; check the package version before following the Aventail 2.0.0 steps below.
Terminal installation: expand Advanced: install via terminal and choose Linux / macOS (terminal) or Windows PowerShell. Follow headless registration.

Pause and resume

Select the × in the wizard header to minimise it, then Finish setup to reopen it. Before registration, the paused step also survives a page reload.

If a reloaded or second tab cannot resume deployment, check Notifications → Deployments before trying again. Once the model is Deployed, start serving; you do not need to download it again.

Connect your device

Choose desktop sign-in or headless registration, then confirm the device is Online.

Download Link for macOS (Apple Silicon). This is the production release. For a development or staging account, use the download offered by that Control environment.

AVENTAIL / LINK

Install Aventail Link on your Mac

Full view

Aventail Link installer

The installer shows its stages on the left and the current action on the right.

Slide 1 of 10: Aventail Link installer.

Aventail Link 2.0.0 · Apple Silicon · captures from 2 October 2026. Use the arrows or progress marks to move between slides.

Install Aventail Link on your Mac — all walkthrough steps:

Open the package

Open the macOS ARM64 .pkg supplied for your Control environment, then choose Continue.

Install for your user

Choose Install. This package installs into your home folder and is available to your macOS user.

Finish the installer

Wait for The installation was successful, then choose Close. The separate Aventail Link Setup window opens.

Sign in to Aventail

Select Sign in with Aventail. In the browser, check the account and organisation before approving this device.

The captured 2.0.0 build opens development Control. Use the environment intended for your package.

Choose your models

Tick a model to start downloading it. You can leave all models unticked to deploy from Control later, then select Continue.

Available models depend on your account. This capture shows the development catalogue.

Let the download finish

Selecting a model starts its download immediately. Wait for it to finish before expecting a serving toggle on the next screen.

This example uses a 2.0 GB model from the development account.

Start serving

Once the download is complete, tick the installed model to serve it on port 8100, then choose Continue.

The image shows the model before its serving checkbox is turned on.

Finish setup

Check All set and the installed/serving counts, then select Finish at the bottom-right of the setup window.

Redacted copy of the supplied capture. This walkthrough finished with one model serving.

Read the installation and registration steps

Choose an installation path

If you are not using the wizard, open Register Device from the Dashboard or Devices page.

Path	Use it for	What connects the device
Desktop app	Apple Silicon Mac with a graphical desktop	Sign in from Link and approve it in your browser
Headless	A supported Linux, macOS or Windows machine managed from a terminal	Install the service, then register with a one-time key

Desktop Mac

Obtain the Aventail Link 2.0.0 macOS ARM64 .pkg for your Control environment. Use the production download above, or the download offered by your development Control environment.
Open it and select Continue → Install. Wait for the successful installation screen and choose Close. No administrator prompt or licence step appeared in the captured installer.
In Aventail Link Setup → Connect, select Sign in with Aventail. Check the browser account, organisation and approval code before approving the device.
In Models, tick a model to start its download, or leave all models unticked to deploy from Control later. Wait for the download, then select Continue.
In Serving, tick the installed model to serve it on port 8100, then select Continue. If Nothing downloaded yet appears, use Back to inspect download progress.
On Finish, check All set and the installed/serving counts, then select Finish. Confirm the device is Online in the same Control environment.

The package installs under your user Library and starts its service automatically. A move from 1.x requires a new registration and model deployments; it does not migrate the old installation. See the illustrated installation walkthrough or macOS installation help.

Read the headless installation steps

Use Aventail Link 2.x for current terminal installations. It supports Linux x64 with systemd, macOS Apple Silicon and Windows x64 through PowerShell. Check platforms and release channels first.

In the intended Control account, open Devices → Register Device → Headless and choose the target operating system.
Run the install command on that device. These examples download the production release:

Linux / macOS
Windows PowerShell

curl -fsSL https://get.aventail.co.uk/install.sh | sh

irm https://get.aventail.co.uk/install.ps1 | iex

The installer verifies the release checksum, installs for your user and starts the background service. Without a key, the service waits for registration. If the installer changes PATH, open a new terminal or use the executable path it prints. See file locations and Linux server startup.

Back in Control, set Key valid for and select Generate registration key. A registration key is single-use; the default validity is 24 hours.
Copy the whole registration command from Control, including LINK_API_BASE, and run it on the target device. For production, its form is:

Linux / macOS
Windows PowerShell

LINK_API_BASE='https://api.locai.co.uk/api/v1' AVENTAIL_REGISTRATION_KEY='YOUR_REG_KEY' aventail register

$env:LINK_API_BASE = 'https://api.locai.co.uk/api/v1'
$env:AVENTAIL_REGISTRATION_KEY = 'YOUR_REG_KEY'
try { aventail register } finally { Remove-Item Env:AVENTAIL_REGISTRATION_KEY }

Replace YOUR_REG_KEY with the generated key. Keep it out of screenshots, source control and shared logs. The variables keep keys out of process arguments; pasted commands can still remain in shell history. Development keys require the development API address and release channel from Control. Link saves the selected API address with its registration.

Run aventail status, then confirm the device is Online in that same Control account. If the key expired or was already used, generate another and repeat registration; do not reinstall only to replace a key.

Unattended installation

The wizard's combined command installs and registers in one step. Put the environment variables on the shell after the pipe:

curl -fsSL https://get.aventail.co.uk/install.sh | LINK_API_BASE='https://api.locai.co.uk/api/v1' AVENTAIL_REGISTRATION_KEY='YOUR_REG_KEY' sh

For PowerShell, run the keyed installer in its own scope and remove the key even if installation fails:

$env:LINK_API_BASE = 'https://api.locai.co.uk/api/v1'
$env:AVENTAIL_REGISTRATION_KEY = 'YOUR_REG_KEY'
try { & ([scriptblock]::Create((irm https://get.aventail.co.uk/install.ps1))) }
finally { Remove-Item Env:AVENTAIL_REGISTRATION_KEY }

Fleet enrollment uses AVENTAIL_FLEET_KEY instead. Copy the fleet command from Add devices; see fleet enrollment.

Locai Link (Legacy Aventail) 1.x registration screenshots

AVENTAIL / LEGACY LINK

Headless registration in Locai Link (Legacy Aventail) 1.3.2

Full view

Device registration in Control

Slide 1 of 4: Device registration in Control.

Older headless registration capture; match commands to the package installed on the target device. Use the arrows or progress marks to move between slides.

Headless registration in Locai Link (Legacy Aventail) 1.3.2 — all walkthrough steps:

Headless device

Choose the target operating system, run its installer there, then generate and use a registration key.

Locai Link (Legacy Aventail) 1.3.2 registration example. Match the installer and command to your version; this capture shows Windows PowerShell.

Confirm Online

Check the new record belongs to the intended account. Registration success alone does not establish connectivity.

Register: Use the intended account
Run Link: Keep its service running
Check Devices: Confirm Online

These earlier captures show the old locai command. Follow the current Aventail commands above for a new installation. get.locai.co.uk now serves Aventail releases too; it no longer selects a 1.x installer.

Verify the device is connected

Open Devices, identify the new device and confirm Online. Aventail names the device from its operating-system user and hostname unless you supply a name. A registration success message alone does not establish that the background service is online.

In the wizard, Continue to deploy stays disabled while Waiting for your Mac to connect… appears. Once your Mac is connected, select Continue to deploy. A device registered to another account will not complete this account's setup.

If the device stays Pending or becomes Offline, check that Link is running, retain the exact error and follow Link troubleshooting.

Device limit reached

If Control shows Device limit reached, ask the account owner to make capacity available or review the plan. Preserve existing devices you do not own.

Recognise a device-limit message

Remove a device

To remove Link or release a device slot, see Remove a device.

Deploy a model

Choose a compatible model and an Online device with room for both the model and its engine. Aventail setup can download and serve a model directly; do not deploy another copy if it is already installed.

AVENTAIL / CONTROL

Deploy a model

Full view

Control model library

Open Models. The sidebar, library tabs and model table show where deployment begins.

Slide 1 of 5: Control model library.

Control deployment screens captured 28 September 2026. Use the arrows or progress marks to move between slides.

Deploy a model — all walkthrough steps:

Choose a model

Open Models → Globally Shared. Check its task, framework and size before choosing Deploy.

Choose the device

Select the online target device and confirm deployment. It needs capacity for the model and engine.

Wait for completion

Wait for Model deployed successfully. Start serving only when deployment is complete.

Read the deployment steps

Choose a model

In the wizard, select Deploy model for the recommended starter model. Our walkthrough used Gemma 4 (X-Small), a 2.44 GB GGUF download.

Outside the wizard, open Models → Globally Shared. Check the model's type, framework and download size, then select Deploy → Target Device → Deploy Model.

If you selected a model during Link setup, check whether it is already installed before deploying it again. Custom uploads and image/audio classification require different compatibility checks and inputs from this language-model walkthrough.

Check progress

Keep Link running until Model deployed successfully! appears, or the Deployments tab in Notifications shows Deployed. Download percentage and overall progress can differ.

If deployment fails

Check the target device is still Online and has free disk space.
Record the model name and exact error message before retrying.
Check progress before starting another deployment. An accepted upload format does not guarantee the device can run the model.

Serve a model

Serving makes the installed model available to Workspace and API clients. Aventail setup's Serving checkbox starts the selected model on port 8100. Keep Link running while you use it.

AVENTAIL / CONTROL

Make the model available

Full view

Deployment in Control

The completed deployment dialog appears over the model library.

Slide 1 of 5: Deployment in Control.

Serving starts an endpoint; the deployed model stays installed when stopped. Use the arrows or progress marks to move between slides.

Make the model available — all walkthrough steps:

Start serving

After a deployment, keep the available port and select Serve Model. For an installed model, open Serving and turn on its switch.

Find the local endpoint

In Serving → API Usage, find the model endpoint. On this machine use 127.0.0.1 and the displayed port.

Stop when finished

Turn off the model’s switch under Serving and check stopped. This interrupts requests but keeps the model installed.

Serving: Expand the intended device
Model switch: Turn it off
Status: Confirm stopped

Read the serving steps

Start serving

In Control, open Serving and expand your device.
Turn on the model's switch.
In Start Serving, enter an available port, such as 8100, and confirm.
Wait for serving and the endpoint to appear.

You can also use Serve Model with the displayed port from a completed deployment dialog. The first request can take longer while the inference engine loads the model. If it fails, check Notifications and Link troubleshooting.

Choose the endpoint

Client location	API base URL
Same machine as Link	`http://127.0.0.1:8100/v1`
Another authorised machine	The Link machine's reachable address and serving port, followed by `/v1`
Docker container	An address reachable from inside the container; see Open WebUI

Replace 8100 with your actual port. 0.0.0.0 is a server bind address, not a client destination. A network address shown in Control does not establish that it is reachable or protected for remote use.

Stop serving

Turn off the model's switch in Serving and confirm stopped. Stopping interrupts requests using that model, but it stays installed for next time. To free disk space, see Removing models.

Next: chat in Workspace or connect your software.

Sign in to Control​

Control sign-in page

Trouble signing in?​

Web setup wizard​

Control setup wizard

Open setup​

Choose a platform​

Pause and resume​

Connect your device​

Aventail Link installer

Choose an installation path​

Desktop Mac​

Unattended installation​

Device registration in Control

Verify the device is connected​

Device limit reached​

Remove a device​

Deploy a model​

Control model library

Choose a model​

Check progress​

If deployment fails​

Serve a model​

Deployment in Control

Start serving​

Choose the endpoint​

Stop serving​

Sign in to Control

Trouble signing in?

Web setup wizard

Open setup

Choose a platform

Pause and resume

Connect your device

Choose an installation path

Desktop Mac

Unattended installation

Verify the device is connected

Device limit reached

Remove a device

Deploy a model

Choose a model

Check progress

If deployment fails

Serve a model

Start serving

Choose the endpoint

Stop serving