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ericflo merged 1 commit into from
Apr 15, 2026
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CE: Add desktop app section to README #291

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28 changes: 28 additions & 0 deletions README.md
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Expand Up @@ -34,6 +34,34 @@ ModelRelay flips the model: a central proxy receives standard inference requests
└────────┘ └────────┘ └────────┘
```

## Desktop App

ModelRelay Desktop is a native tray application that wraps the worker daemon in a lightweight GUI. It stays in your system tray and manages the connection to your relay server — no terminal required.

**Features:**
- System tray icon showing connection status (connected / disconnected / relaying)
- Settings UI for backend URL, relay server, worker secret, model selection, and poll interval
- Auto-reconnect on connection loss with status notifications
- Auto-start on login
- Live model list that refreshes as your backend models change

**Download:** Grab the latest installer for your platform from the [Desktop Releases](https://github.com/ericflo/modelrelay/releases?q=desktop) page.

| Platform | Installer |
|----------|-----------|
| Windows | `.msi` or `.exe` |
| macOS | `.dmg` |
| Linux | `.AppImage` or `.deb` |

**Getting started:**
1. Download and install the app for your platform
2. Launch ModelRelay Desktop — it appears in your system tray
3. Right-click the tray icon and open **Settings**
4. Enter your backend URL (e.g. `http://127.0.0.1:8000`), relay server URL, and worker secret
5. Click **Connect** — the tray icon updates to show your connection status

The desktop app uses the same `modelrelay-worker` library under the hood, so it supports all the same backends (llama-server, Ollama, vLLM, LM Studio, etc.).

## Who is this for?

- **Home GPU users** running local models who want a single API endpoint across multiple machines
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