Getting started

Welcome. You're joining a member-governed AI cooperative — not signing up for a service from a vendor. You'll help direct the project while getting private AI chat and API access in return.

This guide covers the three things most new members want: becoming a member, using the chat, and getting involved in governance.

1. Become a member

Membership is a sliding-scale contribution of $10–20/month through Open Collective. What you pay is up to you.

Go to opencollective.com/inference-cooperative.
Choose a contribution amount in the $10–20 range and subscribe.
After you contribute, you'll land on a "check your inbox" page.

Within a few minutes, you'll get a welcome email with a link to set up your account. Click it and create your login.

One thing that matters: the email address you use on Open Collective and the email address you use to set up your account must match. Membership is verified by matching those two emails. If they differ, you won't be recognized as a member. (Contributed without an Open Collective account? You're recognized by the email you entered at checkout.)

Your membership includes

Private AI chat through the co-op's shared gateway.
API access for your own tools and projects (see API access).
A monthly usage allowance of $15 of credit, shared between chat and API.
A voice in governance — how the project is run and where it goes next.

2. Use the chat

The chat lives at chat.inference.coop. Log in with the account you created in step 1.

Choose your model. You can pick not just which model but where it runs: private (Tinfoil, runs in encrypted enclaves) or green (GreenPT, 100% renewable energy). See the model list for the full list.
Web search is enabled by default (self-hosted, no external dependency).
File uploads work out of the box — ask the chat about a document you attach.
Your usage draws from your monthly allowance; you can see it on the Member Dashboard.

If the chat ever says your balance is out, that's the allowance, not an error — see "Your allowance" below.

3. Get involved in governance

You don't just use the co-op; you help run it. Decisions about models, pricing, privacy, and direction happen on our Loomio forum:

forum.inference.coop — where members discuss and decide.
See the Charter for how governance is structured.
See Open questions for the decisions currently on the table.

During the pilot phase, Nathan Schneider serves as General Manager and holds final discretion — but members deliberate now, and full member governance is the goal as the co-op grows.

Help build it

Everything we run is open source, and members are welcome to contribute code, documentation, and design. See Infrastructure for the map and the "Contributing" section for how to propose changes through git.inference.coop.

Your allowance

Membership includes $15 of usage credit each month, shared between chat and API. It's a starting value, not a hard rule:

The allowance can be adjusted per member — contact info@inference.coop.
When it's exhausted, requests pause until the next cycle.

Need help?

Questions about the service or your account: info@inference.coop
Governance and decisions: the forum
Building on the API: API access
Leaving: cancel your subscription on Open Collective; your account is deactivated and your data preserved for reactivation. You may request full deletion.

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