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 starting at $5/month through Open Collective (the suggested level is $15 — pay what fits your circumstances).

Go to opencollective.com/inference-cooperative.
Choose a contribution amount ($5 minimum) 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.
Credit packs — buy extra non-expiring credits when you need more.
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 and Regolo, 100% renewable energy — Regolo adds a written zero-data-retention policy). 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.
Image generation is built in — ask the chat for an image (for example, "draw a pine tree in flat green circles") and it renders one.
Voice works in both directions: speak to the chat with the microphone icon, and have replies read aloud.
External tool servers. The chat can connect to external tool services — things that let the AI do like search marketplaces, query other services, or pull in specialized data. Members can add their own OpenAPI services: go to Settings → Services → Integrations → External Tool Servers, click add, and enter the service's URL (it must publish an OpenAPI spec). In a conversation, pick the tool server from the tools menu near the message box and ask away. Please review what a third-party tool service does with your data before connecting it. MCP-protocol servers are also supported, but those are added by admins and appear for everyone — if there's an MCP service you'd like available, ask in #general.

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.

Add the chat to your phone

The chat works like an app on your phone — no app store needed. Open chat.inference.coop in your phone's browser and log in, then:

iPhone (Safari): tap the Share button (the square with an arrow), then Add to Home Screen.
Android (Chrome): tap the ⋮ menu, then Add to Home Screen (or Install app).

You'll get an icon on your home screen that opens the chat full-screen, like any other app. Your login stays active — just tap and chat.

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.
matrix.inference.coop — our Matrix chat server. Log in with your co-op account (Cloudron SSO); your Matrix ID is @username:inference.coop. Every member is invited to the Inference Cooperative space automatically — check your invites on first login.

Using it from any Matrix client — the server speaks the standard Matrix protocol, so you can connect from any client:
- Element (web, desktop, iOS, Android): on the sign-in screen, click Edit next to "Homeserver" and enter https://matrix.inference.coop, then sign in with your co-op account. (On app.element.io or the desktop/mobile apps alike.) Note: the new Element X apps (iOS/Android/macOS) are not currently supported — they only work with the newer Matrix Authentication Service, which this server doesn't run yet. Use the classic Element apps (Element Web / Element Desktop / "Element" on the app stores) or another client below.
- FluffyChat, Cinny, SchildiChat or any other client: look for the "custom homeserver" / "other server" option in the client's login screen and enter the same address.
- Your co-op account and your existing Matrix account on another server (e.g. matrix.org or a personal homeserver) are separate identities. Pick your identity (optional): by default, invitations go to your co-op identity (@username:inference.coop). To use an account you already have instead:
  1. Open your dashboard and find the Matrix chat card. It shows the Matrix ID currently registered for you — your co-op identity, or pending if your co-op Matrix account hasn't been created yet (it is created the first time you log in to Matrix).
  2. Click Use external account, enter your existing Matrix ID in the format @username:server.org, and click Save.
  3. Accept the space invitation that arrives in that account — usually instantly. If the account can't be reached right away, the invitation is retried automatically each night.
  That's all it takes: invitations (and the space) follow whichever identity you've chosen. Switching back is one click — Use @username:inference.coop on the same card. One identity is active at a time, and both work equally well in every co-op room.
Members-only, readable history. The space is invite-only and unencrypted so every member can read the full history (including messages from before they joined). Invites are restricted to admins — so while any member is welcome to bring a collaborator or guest, an admin sends the invite rather than members handing the space to outsiders directly.
#general is the main room — say hello, ask questions, start conversations. Beyond it, the space holds a handful of topical rooms (infrastructure, design, an automated co-op updates feed) — explore the space and join whatever is interesting to you. New rooms appear there as the co-op grows.
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 and credits

Membership includes $15 of usage credit each month (same for every member, regardless of what you pay), shared between chat and API. It's a starting value, not a hard rule:

The allowance resets each month on your personal billing date (the day your membership payment recurs) — not on a fixed calendar day.
The allowance can be adjusted per member — contact info@inference.coop.

Need more than the allowance?

Members can buy credit packs — non-expiring credits that kick in automatically when your monthly allowance runs out:

Credits never expire. Unused credits carry over month to month.
They're drawn only after the monthly allowance is exhausted, so your allowance always gets used first.
Buy a credit pack on our Open Collective page (choose the "Credit pack" option). Credits are applied to your account automatically — usually within minutes.
Credit packs are for members. If you buy one before joining, we'll hold it and it will be applied to your account when you join (or refunded if you prefer — just email info@inference.coop).

You can see both buckets — allowance left this cycle and non-expiring credits — on the Member Dashboard.

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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