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Mini Miner

The planned, opt-in path for a machine already running local models to serve the Ambient network and earn rewards. Roadmap, nothing to install or buy today.

The Mini Miner is a planned, opt-in way for a machine that already runs local models through Ambient Desktop to do useful work for the network when you are not using it. It is roadmap: there is nothing to install, configure, or buy for it today.

Ambient Mini Mining And Routing diagram. A Mineable machine (opt-in, runtime, rewards) moves through four stages: 1 Opt in (Mineable flag, Resource policy, Privacy boundary) grants consent; 2 Host (llama.cpp, Ambient Mini, Health checks) serves model; 3 Route (Eligibility, Request dispatch, Utilization) routes work; 4 Reward (Receipts, Network rewards, Operator controls) tracks rewards.

Ambient Mini Mining And Routing: mining is opt-in and depends on local runtime readiness, user policy, and network routing eligibility.
Ambient Desktop settings and workspace.
Settings keeps local runtime, provider, and permission status discoverable before you opt a machine in.

The idea#

Ambient Desktop already manages local model runtimes for your own tasks (see Local models and routing). The Mini Miner extends that: with your explicit consent, an eligible machine could serve a local model to the network and earn rewards for the work it does. It is opt-in by design. Nothing mines unless you set a machine-level mineable flag and accept the resource, privacy, and uptime implications.

How opting in is designed to work#

  1. Opt in#

    Mark a machine as mineable and set a resource policy and privacy boundary. Off by default; you choose when and how much.

  2. Host#

    Ambient serves a local model through its managed llama.cpp runtime, with health checks verifying the host is serving correctly.

  3. Route#

    When the machine is eligible, the network routes appropriate requests to it based on availability and policy.

  4. Reward#

    Completed work produces receipts and network rewards, with operator controls to pause or stop.

The foundation that exists today#

The Mini Miner will stand on the runtime layer Ambient Desktop ships today:

  • llama.cpp hosting with non-destructive start/stop lifecycle management.
  • Local runtime inventory, health checks, and repair flows.
  • Provider routing and local-first model selection.
  • The network client direction for reward receipts and operator controls.

Rewards#

Mini mining promises network rewards and deliberately stops there: no fixed payout, no guaranteed income, and no final token economics. Those depend on the public network contract, which is not finalized. See tokenomics for the reward design as it stands.

Keep reading#