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RUNLOCALAI · v38
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  6. /Ch. 17
AI Products with Local Models

17. Onboarding Flow

Chapter 17 of 24 · 15 min
KEY INSIGHT

Onboarding for local AI products must build trust before asking for compute resources. Users need to understand what they're installing, why local processing matters, and how their hardware will be used—before any model downloads begin. Cloud product onboarding optimises for activation speed. Local product onboarding must optimising for informed consent. You're asking users to allocate gigabytes of disk space and potentially all their RAM. They need to understand the commitment. ```python # onboarding_flow.py from dataclasses import dataclass from typing import List, Optional import platform import torch @dataclass class SystemRequirements: min_ram_gb: float recommended_ram_gb: float disk_space_gb: float gpu_required: bool gpu_vram_gb: float = 0 cuda_version: Optional[str] = None @dataclass class OnboardingStep: step_id: str title: str description: str action_required: bool estimated_time: str completed: bool = False class LocalModelOnboarding: def __init__(self, product_name: str, model_configs: dict): self.product_name = product_name self.model_configs = model_configs def run_system_audit(self) -> dict: """Gather system compatibility information.""" import psutil system_info = { "os": platform.system(), "os_version": platform.version(), "architecture": platform.machine(), "cpu_count": psutil.cpu_count(), "total_ram_gb": psutil.virtual_memory().total / (1024**3), "available_ram_gb": psutil.virtual_memory().available / (1024**3), "gpu_available": torch.cuda.is_available(), "gpu_count": torch.cuda.device_count() if torch.cuda.is_available() else 0, "gpu_name": torch.cuda.get_device_name() if torch.cuda.is_available() else None, "gpu_vram_gb": torch.cuda.get_device_properties(0).total_memory / (1024**3) if torch.cuda.is_available() else 0, "disk_free_gb": psutil.disk_usage('/').free / (1024**3) } return system_info def generate_requirements_checklist(self, model_name: str) -> List[OnboardingStep]: """Generate onboarding steps based on selected model.""" config = self.model_configs.get(model_name, {}) requirements = config.get('requirements', SystemRequirements( min_ram_gb=8, recommended_ram_gb=16, disk_space_gb=20, gpu_required=True )) steps = [ OnboardingStep( step_id="privacy_explained", title="Your Data Stays Local", description=f"{self.product_name} processes all requests on YOUR hardware. Nothing is sent to external servers.", action_required=False, estimated_time="1 minute" ), OnboardingStep( step_id="hardware_check", title="Checking Your System", description=f"RAM: {requirements.recommended_ram_gb}+GB recommended, {requirements.disk_space_gb}+GB disk space needed", action_required=True, estimated_time="30 seconds" ), OnboardingStep( step_id="model_download", title="Download Model Files", description=f"Downloading {config.get('size_gb', '~15')}GB model. This happens once.", action_required=True, estimated_time=f"{config.get('download_minutes', '5-15')} minutes" ) ] return steps def calculate_model_recommendation(self, system_info: dict) -> List[dict]: """Recommend appropriate models based on system capabilities.""" ram = system_info['total_ram_gb'] vram = system_info.get('gpu_vram_gb', 0) has_gpu = system_info['gpu_available'] recommendations = [] for name, config in self.model_configs.items(): req = config['requirements'] score = 0 if ram >= req.min_ram_gb: score += 1 if ram >= req.recommended_ram_gb: score += 2 if has_gpu and vram >= req.gpu_vram_gb: score += 2 if not has_gpu and not req.gpu_required: score += 2 if score >= 2: recommendations.append({ 'model': name, 'fit': 'recommended' if score >= 4 else 'adequate', 'notes': config.get('notes', '') }) return sorted(recommendations, key=lambda x: 0 if x['fit'] == 'recommended' else 1) ``` Display hardware stats prominently during onboarding. Show actual numbers from their system next to requirements. This transparency builds trust and reduces support tickets where users claim they weren't warned.

EXERCISE

Build an onboarding flow that runs system checks before model download, displays results visually, and recommends models based on actual hardware. Include a "Download History" checkpoint that lets users resume after interrupted downloads. Implement a rollback capability if installation fails.

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