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FAQ

General questions and install troubleshooting for Otaconskeep Lite, AI9, and Otacon Expansion. If your question isn't here, ask in Discord: that's the fastest path to Antonio directly.

General

What is Otaconskeep, actually?

What's the difference between Lite, Expansion, and "the Keep"?

Otaconskeep Lite (built on Otacon Core) is the free, open-source, self-hosted foundation: persistent agents, memory, voice, one command to install. Otacon Expansion is the premium layer on top: a five-agent Lite roster with real hierarchy, a live mood/relationship engine, and command-center surfaces (Dashboard, Codec, War Room, Video Studio shells, and more). The Keep is Antonio's own private reference environment: a larger 16+ agent canon plus media automation, smart-home integration, and multi-node GPU orchestration that go beyond what's shipped publicly. Lite installs the foundation. Expansion is the specified public product; the Keep remains the private depth reference, not a downloadable clone.

Is any of this actually free, or is Lite a trial?

Otaconskeep Lite has no license key, no time limit, and no artificial feature gate, today or ever. It's the real, complete public platform. KeepRoute and AI9 are also free with public install steps (not supporter-gated). The paid / supporter paths are Premium / Expansion and Keep Desk (one-time $1 seat). Even inside Expansion, every model and integration runs locally; the license itself is the only thing that costs money.

Does anything here call home, or send my data anywhere?

No. Lite, AI9, and Expansion's foundation layer all run entirely on your own hardware with local models. Nothing authenticates against Antonio's own accounts or infrastructure. Optional integrations (Discord, Home Assistant) use credentials you generate yourself and store on your own machine.

What hardware do I need?

Lite runs on CPU alone (a smaller model is picked automatically under 6GB VRAM) up through a 16GB+ GPU for the larger default model. AI9 and Expansion's future Video Studio need an NVIDIA GPU: AI9 supports RTX 30/40/50-series today. There's no minimum GPU for Lite or for today's Expansion foundation install.

Troubleshooting

Otaconskeep Lite install

Windows SmartScreen says it protected my PC

Normal, not a failure. Click More info, then Run anyway. This happens because the installer is a new/uncommon file to Windows, not because anything is wrong with it.

I got an Administrator / "Yes" popup, or a second window opened

Expected. Click Yes. A new Setup window opening is normal: the old window can stay open, or it'll say setup continues in the new one.

The window has been black with progress text for minutes

Normal while Windows enables Linux (WSL2) and Otacon installs. Don't close the window. This is genuinely the longest step.

It asked me to restart: did it fail?

No. Save your work, restart, and Setup should show WELCOME BACK and continue on its own. If it doesn't relaunch automatically, double-click the same OtaconsKeep-Setup.bat again: it resumes, it doesn't start over.

It says "Updates are underway, please keep your computer on" with a spinner

That's Windows itself, not Otacon: it's finishing the Linux/WSL feature install it just enabled, using the same screen it uses for regular OS updates. This can take 15–45+ minutes, longer on a hard drive than an SSD. If a drive activity light is flickering, it's working. Only treat it as stuck after several hours with zero drive activity: hard power off, reboot, run sfc /scannow then DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth as admin, confirm a few GB of free disk space, then re-run OtaconsKeep-Setup.bat: it resumes rather than starting over.

It's asking me for an Ubuntu username and password

Windows is creating OtaconsKeep's local WSL Linux environment. Pick any username and a password you'll remember: it's local to your machine only.

I opened localhost:5757 and it looks broken

Don't open it until the setup window says OTACON IS READY. Opening early looks broken even when the install is completely fine: it's just not finished starting yet.

It says "SETUP NEEDS HELP"

That's a recovery screen, not a crash. Press R to retry, O to view logs, or X to exit. The window stays open either way.

Something still seems stuck or broken after a restart

Re-run OtaconsKeep-Setup.bat (or install_otacon.sh on Linux): it re-checks everything and continues from where you left off without wiping data. Windows status check: OtaconsKeep-Setup.bat --status. Linux health check: otacon doctor.

The download looked corrupted / the .bat wouldn't run

Recommended: use the download button on the install page. It provides the Windows-formatted installer as tested. Prefer reviewing code first? View source. If the browser blocks the download, use the GitHub ZIP and run the .bat from the extracted folder: don't Save As on a single raw GitHub .bat (that can corrupt encoding).

Troubleshooting

Otacon Expansion foundation installer

How do I uninstall OtaconsKeep Lite?

On Linux/WSL: stop the service (sudo systemctl stop otacon.service if present), then remove the install directory (default ~/otacon-ai-ecosystem) and any leftover Docker containers you started. On Windows, the same folder lives under your WSL home; you can also disable the WSL distro from Windows Features if you no longer need Linux. Exact paths are printed at the end of Setup. Ask in Discord if you want a guided teardown.

It says Otacon Core is not installed, but I already installed Lite

The Expansion installer looks for Core at ~/otacon-ai-ecosystem by default. If you installed Lite somewhere else, set OTACON_INSTALL_DIR to that path before running the Expansion installer, e.g.: OTACON_INSTALL_DIR=/your/path bash install_otacon_expansion.sh.

What does FOUNDATION READY / DEGRADED / FAILED mean?

READY (exit 0): the test suite passed and the five-agent roster was generated and validated. DEGRADED (exit 2): the roster was still written, but the test suite didn't fully pass: check the install log. FAILED (exit 1): usually Core wasn't found, or the roster failed schema/hierarchy validation. The script always tells you exactly which stage failed and where the log is.

I ran it and got FOUNDATION READY: where's the Dashboard?

Open http://127.0.0.1:5757/ after Expansion install / soft-update. Command Deck and Codec ship in the product UI. Soft-update: re-run OtaconsKeep-Setup.bat, or in Ubuntu git -C ~/otacon-ai-ecosystem fetch && git -C ~/otacon-ai-ecosystem reset --hard origin/main then restart otacon.service. Hard-refresh the browser.

Is it safe to rerun?

Yes. It re-syncs the repo, re-runs the test suite, and regenerates the roster: each agent's original creation timestamp is preserved across reruns, nothing is duplicated.

Premium Access

Licenses, Member HQ & sharing

How do I get a Premium license?

Support on Buy Me a Coffee (put your Discord handle in the note), or ask in Discord. Antonio confirms payment, issues an access name + password + PIN + License ID, and registers your seat. Then unlock Member HQ.

I have a name and code but the gate won't accept it

Use the live gate at otaconskeep.github.io/premium/. Type the access name exactly as issued (not your Discord name). Enter either password or PIN. If the seat was suspended/revoked for sharing, unlock fails until Antonio re-issues. Ask in Discord with your License ID.

What if someone shares a Premium license (e.g. Block gives out his code)?

Default is one seat. Unlocks can notify Antonio with License ID + IP/timezone fingerprint. Repeated unlocks from unrelated places look like sharing. Protocol: confirm with the payer → suspend/revoke in the license ledger → rotate credentials → re-issue only to the original payer if it was a leak. Intentional sharing ends the seat; they can buy their own. Full rules are on Member HQ after unlock.

Is there a one-click Expansion installer yet?

Yes: download OtaconExpansion-Setup.bat (requires Core / Lite first). Member HQ also links the same Setup. Soft-update later by re-running OtaconsKeep-Setup.bat so cached helpers and the Linux app tip refresh.

Can I buy Premium outright?

Support via Buy Me a Coffee and receive a license seat. Expansion UI (Deck/Codec + guided Genome/Studio) installs today; deeper Keep rooms and full Studio model packs keep landing. Monthly membership funds that work.

Engineering

Evidence portal

How to read the Engineering pages without mistaking scaffolding for a qualification report.

What does “Verified” mean on Engineering?

Verified means a requirement has attached executed test evidence (EVID-*) with a recorded result, not Design Intent and not “looks implemented.” Until then the status stays Verification Pending. The portal does not invent PASS. See VCRM.

Where are the emotion equations?

Rendered theory (KaTeX state vector, blend/decay, Formula 5) lives under Engineering → Math. Parameter tables and model IDs stay on Behavioral Models. About explains the why; Math is the how.

Why do so many VCRM cells say Pending?

Because Planned procedures exist before Executed runs. Pending is honesty, not a soft PASS. Columns split Planned vs Executed; ST-003 Blocked + EVID-001 is the pattern. Mock analysis data is labeled MOCK and does not flip Verified.

Lite vs Reference Keep, what claims are safe?

Lite is the free public Core install. Reference Keep is Antonio’s private depth reference, not a downloadable clone. Safe claim: Lite gives persistent local agents + Codec/Command Center paths documented on install. Unsafe claim: “your install matches the full private Keep.” Boundaries are listed on Engineering Overview.

How do I reproduce a BVT locally?

Open the test ID on Tests (e.g. BVT-001 / BVT-002). Follow the published procedure field when present; if procedure is still “Not yet published,” wait for an EVID pack, teaching MOCK traces under Math are not a substitute for a measured run.

Still stuck?

Ask a real person

Discord is the fastest way to reach Antonio directly: screenshots and log files help.