> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.bonzai.sh/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.bonzai.sh/ownership-and-network/inference-modes.md).

# Inference Modes

BonzAI Desktop has three practical inference modes.

## Mode Summary

| Mode     | Role                | Request handling                             |
| -------- | ------------------- | -------------------------------------------- |
| Local    | Self-contained user | Runs on your own machine                     |
| Consumer | Client              | Routes to selected providers when configured |
| Provider | Server              | Runs locally and serves other peers          |

## Local Mode

Local mode is the default private path. Requests run through your local OpenClaw and Flask backends.

Use local mode when:

* You have the required model downloaded.
* Your device can run the pipeline.
* You want maximum privacy.

## Consumer Mode

Consumer mode routes requests to selected providers.

Provider selection can include:

* LAN providers discovered locally.
* Remote providers discovered through registry paths.
* Multiple selected providers for redundancy.

Consumer mode can expose request content to selected providers unless private/sharded inference is used.

## Provider Mode

Provider mode turns your machine into a serving node. It advertises capabilities and can earn provider-side rewards based on recorded service time.

## Chat And Social Orchestration

Network mode also applies to supported external chat/orchestration requests, which follow the selected provider configuration.