Helmsman tier ≠ Helmsman Bridge

Helmsman (this page) is the local tier: open models on hardware you own, plugins, published floors — residency stays on the machine. Helmsman Bridge is a separate, metered peak path for optional remote frontier depth when you explicitly opt in.

Opt-in only — Bridge peak is off by default. No silent cloud fallback from local Helmsman.

Privacy mode wins — offline / sovereign / privacy policy blocks peak even if a spend grant exists.

Oracle default — when Bridge is enabled, the default fidelity is oracle (bounded remote reasoning), not unbounded “unlimited peak.”

Metered — standing consent + monthly budget; every peak call reserves and settles against your cap.

Honest limits — live remote peak requires a funded provider wallet; until then Founding copy says peak is pending provider wallet, not “always on.”

Steer depth. Keep residency.

A capable pilot intelligence plans the work; deeper open libraries take the hard steps under budgets you set. Privacy is structural: weights and work stay on the machine.

Pilot

On-box command

Smaller, fast intelligence that plans, routes, and steers: the desk’s continuous co-pilot.

Depth

Frontier open libraries

Larger curated open models for hard reasoning and long jobs when the machine can hold them.

Policy

You set the budgets

What loads, when it runs, how deep it goes. Nothing leaves the machine unless you send it.

Lab control plane (public facts)

Scale without the wiring diagram

200+ agents Specialized workers across build, research, desktop, media, and ops.
60+ process lanes Custom long-running families under a larger always-on Lab fleet.
Calibrated harness Multi-tool operator control with evidence discipline.
Model harnessing Custom control for deep open models on owned metal. Lab depth →

A catalog built for command

Open models arrive as plugins: purpose, hardware floors, licence notes, install path. Weights download to your disk. You choose what runs and what never leaves the desk.

Honest performance

Frontier work takes real silicon and real time. Helmsman is built for control and residency. We do not promise free-chat latency from multi-trillion-parameter libraries on a laptop.

Full Helmsman guide → · Pro / Lab tiers →

Model ensemble view · crystalline plugins on a panoramic Helmsman surface — Ensemble view: models as units you can install, inspect, and steer.