The AI Assistant lives inside the same Coreflux MQTT broker that already carries your sensor, PLC, and cloud traffic. You describe what you want in everyday language—ask for insights from the data already flowing through your broker, build Dashboards with live widgets and KPIs, or develop LoT (Language of Things) Actions that run on the broker—and the assistant uses the broker’s own tools to answer, draft, refine, and deploy. It is not a separate chat app pasted on top; it works with your live system.
Like a colleague who already sits at your control desk — they can read the same screens you see, suggest the next step, and (when you allow it) wire up the change for you.
Ship integrations faster — Describe connections or logic you need; the assistant drafts and deploys Routes, Actions, and panels where your permissions allow.
Explore without guesswork — Ask what topics exist, which Routes are healthy, or how a KPI is calculated before you change anything.
Hand off safely — Use read-only mode for operators or auditors who should see answers but not apply changes.
Where inference runs is an architecture and compliance choice. The AI Assistant supports edge (on-premise) models and cloud providers so you can keep prompts and payloads on your network when you need to, or use hosted APIs when policy allows.
Provider picker in the AI Setup wizard — cloud providers (OpenAI, Anthropic, Mistral) and a local/private option (Ollama)
On-premise (edge) — Run models on hardware you control, for example Ollama on the same host or LAN as the broker, so data does not leave your site.
Cloud providers — Connect to hosted models such as OpenAI, Anthropic, or Mistral when your organization allows traffic to leave the network.
Local AI prerequisite:Install Ollama and have it running on the broker host (or a machine your broker can reach) before you pick Local / Private in the setup wizard. Pull your model in Ollama first (e.g. ollama pull llama3.2) — the name you enter in step 2 must match a model already available in Ollama. Coreflux connects to your Ollama endpoint; it does not install Ollama or download models for you. Lightweight models may work for a quick test, but often are not capable enough for reliable agent work or good answer quality.If the broker runs in Docker, localhost inside the container is not the host. With Docker Compose, point at the Ollama service (e.g. http://ollama:11434). If Ollama runs on the host, use http://host.docker.internal:11434 (Docker Desktop) or the host’s LAN IP. See AI Routes — Ollama for BASE_URL in LoT.
The same Assistant panel and modes work whether you point at an edge endpoint or a cloud API—you are not choosing a different product, only where the model runs.
The first time you open the AI Assistant, a short wizard walks you through three choices—provider, model, and API key—and prepares your broker. You only do this once per broker; after that, clicking the Coreflux icon opens the assistant directly.
1
Open the AI Setup wizard
Click the Coreflux icon in the bottom dock. On a fresh broker, the AI Setup wizard slides in on the right and asks you to pick where the model will run—a Cloud provider (OpenAI, Anthropic, Mistral) or Local / Private (Ollama). Pick one and click Continue.
AI Setup wizard step 1 — pick a Cloud provider or a Local / Private engine
2
Pick a model
Choose a model from the suggested list, or type the exact model name your provider supports (for example gpt-5.4-mini) into the custom field. Click Continue when you are ready.
AI Setup wizard step 2 — choose a suggested model or type a custom one
3
Add your API key
Paste the API key from your chosen provider. The key is stored as an encrypted secret on the broker and is never sent back to your browser. The wizard also shows a quick summary of what it is about to install so you know what to expect.
If you picked Ollama in the earlier step, the wizard skips this screen entirely—your local Ollama endpoint does not need a key.
AI Setup wizard step 3 — paste your provider API key; the broker stores it as an encrypted secret
Where do I get an API key?
Sign in to the provider you picked in the previous step and follow their docs to create a key:
Use the Coreflux icon in the bottom app dock—the first icon on the left. You can peek at the assistant without opening the full side panel, then click when you want the full workspace.
1
Hover to preview
Hover the Coreflux icon. A compact Coreflux AI bubble appears above the dock with an Ask anything… field and Insight / Agent mode pills so you can send a quick prompt or pick a mode before you commit to the full panel.
Hover the dock Coreflux icon to open the compact Coreflux AI bubble with Ask anything and mode pills
2
Click to open the full panel
Click the Coreflux icon to pin the AI Assistant on the right. You get suggested prompts (for example Create a dashboard or Calculate a new KPI), a Sources area for dragging in panels such as the LoT Editor, and the full conversation thread with edit and close controls in the header.
Full AI Assistant panel — suggested prompts, Sources, and the main chat input
Below is one real flow: you ask for a KPI, the assistant requests the missing pieces, then deploys an Action and offers a shortcut to the LoT Editor. Stay in Agent mode for this path.
1
Ask
Type a goal such as Calculate a new KPI. The assistant loads context and may offer quick actions that match what you said.
AI Assistant in Agent mode with suggested prompts including Calculate a new KPI
2
Clarify
When the assistant needs a formula, source topic, or rule, it pauses and asks you directly—you reply in the thread instead of guessing what to type up front.
Assistant asking for KPI formula or source data before continuing
3
Deploy
After you supply enough detail, the assistant can draft LoT, deploy an Action, and show a status card. Use Open in LoT Editor when you want to inspect or tweak the definition yourself.
Deployed Action with Running status and Open in LoT Editor link
When you see Running (or equivalent success state) on the deployment card, the new Action is live on the broker—confirm in the LoT Editor if you want to read the exact definition.
Switch to Insight before you send if you only want answers—not changes. You can still get structured output such as tables and follow-up suggestions.
Insight mode — list of Routes returned as a table after a natural-language question
Try questions like Create me a list of Routes or Which Routes are in a warning state? The assistant reads broker state and renders the response in the panel without using write tools.
