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Frequently Asked Questions

General Questions

What is N.O.M.A.D.?

N.O.M.A.D. (Node for Offline Media, Archives, and Data) is a personal server that gives you access to knowledge, education, and AI assistance without requiring an internet connection. It runs on your own hardware, keeping your data private and accessible anytime.

Do I need internet to use N.O.M.A.D.?

No — that's the whole point. Once your content is downloaded, everything works offline. You only need internet to:

  • Download new content
  • Update the software
  • Sync the latest versions of Wikipedia, maps, etc.

What hardware do I need?

N.O.M.A.D. is designed for capable hardware, especially if you want to use the AI features. Recommended:

  • Modern multi-core CPU
  • 16GB+ RAM (32GB+ for best AI performance)
  • SSD storage (size depends on content — 500GB minimum, 2TB+ recommended)
  • NVIDIA or AMD GPU recommended for faster AI responses

How much storage do I need?

It depends on what you download:

  • Full Wikipedia: ~95GB
  • Khan Academy courses: ~50GB
  • Medical references: ~500MB
  • US state maps: ~2-3GB each
  • AI models: 10-40GB depending on model

Start with essentials and add more as needed.

Content Questions

How do I add more Wikipedia content?

  1. Go to Settings (hamburger menu → Settings)
  2. Click Content Explorer
  3. Browse available Wikipedia packages
  4. Click Download on items you want

You can also use the Content Explorer to browse all available ZIM content beyond Wikipedia.

How do I add more educational courses?

  1. Open Kolibri
  2. Sign in as an admin
  3. Go to Device → Channels
  4. Browse and import available channels

How current is the content?

Content is as current as when it was last downloaded. Wikipedia snapshots are typically updated monthly. Check the file names or descriptions for dates.

Can I add my own files?

Yes — with the Knowledge Base. Upload PDFs, text files, and other documents to the Knowledge Base, and the AI can reference them when answering your questions. This uses semantic search to find relevant information from your uploaded files.

For Kiwix content, N.O.M.A.D. uses standard ZIM files. For educational content, Kolibri uses its own channel format.

What are curated collection tiers?

When selecting content in the Easy Setup wizard or Content Explorer, collections are organized into three tiers:

  • Essential — Core content for the category (smallest download)
  • Standard — Essential plus additional useful content
  • Comprehensive — Everything available for the category (largest download)

This helps you balance content coverage against storage usage.

AI Questions

How do I use the AI chat?

  1. Go to AI Chat from the Command Center
  2. Type your question or request
  3. The AI responds in conversational style

The AI must be installed first — enable it during Easy Setup or install it from the Apps page.

How do I upload documents to the Knowledge Base?

  1. Go to Knowledge Base →
  2. Upload your documents (PDFs, text files, etc.)
  3. Documents are processed and indexed automatically
  4. Ask questions in AI Chat — the AI will reference your uploaded documents when relevant

NOMAD documentation is automatically added to the Knowledge Base when the AI Assistant is installed.

What is the System Benchmark?

The System Benchmark tests your hardware performance and generates a NOMAD Score — a weighted composite of CPU, memory, disk, and AI performance. You can create a Builder Tag (a NOMAD-themed identity like "Tactical-Llama-1234") and share your results with the community leaderboard.

Go to System Benchmark → to run one.

Troubleshooting

A feature isn't loading or shows a blank page

Try these steps:

  1. Wait 30 seconds — some features take time to start
  2. Refresh the page (Ctrl+R or Cmd+R)
  3. Go back to the Command Center and try again
  4. Check Settings → System to see if the service is running
  5. Try restarting the service (Stop, then Start in Apps manager)

Maps show a gray/blank area

The Maps feature requires downloaded map data. If you see a blank area:

  1. Go to Settings → Maps Manager
  2. Download map regions for your area
  3. Wait for downloads to complete
  4. Return to Maps and refresh

AI responses are slow

Local AI requires significant computing power. To improve speed:

  • Add a GPU — An NVIDIA GPU with the NVIDIA Container Toolkit can improve AI speed by 10-20x or more
  • Close other applications on the server
  • Ensure adequate cooling (overheating causes throttling)
  • Consider using a smaller/faster AI model if available

How do I enable GPU acceleration for AI?

N.O.M.A.D. automatically detects NVIDIA GPUs when the NVIDIA Container Toolkit is installed on the host system. To set up GPU acceleration:

  1. Install an NVIDIA GPU in your server (if not already present)
  2. Install the NVIDIA Container Toolkit on the host — follow the official installation guide
  3. Reinstall the AI Assistant — Go to Apps, find AI Assistant, and click Force Reinstall

N.O.M.A.D. will detect the GPU during installation and configure the AI to use it automatically. You'll see "NVIDIA container runtime detected" in the installation progress.

Tip: Run a System Benchmark before and after to see the difference. GPU-accelerated systems typically see 100+ tokens per second vs 10-15 on CPU only.

I added/changed my GPU but AI is still slow

When you add or swap a GPU, N.O.M.A.D. needs to reconfigure the AI container to use it:

  1. Make sure the NVIDIA Container Toolkit is installed on the host
  2. Go to Apps
  3. Find the AI Assistant and click Force Reinstall

Force Reinstall recreates the AI container with GPU support enabled. Without this step, the AI continues to run on CPU only.

AI Chat not available

The AI Chat page requires the AI Assistant to be installed first:

  1. Go to Apps
  2. Install the AI Assistant
  3. Wait for the installation to complete
  4. The AI Chat will then be accessible from the home screen or Chat

Knowledge Base upload stuck

If a document upload appears stuck in the Knowledge Base:

  1. Check that the AI Assistant is running in Settings → Apps
  2. Large documents take time to process — wait a few minutes
  3. Try uploading a smaller document to verify the system is working
  4. Check Settings → System for any error messages

Benchmark won't submit to leaderboard

To share results with the community leaderboard:

  • You must run a Full Benchmark (not System Only or AI Only)
  • The benchmark must include AI results (AI Assistant must be installed and working)
  • Your score must be higher than any previous submission from the same hardware

If submission fails, check the error message for details.

"Service unavailable" or connection errors

The service might still be starting up. Wait 1-2 minutes and try again.

If the problem persists:

  1. Go to Settings → Apps
  2. Find the problematic service
  3. Click Restart
  4. Wait 30 seconds, then try again

Downloads are stuck or failing

  1. Check your internet connection
  2. Go to Settings and check available storage
  3. If storage is full, delete unused content
  4. Cancel the stuck download and try again

The server won't start

If you can't access the Command Center at all:

  1. Verify the server hardware is powered on
  2. Check network connectivity
  3. Try accessing directly via the server's IP address
  4. Check server logs if you have console access

I forgot my Kolibri password

Kolibri passwords are managed separately:

  1. If you're an admin, you can reset user passwords in Kolibri's user management
  2. If you forgot the admin password, you may need to reset it via command line (contact your administrator)

Updates and Maintenance

How do I update N.O.M.A.D.?

  1. Go to Settings → Check for Updates
  2. If an update is available, click to install
  3. The system will download updates and restart automatically
  4. This typically takes 2-5 minutes

Should I update regularly?

Yes, while you have internet access. Updates include:

  • Bug fixes
  • New features
  • Security improvements
  • Performance enhancements

How do I update content (Wikipedia, etc.)?

Content updates are separate from software updates:

  1. Go to Settings → Content Manager or Content Explorer
  2. Check for newer versions of your installed content
  3. Download updated versions as needed

Tip: New Wikipedia snapshots are released approximately monthly.

What happens if an update fails?

The system is designed to recover gracefully. If an update fails:

  1. The previous version should continue working
  2. Try the update again later
  3. Check Settings → System for error messages

Command-Line Maintenance

For advanced troubleshooting or when you can't access the web interface, N.O.M.A.D. includes helper scripts in /opt/project-nomad:

Start all services:

sudo bash /opt/project-nomad/start_nomad.sh

Stop all services:

sudo bash /opt/project-nomad/stop_nomad.sh

Update Command Center:

sudo bash /opt/project-nomad/update_nomad.sh

Note: This updates the Command Center only, not individual apps. Update apps through the web interface.

Uninstall N.O.M.A.D.:

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Crosstalk-Solutions/project-nomad/refs/heads/main/install/uninstall_nomad.sh -o uninstall_nomad.sh
sudo bash uninstall_nomad.sh

Warning: This cannot be undone. All data will be deleted.

Privacy and Security

Is my data private?

Yes. N.O.M.A.D. runs entirely on your hardware. Your searches, AI conversations, and usage data never leave your server.

Can others access my server?

By default, N.O.M.A.D. is accessible on your local network. Anyone on the same network can access it. For public networks, consider additional security measures.

Does the AI send data anywhere?

No. The AI runs completely locally. Your conversations are not sent to any external service. The AI chat is built into the Command Center — there's no separate service to configure.

Getting More Help

The AI can help

Try asking a question in AI Chat. The local AI can answer questions about many topics, including technical troubleshooting. If you've uploaded NOMAD documentation to the Knowledge Base, it can also help with NOMAD-specific questions.

Check the documentation

You're in the docs now. Use the menu to find specific topics.

Join the community

Get help from other NOMAD users on Discord.

Release Notes

See what's changed in each version: Release Notes