Frequently Asked Questions
General
What is AntSeed?
AntSeed is a peer-to-peer network for AI services. It connects buyers who need AI services with providers who deliver them — specialized inference, domain expertise, autonomous agents. Directly, without a central platform in the middle.
Unlike centralized AI APIs, there is no single company routing your requests, storing your conversations, or controlling what you can access. The AntSeed protocol handles discovery, routing, reputation scoring, and payment settlement across a decentralized network of peers.
How is this different from centralized AI chat products?
Centralized AI chat products are closed platforms built on top of a single provider's models. AntSeed is open infrastructure — a protocol layer that connects you with providers offering AI services. Not just models — expertise, agents, and specialized workflows.
The key difference: your requests don't go through a single company. They route peer-to-peer to whichever provider best matches your requirements for price, latency, privacy, reputation, and capability.
Your existing tools — Claude Code, Codex, or any OpenAI-compatible client — connect and work immediately without modification.
Is AntSeed open source?
Yes. The full protocol, CLI, and node implementation are open source on GitHub. Anyone can inspect the code, run a node, or build on top of the protocol.
Who runs the network?
The network runs on the independent peers that join it. AntSeed is open peer-to-peer software; no single hosted service controls every node, provider, model, output, log, or data practice.
Privacy
Is my data private?
Privacy on AntSeed works in two layers:
Layer 1 — Anonymous access (default). AntSeed is designed for use without a central account, sign-up, or platform-issued API key. Requests route peer-to-peer, so providers generally see a peer/wallet rather than a platform identity account.
Layer 2 — TEE-verified providers. These run inside Trusted Execution Environments (Intel TDX, AMD SEV) — hardware enclaves that can reduce what the node operator can see. This is cryptographic proof, not just a policy promise. TEE provider verification is being rolled out in a future release.
AntSeed's privacy model is architectural rather than account-based: users can route requests without a central identity account, platform-issued API key, or centralized chat database, and TEE providers can add hardware-backed confidentiality where available. It is not, however, a promise that every piece of data is hidden from every participant. Independent providers and supporting infrastructure may process data needed to deliver and settle requests, and public-chain activity remains visible on-chain. Users should choose providers and routes appropriate to the sensitivity of their work.
Most users are well-served by no-account routing. Journalists, lawyers, security researchers, and anyone handling sensitive data should carefully choose providers and prefer TEE routes where available.
Can providers see my prompts?
Standard providers can. TEE-verified providers cannot — the hardware prevents it even if the operator wanted to look. When paying for a TEE-verified request, you receive a cryptographic attestation proving the enclave was genuine.
Does AntSeed log my requests?
AntSeed the protocol does not create a central request log, but independent providers, nodes, interfaces, RPC providers, analytics tools, or other infrastructure may log or observe data. Each provider has its own data handling practices. Prefer TEE-verified providers where stronger confidentiality is required.
Services & Availability
What services are available?
Any service a provider chooses to offer. Specialized inference, domain expertise, autonomous agents, uncensored models. The network is open — availability depends on who's online. See what's live right now on the network page.
Can I use closed-source models like GPT-4?
If a provider offers access to GPT-4 or other closed-source models, you can access them through AntSeed. The protocol is model-agnostic. Availability depends on what providers choose to offer.
What if a service goes offline?
AntSeed automatically detects provider failures and reroutes to the next best specialized service available. You never have to manually switch — failover is built into the routing layer.
Setup & Usage
Do I need to sign up or create an account?
No account required. Install the CLI, run antseed buyer start, pick a peer with antseed network browse + antseed buyer connection set --peer <peerId>, and you are live on the network. Any tool that speaks the OpenAI API format works immediately.
How do I install AntSeed?
npm install -g @antseed/cli
Then start the buyer proxy:
antseed buyer start --router local
See the installation guide for full details.
Does it work with Claude Code, Codex, or other AI tools?
Yes. AntSeed is OpenAI API-compatible. Point your tool at the AntSeed endpoint and it works without any other changes — no code modifications needed.
What operating systems are supported?
macOS (Apple Silicon and Intel), Windows, and Linux. The CLI runs anywhere Node.js runs.
Providers & Economics
Can I become a provider?
Yes. The network is open. Wrap your expertise in AI and sell it — video creation, legal analysis, code audits, uncensored inference, autonomous agents. It's your job to pick the models and workflows that deliver the best results. The network only measures delivery quality. No permission or partnership required.
See the provider setup guide to get started.
How does pricing work?
Providers set their own prices. The routing layer scores all available providers by your preferences (cheapest, fastest, most private, highest reputation) and picks the best match. Prices are visible before routing.
How do providers get paid?
Buyers pre-deposit USDC into the on-chain AntseedDeposits contract. Each session is authorized by an EIP-712 ReserveAuth that caps the seller's charge. The seller calls reserve() on AntseedChannels to lock funds. During the session, the buyer signs cumulative SpendingAuth messages that authorize spending. The seller calls close() with the buyer's latest SpendingAuth to settle and release remaining funds. If the seller disappears, anyone can call requestTimeout() after the session deadline passes, then withdraw() after a 15-minute grace period to release buyer funds. No invoicing, no monthly billing — automatic settlement per session.
Are seller ANTS incentives claimable now?
Seller ANTS emissions are currently tracked but routed into a dedicated Provider Pool and locked for now. They are not freely claimable yet. Future claimability is expected after stronger provider validation, audits, attestations, and proof systems are introduced, and may be subject to verification or slashing.
Where do protocol fees go?
Network fees are set to 4% and may be directed to ecosystem mechanisms such as reserves, grants, incentives, buy-and-burn, or other community-approved uses. Any DIEM program/operator fee is governed by the separate DIEM Provider Capacity Program rules. No fee use, burn, distribution, token value, or return is promised.
Are ANTS incentives guaranteed?
No. ANTS incentives are designed for real usage and real contribution. Farming, fake volume, sybil behavior, spam, or value extraction may be capped, excluded, delayed, locked, or subject to future slashing. ANTS token economics are evolving, and more trust and utility mechanisms are planned.