Pull Request

Related Issue

N/A — maintainer-directed work; no linked issue required for this PR.

Description

Draft. This branch only adds the plan, docs/apple-intelligence-models-plan.md. The implementation will follow in the pull requests listed in §6 of the plan. The meeting notes plan builds on it (#2158).

Problem

To use a model that runs on their own computer, people have to install and run a separate server such as Ollama or LM Studio, download a model, and enter its address in Eigent. Macs with Apple Intelligence already have a model built in, but Eigent cannot use it.

Approach

• Add Apple Intelligence as a local provider on Apple silicon Macs. There is no endpoint, key or download. The provider card shows whether Apple Intelligence is ready, and why not when it isn't, with a shortcut to System Settings.
• Eigent ships a small signed helper that talks to Apple's Foundation Models framework. It offers the same chat API Eigent already uses for local servers, so the backend needs no new model adapter. The helper listens only on this Mac and accepts only the backend's requests.
• On macOS 26 the on-device model has a small context window and is text only. Eigent shows these limits, does not start work that does not fit, and never switches to another model in the background.
• On macOS 27, Apple's Private Cloud Compute model can be turned on as a second model. It is labelled as running on Apple's servers.
• Agents need tool calling, so that part is staged after a spike measures whether it works and how much context Eigent's tools need.

Testing

Not started. This branch only adds the plan document, which passes the repository's Prettier check. The Apple API details in §3 were checked against the macOS 27.2 SDK. Testing will follow §7 of the plan.

Testing Evidence (REQUIRED)

• I have included human-verified testing evidence in this PR.
• This PR includes frontend/UI changes, and I attached screenshot(s) or screen recording(s).
• No frontend/UI changes in this PR.

Not yet available: the branch currently contains only the plan document.

What is the purpose of this pull request?

• Bug fix
• New Feature
• Documentation update
• Other

Contribution Guidelines Acknowledgement

• I have read and agree to the Eigent Contribution Guideline