Cricket PC Setup

This document tracks the setup of my new AI development machine, “cricket”.

Software Installed

ComfyUI

• Installed python3, python3-pip, and python3-venv.
• Cloned the ComfyUI repository to /home/cshabsin/proj/ComfyUI.
• Copied over the cvdl alias from the old Windows PC to download models from Civitai with an API key automatically.
• Downloaded models into various ComfyUI/models subdirectories.
• Experimented with workflows to generate images.

To run:

$ . proj/venv/bin/activate
$ cd proj/ComfyUI
$ python main.py --listen

Gemini CLI

• Installed nvm (Node Version Manager) using the curl | bash method in WSL.
• Used nvm to install the Gemini CLI.

KoboldCpp and SillyTavern

Installed koboldcpp and SillyTavern. koboldcpp is a downloaded binary in proj/koboldcpp, and SillyTavern is a git clone in proj/SillyTavern.

To run:

1. Run koboldcpp from its directory and pick a .gguf file to load.
2. Run SillyTavern by running ./start.sh --listen in the SillyTavern directory.
3. In the SillyTavern website, go to Connections, pick API “Text Completion” and API Type “KoboldCpp”, with the URL “http://localhost:5001”, then click Connect.

The firewall is set up to allow port 8000 through to Tailscale, and it can be accessed with http://cricket.dog-garibaldi.ts.net:8000 from within the Tailscale private network.

Ollama

Installed Ollama in WSL using the “curl” method from their website and used it with the continue.dev VS Code extension.

Development Environment

• Installed Visual Studio Code for Windows.
• Installed the “Remote - WSL” extension to connect VS Code to the WSL environment.

Node.js Version Management

There is a known conflict between the Node.js version used for the Gemini CLI and the version required for the conjunew project.

• Gemini CLI: Installed and runs under Node.js v24 (nvm use 24).
• conjunew project: Requires Node.js v22 due to Firebase Functions compatibility (nvm use 22).

Use nvm to switch between these versions when working on the respective projects.

Firebase Tools

These require Java, so we install the openjdk-21-jdk Ubuntu package, then we can install the firebase tools:

$ sudo apt-get install openjdk-21-jdk
$ npm install -g firebase-tools

Networking

• Installed Tailscale on the new PC (cricket), the old PC, a laptop, and a DigitalOcean droplet.
• Registered all machines with Tailscale.

To-Do

• Debug flaky Tailscale connection, particularly for SSH and the ComfyUI web port. Investigate why “MagicDNS” seems to be unreliable.
• Copy over GEMINI.md files from other systems and synthesize the ideas.
• Set up the ssh-agent for improved SSH key management.