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What is the proxy

ZeroSignal isn't only the chat app. The proxy (zs-proxy) is a small program that runs on your own computer and looks, to any OpenAI-compatible tool, exactly like OpenAI's API. Point your editor's AI assistant, an agent framework, or your own code at it instead of api.openai.com, and every request rides the same paid, end-to-end-encrypted network the chat app uses — with no API key to manage.

This is the developer's way into ZeroSignal: if you live in a terminal or an IDE rather than a browser tab, the proxy is how you bring your tools to the network instead of bringing yourself to a chat window.

What it does​

  • Speaks OpenAI's API. /v1/chat/completions, /v1/responses, /v1/completions, /v1/images/generations, /v1/images/edits, and /v1/models all work the way an OpenAI-compatible client expects. Tools don't need to know anything changed.
  • Encrypts every request for you. Each prompt is sealed on your machine before it leaves, the same way the chat app seals it in your browser. See Privacy & security.
  • Pays for every request from your balance. The same pay-per-message model as the chat app, with the same on-chain receipts. See Pricing.
  • Routes for you. It reads the open model catalog and picks an operator for each request, with the same routing logic the chat app uses. See Models & operators.

A localhost daemon, not a server​

The proxy is a single-user process: it runs on localhost and serves exactly one payer — you, the person who started it. It is not something you stand up for a team or expose to other machines. Every tool you connect to it (your editor, a CLI agent, a script) shares the one account and the one balance behind that running proxy.

The same account as the chat app​

The proxy doesn't create a separate identity. It uses an Algorand wallet, and that wallet can be the same one your passkey already controls in the browser:

  • zs-proxy wallet login signs in to the chat app with your passkey and pulls the wallet across with no copy-pasting.
  • zs-proxy wallet import takes the 24-word recovery phrase from Settings → Recovery in the chat app (see Recovery).
  • Or skip both and let the proxy generate a fresh wallet — useful for a dedicated dev/agent account you fund and budget separately from your main one.

Either way, funds, fees, and the routing network are identical to the chat app — see Wallet & funding.

Where to get it​

The proxy is distributed from the zs-proxy repository on GitHub as prebuilt binaries — a one-line installer on macOS and Linux (curl -fsSL https://zerosignal.ai/install.sh | sh, which verifies the checksum for you), Homebrew on macOS (a code-signed, notarized universal binary), Scoop on Windows, or a direct download from its releases page, with a checksums.txt to verify against. The repo's README is a condensed version of these pages, and the proxy is licensed under Apache 2.0.

What's covered here​

Get started​

  • Quick start — install, start, connect a tool, send your first request.
  • Connecting AI tools — the connect command and the full list of supported tools.
  • How-to guides — step-by-step for GUI apps like SillyTavern, Open WebUI, and LibreChat.
  • Wallet & funding — wallet commands, funding, and the prepaid ticket pool.

Going further​

info

The proxy is one of two front ends for the same network — the other is the browser-based chat app. Use whichever fits what you're doing; they share your account and you can use both.