Choose the model behind your scan reports
Southcode Desk needs a model. It reads scan output and writes reports for you, and you can connect a cloud AI provider, a model running locally on your PC, or the built-in model. Each choice decides where your scan output goes.
Three ways to connect a model
A cloud AI provider
Use a standard API endpoint and your own key for long reports and hard reasoning. The catch is privacy. The text the agent sends, including addresses and port lists from your scans, goes to that provider, so choose one whose terms you have read and accept. Your key stays on your PC, and the provider may charge separately.
A model running locally
Point the endpoint at a model on your own PC. It suits private networks, because prompts and scan output stay on the machine. A local model may have a smaller context window or answer more slowly on modest hardware, so check it with Test. Read diffs carefully.
The built-in model
The built-in model comes with the app, so there is no provider to choose. It suits a first try on a small address list. Keep tasks short. Check its limits with the Test button, and for bigger comparisons connect a larger model while keeping the same working folder. Chats, working folders and API keys stay on the PC whichever model you pick.
Check the connection with Test
The Test button checks an endpoint before you give it real work, and it shows the response time and the context window. Read both numbers. A long scan file and your baseline must fit in that window together, so if it is tight, ask about one host at a time.
Pick a model for the job
Match size to the task. Use a bigger model for long comparisons and longer reports, and a smaller one for small edits such as changing a single row in expected-ports.csv. The run_on_model tool sends one hard step to a bigger model while the rest stays on your current one.
Quality varies. Always read the diff before you accept it, and use Ask first whenever a scan or a file change matters, because a wrong summary of an open port is yours to catch.
