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Frequently Asked Questions

General

What is TruSpace?

TruSpace is an AI-infused, decentralized document management system that enables collaboration while maintaining data sovereignty. It uses IPFS for distributed storage and Ollama for local AI processing.

Is TruSpace free?

Yes! TruSpace is 100% open-source under the GPL-3.0 license. You can use, modify, and distribute it freely.

Where is my data stored?

Your data is stored locally on your server/device in:

  • SQLite database: User credentials and metadata
  • IPFS: Documents and content
  • Docker volumes: Persistent storage

No data is sent to external cloud services unless you connect to other TruSpace nodes.

Do I need internet access?

For initial setup, yes (to pull Docker images and AI models). After that, TruSpace works fully offline unless you want to sync with other nodes.

Installation

What are the minimum system requirements?
Component Minimum Recommended
RAM 4 GB 8 GB+
Storage 10 GB 50 GB+
Docker 20.10+ Latest
OS Linux, macOS, Windows (WSL) Ubuntu 22.04
Why is the first startup so slow?

The first startup pulls Docker images (~2-3 GB) and downloads AI models (~1-4 GB depending on model). Subsequent starts are much faster.

How do I start without AI features? 
./start.sh --no-ai
Can I run TruSpace on a Raspberry Pi?

Yes! TruSpace supports Raspberry Pi ⅘ with 4GB+ RAM. See the Raspberry Pi guide.

How do I access TruSpace from other devices on my network?
  1. Find your server's IP: hostname -I
  2. Update .env with your IP/hostname
  3. Access via http://<your-ip>:3000

Documents & Workspaces

What file types are supported?

TruSpace supports most common file types:

  • Documents: PDF, DOCX, DOC, TXT, MD, HTML
  • Spreadsheets: XLSX, XLS, CSV
  • Presentations: PPTX, PPT
  • Images: PNG, JPG, GIF, SVG, WebP
  • Archives: ZIP (extracted automatically)

AI analysis works best with text-based formats.

What's the difference between public and private workspaces?
  • Private: Only invited members can view/access
  • Public: Visible to all users on the node

Even public workspaces are only visible to users on connected TruSpace nodes, not the public internet.

How do I share documents with someone?
  1. Create or use a workspace
  2. Invite the user to the workspace
  3. Upload the document

For users on different TruSpace nodes, first connect the nodes.

AI Features

Which AI models are supported?

TruSpace uses Ollama, which supports many models:

  • Llama 3.2 (default)
  • Mistral
  • Gemma
  • Phi
  • And many more

Configure in .env with OLLAMA_MODEL=model-name.

Is AI processing done locally?

Yes! All AI processing happens on your server using Ollama. No data is sent to external AI services.

Why is AI analysis slow?

AI processing depends on your hardware:

  • CPU only: Can be slow (minutes per document)
  • With GPU: Much faster (seconds)
  • Model size: Larger models are more accurate but slower

Consider using a smaller model like tinyllama for faster results.

Can I disable AI features?

Yes, several ways:

# At startup
./start.sh --no-ai

# Or in .env
DISABLE_ALL_AI_FUNCTIONALITY=true

Networking & Sync

How does IPFS sync work?

When you connect TruSpace nodes:

  1. Nodes establish a peer connection
  2. IPFS Cluster coordinates pinning
  3. Content replicates automatically
  4. Changes sync in near real-time
Is my data encrypted during sync?

Yes, IPFS connections are encrypted by default. For additional security, TruSpace supports private IPFS networks with shared swarm keys.

How many nodes can I connect?

There's no hard limit. TruSpace works well with 2-50 nodes. For larger deployments, consider IPFS cluster configuration tuning.

What if a connected node goes offline?

Your local copy remains accessible. Changes are synced when the node comes back online. This is the power of decentralization!

Troubleshooting

Containers won't start - 'port already in use'

Find and stop the conflicting process: 

lsof -i :3000  # Find process
kill -9 <PID>  # Stop it

Or change ports in .env.

Out of memory errors
  • Disable AI: ./start.sh --no-ai
  • Use a smaller AI model
  • Increase swap space
  • Add resource limits to Docker
'Permission denied' errors 
# Fix Docker permissions
sudo usermod -aG docker $USER
newgrp docker

# Fix file permissions
sudo chown -R $USER:$USER .
IPFS connection issues 
# Check IPFS status
docker exec ipfs0 ipfs swarm peers

# Restart IPFS
docker compose restart ipfs0 cluster0
AI not working
  1. Check Ollama is running: docker ps | grep ollama
  2. Check model is downloaded: docker exec ollama ollama list
  3. Check logs: docker compose logs ollama

Security

Is TruSpace secure for sensitive documents?

TruSpace implements several security measures:

  • Encrypted credentials (bcrypt)
  • Private IPFS networks
  • Workspace-level encryption
  • No external data transmission

For highly sensitive data, review the Security documentation.

How are passwords stored?

Passwords are hashed using bcrypt with salt. Plain text passwords are never stored.

Can I use TruSpace in an air-gapped environment?

Yes, after initial setup. Pre-download Docker images and AI models, then TruSpace works fully offline.

Still Have Questions?