Desktop GPU
NVIDIA GPU with 8GB+ VRAM (RTX 3060 or better recommended) for full model support. More VRAM lets you run larger models.
A Cargo is a portable, signed unit of computation that runs on Islands across the Archipelag.io network.
Think of it as a shipping container for code — each one packages a model, runtime, and resource requirements into a single deployable artifact. Consumers submit jobs, the coordinator finds the best Island, and the Cargo executes in a secure sandbox.
Consumer
Cargo
Island
ONNXDockerWASMGGUF
01 — The Flow
From idle GPU to earning credits
Your Island comes onlineRegisters with coordinator, reports GPU capabilities
Heartbeats & health checksCoordinator tracks your latency, uptime, and availability
Job dispatched via NATSSigned container image pulled from registry
Cargo executes in sandboxSeccomp profile applied, output streamed back
Credits earned at clearing priceKarma score updated, payout balance grows
What happens on your machine
The Island software is a lightweight Rust binary that manages everything. It connects to the coordinator via NATS, pulls signed container images when a job arrives, runs them under strict sandboxing, and streams the output back.
You control when your machine is available and what you charge. The coordinator only sends jobs that match your GPU capabilities and asking price.
02 — Earnings
You set the price
No fixed rate tables. The compute exchange matches supply and demand.
Asking price
Set your rate per Cargo type. The coordinator only sends you jobs at or above your price. Adjust anytime.
Market clearing
The exchange snapshots rates every 5 minutes. More Islands in your region lowers the clearing price; more demand raises it.
Early mover advantage
The beta has growing demand and few Islands. Early Islands build high karma scores, which means job priority and better rates as the network scales.
03 — Estimate
What can you earn?
Select your GPU and adjust hours to see estimated earnings. The chart updates live.
04 — Compare
All GPUs compared
Best-case monthly earnings at 8h/day, 15% utilization, $0.01/credit.
| GPU | Tier | VRAM | Best Cargo | Monthly Credits | Est. USD |
|---|
Estimates assume 15% utilization at beta pricing ($0.01/credit). Actual earnings depend on network demand, your asking price, uptime, and karma score.
05 — Reputation
Karma: your public track record
Every Island has a karma score visible to the coordinator and the network. It's calculated from your job success rate, response latency, and uptime consistency.
- Starts at 50, maxes at 100
- Goes up with completed jobs, down with failures or timeouts
- Higher karma = priority in job placement
- Coordinator factors karma into Island selection alongside latency
85
Karma Score
142 completed jobs
99.3% success rate · 38ms avg. latency
06 — Multi-Island Compute
Your Island, part of something bigger
When a model is too large for any single Island, the coordinator forms a pipeline across multiple Islands. Your machine holds a shard of the model and processes its portion of each inference request.
You earn credits for every token that flows through your layers — proportional to the work your Island does. Higher-Karma Islands are preferred for pipeline membership, so reliability pays off even more.
- Automatic — the coordinator invites your Island when it's a good fit
- Model shards stay cached — subsequent jobs start instantly
- Same sandboxing guarantees as single-Island jobs
Your Island (layers 0–15)Downloads and caches model shard
Island B (layers 16–31)Activations flow through the chain
Both Islands earn creditsProportional to layers processed
07 — Security
Your machine stays safe
You never run arbitrary user code. Here's what enforces that.
- Signed images only — Cargo containers are cosign-verified before execution
- Registry allowlist — images can only be pulled from approved registries
- Seccomp profiles — syscall filtering matched to Cargo sandbox tier
- No filesystem access — containers are isolated from your local filesystem
- Resource limits — CPU, memory, and GPU time are capped per job
- Network-approved only — no user-submitted containers in v1
Defense in depth
The security model assumes mutual distrust. Consumers don't trust Islands with their data. Islands don't trust the code they run. The coordinator is the authority on what's allowed.
In v1, the network only runs Cargos that we've reviewed, signed, and published. There is no path for arbitrary user code to reach your machine.
Read the security model08 — Mobile Compute
Contribute from your phone
Got an iPhone or iPad with an A-series or M-series chip? The Archipelag.io iOS agent runs lightweight LLMs on-device using CoreML — no GPU workstation needed.
Pair your device with a QR code, and it becomes an Island on the network. Same sandboxing, same karma system, same earnings.
- On-device inference via CoreML — no cloud round-trip
- Pair via QR code from the web dashboard
- Lightweight models (TinyLlama, Qwen 0.8B) designed for mobile
iOS Agent
iPhone, iPad, and Mac with Apple Silicon
Android agent coming Q3 2026
09 — Developer Track
Build Cargos, earn per execution
Publish your own models and runtimes to the Cargo Marketplace. Earn credits every time someone runs your Cargo.
Publish
Package your model as a Cargo (Docker, WASM, GGUF, or ONNX). Submit it through the developer portal for review.
Get verified
Publisher tiers (Creator, Verified, Official) unlock more submissions, higher resource limits, and GPU access.
Earn
Earn a share of every execution. Track your Cargo's usage, reviews, and payouts from the developer dashboard.
10 — Requirements
What you need
Or a phone
iPhone or iPad with A14+ or M-series chip for lightweight mobile models. No GPU workstation required.
Network
Stable internet connection. Lower latency means you're preferred for nearby users. The coordinator measures RTT directly.
11 — Install
One command to get started
curl -fsSL https://archipelag.io/install.sh | shDownloads the binary, creates a config, and sets up your PATH. Full guide
irm https://archipelag.io/install.ps1 | iexRun in PowerShell. Or for the best experience, use WSL and run the Linux installer inside it. Full guide
12 — Payouts
Getting paid
Stripe
Payouts processed via Stripe Connect. Direct deposit in 40+ countries.
Credits
Earnings accrue as virtual credits during beta. No real money changes hands until launch.
Transparent
Every job shows exactly what you earned, the clearing price, and your running balance.
The archipelago needs more Islands
Early Islands build karma and reputation before the network scales. Join now.