Install & First Launch

ETOS LLM Studio is a native AI client for iPhone and Apple Watch. It isn't a webview wrapper or a chatbot frontend — chat, memory, worldbook, Daily Pulse, MCP tools, and sync all run locally on your devices. Model requests go directly from your phone or watch to the provider, never through a middle server.

This page gets the app onto your device and walks you through the bare-minimum checks so the rest of the tutorials work.

Read This First

What You Need

Item	Requirement	Required?
iPhone	iOS 17 or later	✅ Yes
Apple Watch	watchOS 10 or later	⚪ Optional — phone-only is fine
Apple ID	Any region	✅ Yes
LLM API key	At least one	✅ Yes
Network	Can reliably reach the provider you plan to use	✅ Yes

What's an API key?

An API key is a string (something like sk-xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx) that LLM vendors — OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, etc. — issue to authorize your account. It tells the model "this request belongs to a paying/trial user, please answer." Keys are not interchangeable across vendors — an OpenAI key cannot call Anthropic.

If you don't have one yet, grab one from OpenAI Platform, Anthropic Console, or Google AI Studio.

Install the App

ETOS LLM Studio is not on the App Store yet. You install it one of two ways:

Option A: TestFlight (recommended)

1. Install TestFlight on your iPhone.
2. Open the TestFlight invite link from the project's GitHub Releases page.
3. Accept and install when TestFlight prompts you.
4. The ETOS LLM Studio icon appears on your home screen when done.

Option B: Build it yourself in Xcode (for developers)

If you have Xcode 16 or later, clone the repo, open ETOS LLM Studio.xcworkspace (the workspace, not the xcodeproj), pick the ETOS LLM Studio App scheme, set your signing team, and Run on a real device. The Apple Watch App builds automatically as an embedded target.

Don't open the xcodeproj

The repo contains both .xcodeproj and .xcworkspace. Always open the workspace. The bare xcodeproj is missing the Swift Package config and fails to build.

Install on Apple Watch

Once the iPhone app is installed, the Watch app usually deploys to your paired Apple Watch automatically. If it doesn't:

1. Open the system "Watch" app on your iPhone (the dial icon).
2. Scroll to the "Available Apps" section near the bottom.
3. Find "ETOS LLM Studio" and tap "Install".

To verify, press the Digital Crown on the Watch to go to the home grid — you should see the ETOS LLM Studio icon.

What You See on First Launch

There's no onboarding flow — this is a utility app, not a social product. You go straight to the main screen, with two tabs at the bottom:

• Chat (default): the current conversation window on top, the input area on the bottom. You'll see an empty "New Conversation" waiting for your first message.
• Settings: everything else — providers, models, tools, memory, worldbook, sync, appearance, Daily Pulse — lives here.

Why such a sparse main screen?

ETOS LLM Studio packs all features into Settings and keeps the main screen for chat only. The trade-off is a longer Settings page; the benefit is no banners, promos, or "recommended" rails interrupting daily use.

For a layout-by-layout walkthrough of every Settings entry, see the Interface Tour.

Three Things to Do Right After Launch

Before anything else, do these in order:

1. Handle the Permission Prompts

iOS asks for several permissions the first time:

Permission	What it's for	Recommended
Local Network	LAN debugging / iPhone ↔ Watch discovery	Allow
Notifications	Daily Pulse delivery, generation-complete alerts	Allow
Microphone	Voice input, audio attachments	Allow (revoke later if unused)

Missed one? You can change it later in iOS Settings → ETOS LLM Studio.

2. Set Up at Least One Provider

Without a provider, the app cannot chat at all. This is the most important step. It has its own page: Add Your First Provider.

3. After Setup, Come Back and Check "Current Model"

Return to Settings. The very first section, Current Model, should show the model you just enabled.

If it says "No models available. Please enable one under Providers & Models.", it means you added the provider but haven't toggled on a specific model for chat. Open Settings → Providers & Models and switch on the model you want to use.

Advanced

I Only Have an Apple Watch — No iPhone

The Watch app can hit model APIs on its own, but we don't recommend going Watch-only. Configuration (providers, worldbook, memory) is entered on the iPhone — the Watch screen is too small for forms.

If you really only have a Watch, the workaround is to borrow an iPhone, export an ETOS data bundle via Settings → Sync & Backup, and transfer it to your Watch through iCloud Drive. See Sync & Backup for details.

Where Is Data Stored / How to Back Up

ETOS LLM Studio does not use any cloud account. Data is local by default:

• iPhone: SQLite database inside the app sandbox. Size shows up in iOS Settings → General → iPhone Storage → ETOS LLM Studio.
• Apple Watch: a mirrored copy synced over.
• Cross-device: ETOS data bundles via iCloud Drive, or direct LAN sync.

Uninstalling Deletes Data

Uninstalling the iPhone app permanently destroys the local database and there's no iCloud backup. Before uninstalling, export a full ETOS data bundle from Settings → Sync & Backup → Export ETOS Bundle and stash it somewhere safe (iCloud Drive, external drive, etc.).

Migrate From Another App

If you used Cherry Studio, RikkaHub, Kelivo, or exported from ChatGPT, you can feed those files straight into ETOS:

Settings → Sync & Backup → Third-Party Import → pick format → pick file

Supported formats:

• Cherry Studio: full backup.zip
• RikkaHub: exported JSON
• Kelivo: exported JSON
• ChatGPT official export: conversations.json

Conversations, provider configs, and model lists map into ETOS's schema as best as possible. Unrecognized fields are silently dropped — they won't pollute your database.

Common Build Errors

• watchOS link error: stale SDKROOT (and friends) in your shell. Prefix builds with env -u SDKROOT -u LIBRARY_PATH -u CPATH -u C_INCLUDE_PATH -u CPLUS_INCLUDE_PATH -u OBJC_INCLUDE_PATH xcodebuild ….
• Could not get trait set for device Watch7,18: a known Xcode toolchain warning during asset thinning. Does not affect compilation. Target generic/platform=watchOS Simulator to bypass it.
• Signing failed: make sure your Apple ID is added under Xcode → Settings → Accounts, and change the bundle identifier to your own reverse-domain string.

Next

App installed → Add Your First Provider