Network connections
Connection map
Section titled “Connection map”| Connection | When it occurs | Data boundary |
|---|---|---|
| Local Ollama loopback service | Local summaries, chat, local embeddings, model management, and global-index background embeddings. | The bundled runtime listens on a loopback address. Synthezia prefers 127.0.0.1:11435 and can select another local loopback host when needed. |
| Whisper model download | Automatic when you import a file or start a recording and the transcription model is missing; also when you start a download in Model Manager or enable background preparation of recommended models. | The selected model identifier and model download are sent to the Hugging Face source used by the application. No recording content is sent. |
| Ollama model pull | You start a pull, request a feature whose model is missing, or enable background preparation of recommended models. | Synthezia asks the local Ollama runtime to pull a named model. The runtime’s configured registry determines the upstream destination. No recording content is sent. |
| OpenAI-compatible generation API | You select External API, explicitly authorize its endpoint, and generate a summary or chat answer. | The authorized provider receives generation context as described in remote provider data flow. Embeddings and retrieval remain local. |
What does not require an external AI endpoint
Section titled “What does not require an external AI endpoint”The current imported-media and live-recording conversion path uses local FFmpeg, and transcription uses local Whisper. Local Mode sends processing requests only to the loopback Ollama runtime after models are present.
The inspected application runtime does not register a user-facing automatic application-update or release-check request. This does not describe network activity from macOS, development tools, a remote provider, or the Ollama runtime itself.
Make a safe provider decision
Section titled “Make a safe provider decision”Before authorizing External API, review the endpoint’s domain, transport configuration, data handling, retention, and access controls. Synthezia accepts HTTPS endpoints (or explicit localhost development endpoints), does not follow provider redirects, and does not provide a provider-neutral retention guarantee.
Common failures
Section titled “Common failures”- A missing local model needs a network connection before Local Mode can complete the feature that requires it.
- A local Ollama startup failure prevents the loopback service from answering local summary, chat, or embedding requests.
- An external provider can reject a model name, chat request, authorization credential, or connection.