It reads and files pages
Your node takes a share of the reading list, works through it, and hands back finished, searchable knowledge. Every page it files is a page nobody has to wait for later.
Indexer · Run a node
LEND A
MACHINE
One line. No reformat.
Removed just as easily.
Your spare capacity, someone else's answer.
A node is an ordinary computer doing a small share of the reading that keeps the index fresh. It sits quietly out of the way, uses only what the machine can spare, and gives it back as knowledge everyone can search.
What the machines have done so far
Every one of these was somebody's spare PC.
No datacentre, no rack, no procurement. The figures below come straight from the fleet as it runs, and they move while you read them. Adding a machine moves them faster.
Connecting…
—
Pages searchable
everything the fleet has filed
—
Machines online
dedicated to reading
—
Processor cores
spare capacity, pooled
—
Pages read by the fleet
these machines' own tally
—
Web pulled down
read, cleaned, filed
—
Shared card throughput
across — shared graphics cards
What your machine actually does
Four jobs, none of them yours.
Once it's running there is nothing to operate. The node takes work when the fleet has work, pauses when your machine is busy, and never asks you for anything.
It rescues the hard ones
Some pages refuse to be read by anything simple. Those get passed around the fleet until a machine can handle them — and your node takes its turn.
It shares a graphics card
If the machine has one, it joins the pool that turns text into something searchable. A small handful of ordinary desktop cards currently carries every search the platform runs — this is the tier that needs machines most.
It stays in its lane
The node runs in its own sandbox with a hard ceiling on memory and processor time, at the lowest priority on the machine. It reads the public web — never your files, your browser or your accounts.
Step one · install
One line, then walk away.
Open PowerShell as an administrator and paste the line below exactly as it is. Setup takes a few minutes and may ask for one restart the first time; run the same line again afterwards and it carries on where it stopped.
Windows 10 / 11 · PowerShell (admin)
irm https://get.askfinz.ai/node | iexAny askFinz account can add a node. askFinz is in private access today, so the way in is to request an account — your node key comes with it.
- Nothing is reformatted and Windows boots exactly as before.
- The node is capped before it starts, not throttled after the fact.
- It picks its own name and number — you never configure anything.
askfinz · node install
Illustration of a first install. Your node number is assigned by the fleet.
What you need
Less than you'd think.
An everyday desktop or laptop is enough. Each thing you add unlocks a little more of what the node can take on — but none of it is required to be useful.
| Tier | What it needs | What it unlocks |
|---|---|---|
The machine | Windows 10 or 11, 64-bit | Everything below. Nothing is reformatted and nothing else on the PC changes. |
Memory | 8 GB or more recommended | The node claims a slice, never the machine. More memory simply means it takes on more reading at once. |
Connection | Always-on broadband | Steady reading. A node that sleeps with the machine is fine — it picks up where it left off. |
Graphics card | Optional — a modern NVIDIA card | The shared embedding pool, the most valuable thing a node can offer. Without one the node is still a full member of the fleet. |
Step two · verify
Find yourself on the live board.
Every node in the fleet shows up on a public status page. Yours appears within a few minutes of install, under the name it was given. That page is the only confirmation you need — there is nothing to check on your own machine.
Open the live status pageA healthy node climbs. If uptime is going up and the page count is going up, it is doing its job — the rest of the row is detail.
A healthy row
- Name
- askfinz-indexer-014 assigned to you at install
- Uptime
- 6h 12m climbing, not resetting
- Pages
- 8,417 rising every refresh
- Reading
- 4 at a time sized to your machine
- Shared card
- Active only if the PC has one
Illustration. Live values are on the status page.
If something looks wrong
Five things people ask about.
Most of these aren't faults at all. Nodes are built to recover on their own, so the usual answer is to give it a few minutes.
Nothing appears on the status page after 10 minutes
The machine needed a restart part-way through setup, which is normal the first time.
Restart the PC, then run the install line once more. It resumes rather than starting over.
Your node was listed, then disappeared
The machine slept, lost its connection, or was shut down.
Wake it and give it a couple of minutes. It rejoins on its own and keeps its number.
Uptime keeps resetting to a few seconds
The node is restarting in a loop instead of settling.
Leave it for one update cycle — nodes repair themselves. If it persists, get in touch.
Pages sat at zero for the first few minutes
Nothing is wrong. A new node waits to be given its share of the reading list.
No action. Pages start climbing once work is handed to it.
No shared-card badge on your row
The graphics card isn't eligible, or the machine doesn't have one.
Nothing to fix. The node is still a full contributor without it.
Whenever you like
Leaving is one line too.
There is no notice period and nothing to negotiate. Run the removal line and the node hands back whatever it was working on, takes itself apart, and puts your settings back the way it found them. Your node number returns to the pool for the next machine.
Windows 10 / 11 · PowerShell (admin)
irm https://get.askfinz.ai/uninstall/node | iexNothing is left behind. No leftover service, no stray folder, no account to close.
askfinz · node removal
Questions
Before you
run it.
- Will it slow my computer down?
- It shouldn't. The node runs at the lowest priority on the machine, inside a sandbox with a hard ceiling on memory and processor time, so anything you do takes precedence. You can shut it down at any moment.
- Can it see my files or my browsing?
- No. The node reads public pages from the web. It has no access to your documents, your browser, your accounts or anything else on the machine.
- Do I need to leave the PC on all the time?
- No. A node that sleeps with the machine simply pauses. When the PC wakes, the node rejoins the fleet and keeps the same node number.
- Does it reformat or dual-boot anything?
- No. This route installs alongside Windows and changes nothing about how the PC boots. If you want a machine to become a dedicated appliance instead, that is the Indexer OS route.
- How do I remove it?
- One line, and the machine is returned to how it was. Your node number goes back into the pool for the next machine.
Where next