# Connect your iPhone or iPad to vLLM

Use Vanta with a vLLM OpenAI-compatible server, including its base URL, model identifier, optional API key and security limits.

Canonical: https://vantaclient.app/docs/vllm/
Updated: 2026-10-02

Vanta can use a chat model served by vLLM through its OpenAI-compatible API. vLLM runs the model on your host; the phone is the client. Use a model with a supported chat template and a host with enough resources to serve it.

## Prepare the server

Follow the [vLLM quickstart](https://docs.vllm.ai/en/latest/getting_started/quickstart/) to install vLLM and serve a model. Its normal API port is `8000`. Use `--host` and `--port` to choose the interface and port; a loopback-only server cannot be reached directly from your phone.

The API base is typically `http://YOUR_SERVER:8000/v1`. vLLM documents chat support and authentication in its [OpenAI-compatible server guide](https://docs.vllm.ai/en/latest/serving/online_serving/openai_compatible_server/).

For a private LAN, allow only the intended devices through the firewall. For access over the internet, use an authenticated HTTPS reverse proxy or a private VPN. vLLM warns that `--api-key` does not protect every endpoint on its HTTP server, so that option alone is not a complete public deployment boundary.

## Add the provider

1. Open **Settings → Providers → Add provider**.
2. Enter a name such as **vLLM**.
3. Enter the API base, for example `http://192.168.1.10:8000/v1` or the HTTPS API base supplied by your proxy.
4. Enter the server or proxy key if authentication is required.
5. Check and save the provider.
6. Create a model preset with the identifier reported by `/v1/models`, select it and send a short message.

If you configured a served-model alias, use that exposed identifier. Do not assume the local model directory or a display name is the API identifier.

Vanta adds `/v1` when the address has no path. It preserves custom paths, so include the API path your reverse proxy expects. Do not paste the full `/chat/completions` URL into the base-address field.

## Check reachability

For a server without API authentication:

```sh
curl http://192.168.1.10:8000/v1/models
```

For an authenticated server, send the appropriate bearer token header. A successful list request verifies the address and access from the device making the request. Then check a basic chat inside Vanta.

## Common problems

| Symptom | Check |
| --- | --- |
| 401 or 403 | The key and proxy access policy match the saved provider. |
| 404 | The base path reaches the API rather than a website or a duplicated `/v1` prefix. |
| Chat-template error | The served model has a suitable chat template in vLLM. |
| Model identifier rejected | Use the exact name exposed by the server's model list. |
| Streaming stalls | The model has loaded and the proxy permits streaming responses without an early timeout. |

Tools and images also require appropriate model and server support; an OpenAI-compatible API does not make every served model multimodal or tool-capable.

For related limits, see [compatibility](https://vantaclient.app/compatibility/), [privacy](https://vantaclient.app/privacy/) and [troubleshooting](https://vantaclient.app/docs/troubleshooting/). These are documented configuration steps, not newly measured performance results.