BloomGauge guide

Get started

Install BloomGauge and connect it to Darkbloom on this Mac.

1. Check requirements. You need an Apple Silicon Mac on macOS 14 or later, with the Darkbloom provider installed and signed in. BloomGauge works alongside Darkbloom; it does not replace it.
2. Install. Download BloomGauge from bloomgauge.io, drag it into Applications and open it.
3. Finish setup. Setup has three short steps: Your Mac, Make it yours, Ready to observe. BloomGauge starts in observe mode, so it changes nothing until you choose to.
4. Keep it running. Closing the window keeps BloomGauge collecting. Reopen it from the leaf in the menu bar. Quit BloomGauge stops BloomGauge only; Darkbloom keeps serving.

Choose models yourself

Manual mode: you pick the model, BloomGauge handles the switch.

1. Open Optimizer and choose Off on the card at the top (Manual in the older demand-following mode).
2. Pick a model under Model to run, then choose Start or Switch.
3. BloomGauge restarts Darkbloom with that model and checks it is warm and serving before calling it ready. With cache cleanup permission (see Troubleshooting), it also clears the macOS file cache first so large models fit.

Off stops automatic switching. Manual (pin) keeps the model you pick running and restores it if it fails.

What the optimizer does

Three jobs the manager does on its own.

1. Holds your best model. BloomGauge keeps a home model running: your pick if you pinned one, otherwise the model that has paid best on this Mac over the last 30 days. Until this Mac has 3 days of its own, it starts from what pays best on Macs with the same chip and memory; before switching away from the model you serve, it tells you and offers Keep current. It runs no blind trials of other models.
2. Recovers by itself. If a switch fails or no model is ready for about ten minutes, BloomGauge restores the home model instead of turning itself off. A model that fails to load as an automatic move is skipped for 24 hours, then 48 and 96 hours if it fails again. If two restores fail, it tells you and keeps retrying, at least every two hours.
3. Moves only on strong evidence. With Switch to better models when network evidence is strong on (the default, at most 3 moves a day), it leaves home only when at least five Macs like this one have clearly earned more on another model for two hours. It comes back when that evidence fades, and turns these moves off if they haven’t clearly paid off.
4. The older demand-following mode. Macs set to the older mode follow demand instead: they spend Learning time measuring other models, can switch for demand spikes, fall back to a model with steady demand such as gpt-oss, and pause automation after a failed load.

The first time you choose Manager on, BloomGauge shows this summary. Open it again any time with What it does on the optimizer card.

Let BloomGauge choose

Manager on: BloomGauge holds the best model for this Mac and recovers by itself.

1. Pick the models. Under Models BloomGauge can use, tap models to include or leave out. Dimmed models are not available on this Mac; hover one to see why. Keep at least one (two for the older demand-following mode).
2. Protect good earnings. Older demand-following mode only. Protect earnings above is the pace BloomGauge guards (default $0.20/hour). While the current model pays at least that, BloomGauge won’t interrupt it to learn. A clearly better model can still take over.
3. Three numbers, three jobs. Older demand-following mode only. Protect earnings above (default $0.20/hour) is the only one that holds a model in place: above it, BloomGauge won’t interrupt to learn. The earnings goal (default $0.12/hour) is for the Target report only and never changes what runs. The switch gain under Fine-tune (Balanced: 20% better and at least $0.02 more over the next hour, after a confirmation wait) is how much better another model must look before BloomGauge moves to it.
4. Give it time to learn. Older demand-following mode only. Learning time is how long a day BloomGauge may spend measuring other models while pace is below your protect level (default 1 hour), so it knows where to go when the current model fades. It only measures models with real demand.
5. Pick a style. Older demand-following mode only. How actively BloomGauge switches runs from Very passive to Very aggressive and sets trial length, waits and daily limits together.
6. Save. Changes show a Save changes bar. Saving while on applies right away; the current model keeps serving.
7. Turn it on. Choose Manager on. The first time, BloomGauge shows what the manager does; choose Turn the manager on. It first confirms this Mac appears in Darkbloom’s provider list, which can take a few minutes. In the older demand-following mode the button is Optimizer on, with an optional 3-day Learning boost.

Every switch still has to pass memory, temperature, power and daily-limit checks. Fine-tune limits holds each value if you want to type your own, plus the earnings target used by Earnings → Target. What BloomGauge knows about each model shows what it has measured so far.

Learn a new Mac faster

Older demand-following mode only: Learning boost measures more models for a set time. The manager runs no learning trials.

1. With the optimizer on, choose 24 hours, 3 days or 7 days under Learning boost.
2. BloomGauge learns for at least 3 hours a day and doesn’t wait for low earnings to start a learning run.
3. It ends by itself. Choose Stop to end it early. Your saved limits are unchanged afterwards.

Use it when a Mac is new to BloomGauge. With Darkbloom 0.9.9 or later, a switch lets accepted requests finish first; older versions can interrupt them. A model earning above your protect level is never pulled away to learn.

Read your earnings

What the numbers mean and which ones are confirmed.

1. Earnings → Overview shows your confirmed balance and the live Pulse meter for the current session.
2. Confirmed credits come from your Darkbloom account. Estimates and forecasts are labeled as such and never counted as money earned.
3. Earnings → Target shows how many hours met your hourly target.

Check in from your phone

Private access through your own Tailscale account.

1. Install Tailscale on the Mac and the phone, signed in to the same account.
2. On the Mac, open More → Phone access and choose Enable phone access.
3. Scan the QR code with your phone. Keep the Mac awake and online.

My Macs combines up to ten Macs: combined pace, each Mac’s model and how busy it is. Add each Mac using its phone access address (More → My Macs has step-by-step setup).

Report a problem

One tap sends a short, private report.

1. When something goes wrong, a card asks if you want to send a report. Choose Send report. Add a note if you like.
2. To stop being asked, tick Send these automatically from now on. You can turn it off in More → Help & feedback.
3. Reports contain the app version, Mac chip and memory size, and status codes. Never earnings, account details, model names or logs.

Keep BloomGauge up to date

1. BloomGauge installs updates by itself while you’re away from the Mac. You can turn this off in More → Help & feedback.
2. To check now, choose Check for Updates… in the BloomGauge menu, or open More → Help & feedback → App updates.
3. Updates keep your history and settings. They never turn the optimizer on or resume a plan you paused, and they never install during a model switch or warm-up.

Arrange your dashboard

1. On Earnings, choose Edit layout to move, hide, restore or resize cards, then Save layout.
2. Phone and desktop layouts are saved separately in each browser.

Optional usage sharing

1. Usage sharing is off unless you turn it on, during setup or in More → About BloomGauge → Help improve BloomGauge.
2. It sends coarse hardware and daily feature activity, never earnings or account details. Every feature works without it, and you can turn it off and ask for deletion there.

Troubleshooting

Find the message you see, then try the fixes in order.

Problems with Darkbloom itself (no jobs, a drained provider, memory errors)? See Darkbloom help.

Still stuck? Contact Andrew or send a report from the app. See the changelog for what changed in each release. Beta testers can also download the checklist and feedback templates.