docs: add Dankclaw improvements research (agentic tools, runtime tuning, server/OS)

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# Dankclaw — Improvements Research
This page collects concrete, sourced recommendations to improve Dankclaw
(the AMD Strix Halo inference box). It covers self-hosted agentic tools,
inference runtime tuning, and server/OS/hardware settings. Each item lists a
priority and the exact action.
Dates: researched 2026-08. Hardware is verified on the live machine unless
marked "verify first".
## Verified Memory Picture (measured 2026-08-11)
| Figure | Value | Source |
| ------ | ----- | ------ |
| OS physical RAM | 30.5 GiB | `/proc/meminfo` |
| TTM pages_limit | 15.24 GiB (3,995,281 x 4KiB) | `/sys/module/ttm/parameters/pages_limit` |
| ROCm VRAM total | 96.0 GiB | `rocm-smi --showmeminfo vram` |
| ROCm VRAM used | 76.2 GiB | `rocm-smi` while serving 3x200700 |
The OS accounts only ~30.5 GiB physical RAM, and the TTM GPU-addressable pool
is capped at ~15.24 GiB. ROCm/SMI still reports a 96 GiB VRAM carve-out (VGM).
This split is the Strix Halo GTT/VGM design. It drives the batch/ubatch memory
limits documented in [[frank-default-large-benchmark]].
## 1. Self-Hosted Agentic Tools
All of these connect to the local llama.cpp OpenAI-compatible endpoint
(`http://localhost:7770/v1`). None need NVIDIA.
| Tool | Use | Endpoint config | Priority |
| ---- | --- | --------------- | -------- |
| Open WebUI | Chat + agent harness, plugins, RAG, tool calling | Add OpenAI-compatible provider -> `http://localhost:7770/v1` | High |
| Cline (VS Code) | IDE coding agent with MCP | Provider "OpenAI Compatible", `API_URL=http://localhost:7770/v1` | High |
| Aider (CLI) | Terminal pair-programming agent | `OPENAI_API_BASE=http://localhost:7770/v1` | Medium |
| Continue.dev (VS Code) | Open-source coding agent | `config.json` -> `{type:"openai", apiBase:"http://localhost:7770"}` | Medium |
| OpenHands (Agent Canvas) | Self-hosted multi-agent coding platform | LiteLLM custom model + Base URL to the endpoint | Medium |
| AnythingLLM | RAG / knowledge chat | Provider "OpenAI (Generic)" -> endpoint | Medium |
| Browser Use | Browser automation agent (Playwright) | `ChatOpenAI(base_url="http://localhost:7770/v1")` | Low |
| Qdrant | Vector store for RAG | Standalone, CPU-native | Low |
The pragmatic first installs are Open WebUI, Cline, and Aider. They all work
with the current llama.cpp server and need no extra GPU.
## 2. Inference Runtime Tuning (llama.cpp on gfx1151)
Verified against the running service and llama.cpp source.
| Change | Recommendation | Priority |
| ------ | -------------- | -------- |
| Backend | Keep HIP/ROCm. HIP out-performs Vulkan for decode on RDNA3.5/4 iGPU. | Done |
| KV cache | Keep `q8_0` K / `f16` V. q8_0 halves memory vs f16 with negligible loss. Try `q4_0`/`iq4_nl` only if more context is needed. | Keep |
| Flash attention | Leave `--flash-attn auto`. It helps prompt processing, not decode. | Keep |
| Load mode | Start with mmap (default). Enable `--mlock` only if page-fault stutter appears. | Optional |
| Threads | Use `--threads 12 --threads-batch 16 --threads-http 1` for 16 Zen5 cores + 3 slots. Frees cores for the ROCm driver. | Medium |
| DFlash n_max | Current 8 (block 16) is high. Try `--spec-draft-n-max 5`; it may reduce rejection cost at the same throughput. | Verify |
| ngram layering | Measured slower than DFlash alone at 4k (16.9 vs 20.2 t/s). Not enabled. | Keep off |
## 3. Server / OS / Hardware Settings
All require root and a reboot for the modprobe change.
| Setting | Action | Effect | Priority |
| ------- | ------ | ------ | -------- |
| TTM GPU pool | Set `amd-ttm --set 96` (write `/etc/modprobe.d/ttm.conf`), reboot | Lifts the 15 GiB TTM cap toward full RAM; more headroom for GPU buffers | High |
| Power profile | `echo performance > /sys/class/drm/card0/device/power_profile` | Sustained inference speed; apply at boot via a udev/systemd unit | Medium |
| NVMe scheduler | Already `none` (`[none]` confirmed) | No change | Done |
| BIOS VGM | Set Variable Graphics Memory / UMA to "High" in the EVO-X2 BIOS | Max dedicated VRAM for the GPU carve-out; verify in the live BIOS | Verify |
| Firmware/EC | Check GMKtec for a newer EC/fan-curve firmware | Better sustained thermal behavior | Verify |
## 4. Other Enhancements
- Test `--spec-draft-n-max 5` and re-benchmark acceptance; if throughput rises,
change the env tunable.
- Consider switching the disabled `vllm-thinkingcap.service` unit off or
removing it to avoid confusion (it is loaded in a failed state).
- Profile generation under 3-slot concurrent load before touching boot
settings, so any tuning is measured against the real workload.
## Sources
- [[frank-default-large-benchmark]] — measured backend/spec numbers
- [[deployment]] — deploy and update process
- AMD ROCm RDNA3.5 system optimization guide (gfx1151 memory/BIOS)
- llama.cpp source: `ggml/CMakeLists.txt`, `ggml/src/ggml-hip/CMakeLists.txt`,
`common/arg.cpp`, `common/common.h`
- NotebookCheck Ryzen AI MAX+ 395 analysis
## See Also
- [[frank-default-large-benchmark]]
- [[DFlash DSpark Speculative Decoding]]
- [[deployment]]
- [[index]]
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- [[Running Qwen3.6 35B A3B FP8 on Dankserver]] — MoE model (35B total, 3B active) on RTX 3090
- [[Running Qwen3.6 27B FP8 on Dankclaw]] — Dense model (27B) on Strix Halo APU
- [[frank-default-large-benchmark]] — backend/spec benchmark that drove the Dankclaw llama.cpp deployment
- [[Dankclaw Improvements]] — researched enhancements: self-hosted agentic tools, runtime tuning, server/OS settings
## Speculative Decoding & Quantization