Compute & Models

Lucid’s compute layer connects AI agents with model providers and compute nodes through a policy-based matching engine. Every model and compute node is registered as a passport, and the matching engine selects the best provider based on runtime compatibility, hardware requirements, and policy constraints.

Compute Heartbeat System

Compute nodes maintain an in-memory registry with a 30-second TTL. Nodes send periodic heartbeats to stay discoverable:

curl -X POST https://api.lucid.foundation/v1/compute/nodes/heartbeat \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer lk_..." \
  -d '{
    "compute_passport_id": "compute-abc123",
    "status": "healthy",
    "queue_depth": 2,
    "p95_ms_estimate": 150
  }'

Status	Meaning
`healthy`	Accepting requests, normal operation
`degraded`	Accepting requests, reduced capacity
`down`	Not accepting requests

A node is considered expired if no heartbeat is received within 30 seconds.

Model Availability

The /v1/models endpoint reports availability based on model format:

Format	Availability Check
`api`	Always available (routed through TrustGate)
`safetensors` / `gguf`	Requires at least one healthy compute node

For self-hosted models, availability requires a compute node with:

Compatible runtime — runtimeCompatible() check
Sufficient hardware — VRAM and context length via hardwareCompatible()
Recent heartbeat — within 30s via ComputeRegistry.isHealthy()

Matching Engine

When a request arrives at /v1/match, the matching engine evaluates candidates:

Runtime compatibility check
  -> Hardware compatibility check
  -> Policy evaluation
  -> Scoring
  -> Selection

curl -X POST https://api.lucid.foundation/v1/match \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer lk_..." \
  -d '{
    "model": "mistral-7b-instruct",
    "requirements": {
      "min_vram_gb": 8,
      "min_context_length": 4096
    }
  }'

Model Passports

Every model in the network is registered as a passport with metadata:

curl -X POST https://api.lucid.foundation/v1/passports \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer lk_..." \
  -d '{
    "type": "model",
    "slug": "mistral-7b-instruct-v0.2",
    "version": { "major": 0, "minor": 2, "patch": 0 },
    "metadata": {
      "format": "safetensors",
      "api_model_id": "mistral/mistral-7b-instruct",
      "parameters": "7B",
      "context_length": 32768,
      "license": "Apache-2.0"
    }
  }'

Compute Passports

Compute nodes register their hardware capabilities:

curl -X POST https://api.lucid.foundation/v1/passports \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer lk_..." \
  -d '{
    "type": "compute",
    "slug": "gpu-node-01",
    "metadata": {
      "gpu": "A100",
      "vram_gb": 80,
      "runtime": "vllm",
      "max_context_length": 128000
    }
  }'

Revenue Splits

When inference flows through a compute node, revenue is split according to configurable basis points:

Recipient	Default Share
Compute provider	70% (7000 bps)
Model provider	20% (2000 bps)
Protocol	10% (1000 bps)

Splits are enforced on-chain through the lucid_agent_wallet program’s configure_split and distribute instructions.

​Compute Heartbeat System

​Model Availability

​Matching Engine

​Model Passports

​Compute Passports

​Revenue Splits