# Hybrid VPS + Home LLM Hosting Pattern

When migrating a web app that has hardcoded local LLM calls to a VPS, keep the LLM at home and proxy calls back through Tailscale. The app code doesn't change — only the nginx routing changes.

## When to use

- The app makes `fetch('/llm/...')` calls hardcoded to a local Ollama endpoint
- The LLM requires a GPU (e.g., qwen2.5:14b at ~9GB VRAM) — a $5/mo VPS can't run it
- You want to move the frontend and database to a VPS (static IP, no home IP exposure)
- Home server stays on 24/7 anyway (Home Assistant, Immich, other services)

## Architecture

```
VPS ($5/mo)                          Home server (Tailscale)
├── Frontend (SPA)                   ├── Ollama (port 11434)
├── PocketBase / SQLite              └── Tailscale IP: 100.xx.xx.xx
├── Nginx (SSL)
│   ├── /        → frontend
│   ├── /api/    → PocketBase (local on VPS)
│   └── /llm/    → Tailscale → home:11434
└── Tailscale
```

## Nginx Config (VPS)

```nginx
# Add to existing server block:
location /llm/ {
    proxy_pass http://<home-tailscale-ip>:11434/;
    proxy_http_version 1.1;
    proxy_set_header Host $host;
    proxy_set_header X-Real-IP $remote_addr;
    proxy_read_timeout 120s;
    proxy_buffering off;
}
```

## Key properties

- **Zero code changes.** The app's `fetch('/llm/v1/chat/completions')` calls work unchanged — nginx handles the routing.
- **Latency:** +2-5ms Tailscale overhead. For non-streaming LLM API calls (50-500 tokens), the added latency is completely irrelevant — the LLM generation time (2-5 seconds) dominates.
- **Bandwidth:** LLM API responses are small (JSON, a few KB). Tailscale overhead is negligible.
- **Reliability:** If the home server goes down, `/llm/` calls fail gracefully (the app should already handle API errors). Frontend and database keep working on the VPS.

## Migration checklist

1. **VPS:** Install nginx, Docker (for PocketBase if needed), Tailscale
2. **Rsync frontend** to VPS
3. **Rsync database** (PocketBase `pb_data/`, SQLite files) to VPS
4. **Tailscale:** Authorize VPS on the tailnet, note home server's Tailscale IP
5. **Nginx:** Add `/llm/` proxy block pointing to home Tailscale IP
6. **SSL:** Let's Encrypt cert for the VPS domain
7. **DNS:** Point domain to VPS IP
8. **Test:** Hit `/llm/v1/models` to verify Ollama is reachable through the proxy

## Example: ShopProQuote

Real-world application (shop management SPA):

| Component | Size | Migrate? |
|---|---|---|
| Frontend (HTML/JS/CSS) | 110 MB | → VPS |
| PocketBase (SQLite) | 17 MB (380 KB DB) | → VPS |
| Ollama (qwen2.5:14b) | ~9 GB VRAM | → stays home |
| Nginx config | — | → recreate on VPS |

LLM endpoints used: priority analysis, AI Write, repair order suggestions, appointment OCR parsing. All via `fetch('/llm/v1/chat/completions')` with `model: 'qwen2.5:14b'`.

Downtime: ~10 minutes during DNS switch. Test on a subdomain first.