Frequently Asked Questions

Common questions about Project N.O.M.A.D. covering setup, content, AI, updates, and maintenance.

General

What is N.O.M.A.D.?

N.O.M.A.D. (Node for Offline Media, Archives, and Data) is a personal server that gives you access to knowledge, education, and AI assistance without requiring an internet connection. It runs on your own hardware, keeping your data private and accessible anytime.

See About N.O.M.A.D. for the full story.

Do I need internet to use N.O.M.A.D.?

No — that is the whole point. Once your content is downloaded, everything works offline. You only need internet to:

• Download new content
• Update the software
• Sync the latest versions of Wikipedia, maps, etc.

What hardware do I need?

N.O.M.A.D. is designed for capable hardware, especially if you want to use the AI features.

Minimum (basic functionality):

• 2 GHz dual-core processor
• 4 GB RAM
• 5 GB free disk space
• Debian-based OS (Ubuntu recommended)

Recommended (AI features):

• AMD Ryzen 7 or Intel Core i7 or better
• 32 GB RAM
• NVIDIA RTX 3060 or better (more VRAM = larger models)
• 250 GB+ SSD storage

For detailed build recommendations at three price points ($150–$1,000+), see the Hardware Guide.

How much storage do I need?

Storage needs depend on what you download:

Content	Approximate size
Full Wikipedia	~95 GB
Khan Academy courses	~50 GB
Medical references	~500 MB
US state maps	~2–3 GB each
AI models	10–40 GB depending on model

Start with essentials and add more as needed. 500 GB minimum is a reasonable starting point; 1 TB+ is recommended for a comprehensive setup.

Content

How do I add more Wikipedia content?

1. Go to Settings (hamburger menu → Settings)
2. Click Content Explorer
3. Browse available Wikipedia packages
4. Click Download on the items you want

You can also use the Content Explorer to browse all available ZIM content beyond Wikipedia.

How do I add more educational courses?

1. Open Kolibri
2. Sign in as an admin
3. Go to Device → Channels
4. Browse and import available channels

How current is the content?

Content is as current as when it was last downloaded. Wikipedia snapshots are typically updated monthly. Check the file names or descriptions for dates when browsing in the Content Explorer.

Can I add my own files?

Yes — using the Knowledge Base. Upload PDFs, text files, and other documents to the Knowledge Base and the AI can reference them when answering your questions. This uses semantic search to find relevant information from your uploaded files.

For Kiwix content, N.O.M.A.D. uses standard ZIM files. For educational content, Kolibri uses its own channel format.

What are curated collection tiers?

When selecting content in the Easy Setup wizard or Content Explorer, collections are organized into three tiers:

• Essential — Core content for the category (smallest download)
• Standard — Essential plus additional useful content
• Comprehensive — Everything available for the category (largest download)

This helps you balance content coverage against storage usage.

AI

How do I use the AI chat?

1. Go to AI Chat from the Command Center home screen
2. Type your question or request
3. The AI responds in conversational style

The AI Assistant must be installed first — enable it during Easy Setup or install it from Settings → Apps.

How do I upload documents to the Knowledge Base?

1. Open AI Chat from the Command Center home screen
2. Select the Knowledge Base tab within the chat interface
3. Upload your documents (PDFs, text files, etc.)
4. Documents are processed and indexed automatically
5. Switch to the Chat tab and ask questions — the AI will reference your uploaded documents when relevant

You can also remove documents from the Knowledge Base when they are no longer needed.

N.O.M.A.D. documentation is automatically added to the Knowledge Base when the AI Assistant is installed.

What is the System Benchmark?

The System Benchmark tests your hardware performance and generates a NOMAD Score — a weighted composite of CPU, memory, disk, and AI performance. You can create a Builder Tag (a NOMAD-themed identity like “Tactical-Llama-1234”) and share your results with the community leaderboard.

Go to Settings → System Benchmark to run one.

What is the Early Access Channel?

The Early Access Channel lets you opt in to receive release candidate builds with the latest features and improvements before they hit stable releases. Enable or disable it from Settings → Check for Updates.

Early Access builds may contain bugs. If you prefer stability, stay on the stable channel.

Updates and maintenance

How do I update N.O.M.A.D.?

1. Go to Settings → Check for Updates
2. If an update is available, click to install
3. The system downloads updates and restarts automatically
4. This typically takes 2–5 minutes

Should I update regularly?

Yes, while you have internet access. Updates include bug fixes, new features, security improvements, and performance enhancements.

How do I update content (Wikipedia, maps, etc.)?

Content updates are separate from software updates:

1. Go to Settings → Content Manager or Content Explorer
2. Check for newer versions of your installed content
3. Download updated versions as needed

New Wikipedia snapshots are released approximately monthly.

What happens if an update fails?

The system is designed to recover gracefully. If an update fails:

1. The previous version should continue working
2. Try the update again later
3. Check Settings → System for error messages

For advanced troubleshooting, N.O.M.A.D. includes command-line helper scripts in /opt/project-nomad:

# Start all services
sudo bash /opt/project-nomad/start_nomad.sh

# Stop all services
sudo bash /opt/project-nomad/stop_nomad.sh

# Update Command Center only
sudo bash /opt/project-nomad/update_nomad.sh