docs: simplify sharing Ollama, vLLM and LM Studio through plugins

[michaelneale]

Summary

Make sharing an existing Ollama, vLLM or LM Studio server a short, explicit plugin workflow rather than a second runtime command:

Start the provider → install a compatible openai-endpoint → set its URL → mesh-llm serve.

• New provider quick start with concrete Ollama/vLLM/LM Studio startup recipes and base URLs, plus guidance for other OpenAI-compatible servers.
• One config block, model-list and completion checks, then client --join from a second machine.
• FAQ covers no duplicate model download, provider lifecycle, endpoint sharing versus weight splitting, API keys, HTTP-only upstream forwarding, model readiness and command overrides.
• Update Plugins, Config Models & Plugins, FAQ, Troubleshooting and sidebar navigation.
• Correct the installer's “latest compatible” claim: it selects a platform archive, not a negotiated host/plugin protocol match.

Companion and rollout

Adapter repair: Mesh-LLM/openai-endpoint#3

Prefer merging the adapter first. Guide links to its compatibility/build instructions are pinned to the reviewed commit so they also work before merge. The adapter's source-build recipe selects its rescue branch; retain it until replaced with a durable release/main reference. Publishing a compatible adapter release is a separate required step—this documentation does not pretend catalog installs are repaired already.

Published adapter 0.1.2 speaks protocol 2 and cannot initialize on Mesh 0.76.0 (protocol 3). Older protocol-2 hosts need their compatible pin. No host code, protocol behavior, or runtime command changes in this PR.

Example

For a running local Ollama server, edit ~/.mesh-llm/config.toml:

[runtime]
mode = "on_demand"

[[plugin]]
name = "openai-endpoint"
url = "http://127.0.0.1:11434/v1"

Start mesh-llm serve, list http://127.0.0.1:9337/v1/models, and send a completion using an exact listed ID. Change only the URL for vLLM (:8000/v1) or LM Studio (:1234/v1).

Validation

• Website npm run build: CLI inventory, Tailwind, Eleventy, Pagefind passed.
• Full website browser test script npm run test:cli-explorer passed.
• node --check website/src/_data/docs.js passed.
• Checked rendered guide links/anchors from Plugins, FAQ, Config Models and Troubleshooting.
• Parsed guide/adapter README TOML fences and checked Bash fence syntax.
• Independent source/docs review completed; HTTPS forwarding limitation, installed metadata vs command override, and private-config assumptions incorporated.
• git diff --check passed. Generated output is not committed; Rustdoc regeneration/full Mesh runtime build was not needed for these authored docs/navigation changes.

Limits

Recipes checked against provider documentation and host/adapter source, not live certification of each provider. Prior adapter validation used two official Mesh 0.76.0 processes on one Mac with an HTTP fixture, not two machines or real-model/streaming/auth recovery testing. Direct HTTPS upstream and upstream API-key injection are not supported by this URL-only recipe; docs keep unauthenticated providers loopback-only.

Summary by CodeRabbit

• Documentation
  • Added a guide for connecting Ollama, vLLM, LM Studio, and other OpenAI-compatible endpoints through Mesh.
  • Updated plugin configuration examples, installation steps, compatibility requirements, and provider limitations.
  • Added FAQ entries covering model server behavior, client connections, and API-key handling.
  • Added troubleshooting guidance for endpoint health checks, completion testing, and protocol compatibility.
  • Added the external model endpoints guide to the Plugins navigation.

[coderabbitai]

No actionable comments were generated in the recent review. 🎉

ℹ️ Recent review info

⚙️ Run configuration

Configuration used: Organization UI

Review profile: CHILL

Plan: Advanced

Run ID: 63bbf050-91da-4e79-ace5-332aacbccbd0

📥 Commits

Reviewing files that changed from the base of the PR and between 473cd9b and 2c2fcd5.

📒 Files selected for processing (2)

• website/src/docs/pages/external-model-endpoints.md
• website/src/docs/pages/plugins.md

🚧 Files skipped from review as they are similar to previous changes (1)

• website/src/docs/pages/plugins.md

Included review availability: Your plan provides up to 8 included reviews per hour; 7 remain after this review.

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📝 Walkthrough

Walkthrough

The documentation updates external endpoint setup, plugin configuration, adapter compatibility, navigation, FAQ entries, and troubleshooting guidance for Ollama, vLLM, LM Studio, and other OpenAI-compatible providers.

Changes

External model endpoint support

Layer / File(s)	Summary
Provider setup guide website/src/docs/pages/external-model-endpoints.md, website/src/_data/docs.js	Documents adapter 0.2.0 for Mesh 0.76.0, protocol-version pinning, installation commands, compatibility references, and navigation to the provider guide.
Configuration and compatibility workflow website/src/docs/pages/config-models.md, website/src/docs/pages/plugins.md	Updates loopback endpoint examples, local adapter process guidance, supported providers, installation instructions, workflow steps, and protocol compatibility notes.
FAQ and troubleshooting guidance website/src/docs/pages/faq.md, website/src/docs/pages/troubleshooting.md	Documents endpoint ownership, authentication limits, validation checks, health distinctions, and protocol mismatch resolution.

Priority: ⬇️ Low

Estimated code review effort: 2 (Simple) | ~10 minutes

Change: Other

🚥 Pre-merge checks | ✅ 5

✅ Passed checks (5 passed)

Check name	Status	Explanation
Description Check	✅ Passed	Check skipped - CodeRabbit’s high-level summary is enabled.
Title check	✅ Passed	The title clearly and concisely describes the main documentation change: simplifying plugin-based sharing for Ollama, vLLM, and LM Studio.
Docstring Coverage	✅ Passed	No functions found in the changed files to evaluate docstring coverage. Skipping docstring coverage check. Docstring coverage is scoped to functions touched by this diff. Analyzed 0 functions across 1…
Linked Issues check	✅ Passed	Check skipped because no linked issues were found for this pull request.
Out of Scope Changes check	✅ Passed	Check skipped because no linked issues were found for this pull request.

✨ Finishing Touches

🧪 Generate unit tests (beta)

• Create PR with unit tests
• Commit unit tests in branch jimmy/plugin-provider-guide

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[i386]

Reviewed the docs diff in full — clear provider recipes, honest limitations (no direct https upstream, adapter control connection semantics), consistent nav/data updates. Second approval alongside i386; green CI.