Tom AI is live — and every chat you have makes SparkBox better
Posted by tomspark
If you've backed the project, Tom AI is sitting in your dashboard right now. Here's what it is, how it works, and the honest version of what happens with your chats. What it is A troubleshooting assistant trained on SparkBox specifically — every module, the setup wizard, the patch log, the common gotchas. Click the ? button bottom-right → Open Tom AI. Ask it "why won't Immich start" or paste an error message and it decodes it and tells you what to click next. It can read your container state, so the answers are about your box, not generic wiki copy-paste. Runs on Claude Sonnet 4.6. The part I want to be straight about: we log your chats Every conversation gets logged on our side — sanitized. Before anything leaves your box, a sanitizer strips credentials (API keys, passwords, tokens, SSH keys) right there on your machine. What we keep is the credential-free question and answer. Why? Because that's the entire point. When 6 of you hit the same Nextcloud snag in a week, I see it, and it becomes a patch, a better guide, or a docs fix. Your problem today turns into the next person's already-solved bug. Every issue raised and explained and fixed feeds straight into shipped updates — that's the loop that makes this thing get better fast. Why that's good for you - Fixes ship faster — the assistant is also my best signal for what's actually breaking in the wild. - It gets sharper at the exact things people get stuck on. - A confusing error you hit doesn't vanish — it gets seen and acted on. - Tired of making forum threads and waiting for a response? Just tell Tom AI your problem and we will fix any issues asap. What we do NOT do - We never sell chat data. - We never share it for third-party AI training (Anthropic doesn't train on it either). - Your raw, full chat history (before sanitizing) stays only on your own box and is never collected. - Want none of it? Settings → AI Troubleshooting → off, or set SBAICHATENABLED=false. Full kill switch, your call. Full data details: https://tomsparkbox.com/privacy Tiers Backer ($29): 1,500 messages/month. Legend ($49): unlimited. Both also get priority on forum replies here in d/sparkbox. SparkBox itself stays 100% free — every app, every feature, no paywall. The assistant's the thank-you for funding the work. Try it and tell me where it's dumb. That's literally how it gets better.
8 replies
tomspark wrote:
If you click on the question mark, it should pop up. Make sure you're on the latest version. If not, let me know what you see or what version you're on and we can try to troubleshoot.
tomspark wrote:
Thanks for backing — and you didn't miss a step, that little Enter it link has a bug that drops you back on the dashboard instead of the right spot. I'm fixing it. Here's the direct way in the meantime: Open Settings (the gear/Settings tab at the top of the dashboard), then scroll down to the License section. There's a box to paste your key (starts with SB-PRO-) plus the email you bought with — paste both and hit Activate. Tom AI flips on right away: the ? button bottom-right changes to an Open Tom AI button. If you don't see a License section with a key box, tell me your version (Settings shows it, or run sparkbox --version) — older builds had a rougher flow and sudo sparkbox upgrade gets you current. Let me know how it goes.
tomspark wrote:
Ah, that explains it — the STRIPE- value in your Demox settings isn't your SparkBox key, that's just a payment reference. The key the dashboard wants is a separate one that looks like SB-PRO-XXXX-XXXX, and it gets emailed to you right after checkout. First check the inbox (and spam) of the email you paid with — it'll be a message from us with that SB-PRO- key. If it's not there, re-send it here: tomsparkbox.com/recover — pop in your purchase email and it'll mail the key again. If recover comes up empty too, reply here with the email you used and we'll get it sorted — you paid, so we'll make sure you actually get your key and Tom AI. And the Enter-it link fix shipped in 1.6.149 (which you're on now), so once you've got the SB-PRO- key it's Settings → License → paste → Activate and you're in.
tomspark wrote:
Ha, spam folder — classic. Glad you're in! Tom AI's all yours now: paste any error or your sparkbox doctor output and it'll dig right in. Welcome aboard, and thanks for backing the project.
AvantMagus wrote:
Where in the Dashboard? I'm not seeing it.
Cthe_Enigma wrote:
Hey! I just became a backer; I can see the ? in the bottom right but Tom AI isn't active; maybe I missed a step somewhere? When I select "Already have a key? Enter it" it just takes me back to the Sparkbox dashboard.
Cthe_Enigma wrote:
Ah, I see the License box but the key that I have starts with "STRIPE-" and I found that in my Demox settings, I don't believe I received an email key starting with SB-PRO-. I updated to 1.6.149 just now
Cthe_Enigma wrote:
Yep, that was it; the email went to my spam! I'm all set now, thanks Tom!