If Confidant won't generate notes and you're seeing errors about the model failing to load, it's almost always a RAM issue.
Confidant requires 8 GB of RAM minimum
Below 8 GB the note-generation model can't load reliably — the app will fail rather than run something that produces unreliable notes. 8 GB runs the Lite tier; more than 8 GB gets you the Pro tier with comfortable headroom.
If you have 8+ GB and the model still won't load
Check actual free RAM. Open Activity Monitor (Mac) or Task Manager (Windows). Look at memory pressure — if you're already at 80%+ before opening Confidant, the model has nowhere to live.
Close other heavy apps. Most common offenders:
Other AI desktop apps (ChatGPT, Claude, Cursor)
Video editors (Final Cut, Premiere, DaVinci Resolve)
Multiple Chrome windows with many tabs
VMs or Docker containers
Other transcription / dictation apps
Restart Confidant. Sometimes the AI engine gets into a weird state and a fresh launch resolves it.
Restart your computer. If you've been up for a week, RAM may be fragmented enough that even a roomy machine struggles to allocate a contiguous block.
Lite tier vs Pro tier
Confidant ships two note-generation models:
Pro tier — about 5 GB on disk. The default on machines with more than 8 GB of RAM. Larger model, slightly longer notes, more nuanced clinical voice.
Lite tier — about 3 GB on disk. Used on 8 GB machines. Smaller model, faster, tighter writing style; tuned to fit in lower memory.
Confidant picks the tier automatically based on your machine's total RAM. Machines with exactly 8 GB get Lite; machines with more than 8 GB get Pro. You can override the choice in Settings → Notes → Note Generation AI Model — for example, forcing Lite on a Pro-capable machine to keep more RAM free for other apps.
"Failed to start the AI engine"
This error means the program that runs the model couldn't launch. Causes:
Antivirus is blocking it. Whitelist Confidant in your antivirus settings — the bundled AI engine binary is what triggers most antivirus heuristics.
Port 8080 is in use. Confidant talks to the model over local port 8080. Quit any other app using that port and restart Confidant.
The AI engine binary failed to download. During onboarding, Confidant downloads the AI engine separately from the model. If the download was interrupted, retry by quitting and relaunching the app.
"Unknown model architecture"
This means the model file and the AI engine are out of sync — usually because one was updated while the other wasn't. The fix is to clear both and let Confidant re-download paired versions on next launch.
If you hit this, contact support and we'll walk you through clearing the right files for your platform. The data folder isn't affected — your patients, sessions, and notes stay intact.