> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.flex.ai/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# FlexAI Inference - Public Model

> Deploy an inference endpoint from a public Hugging Face model

We'll get started by creating an Inference Endpoint for a public model hosted in the Hugging Face Hub that does not require us to provide a Hugging Face Access Token —This will allow us to focus on the deployment process itself for now.

We'll be using [https://huggingface.co/TinyLlama/TinyLlama-1.1B-Chat-v1.0](https://huggingface.co/TinyLlama/TinyLlama-1.1B-Chat-v1.0).

## Creating an Inference Endpoint

<Tabs>
  <Tab title="Using the FlexAI Console">
    <Steps>
      1. Navigate to the **Inference** section from either the navigation bar or the card on the home page.
      2. Select the "+ New" button to display the "Launch Inference" panel.
      3. Fill out the *Launch Inference* form according to the instructions below.
    </Steps>

    ### The *Launch Inference* form

    The *Launch Inference* form consists of a set of required and optional fields that you can use to customize your deployment.

    #### Required Fields

    * **Name**: A unique name for your inference endpoint. This will be used to identify your endpoint in the FlexAI console. It must follow the FlexAI [resource naming conventions](/best-practices/resource-naming-conventions/).
    * **Hugging Face Model**: The name of the model to deploy.
    * **Cluster**: The cluster where the Training workload will run. It can be selected from a dropdown list of available clusters in your FlexAI account.

    #### Form Values

    | Field                  | Value                                    |
    | ---------------------- | ---------------------------------------- |
    | **Name**               | `quickstart-inference-tinyLlama`         |
    | **Hugging Face Model** | `TinyLlama/TinyLlama-1.1B-Chat-v1.0`     |
    | **Cluster**            | *Your organization's designated cluster* |

    #### Other fields

    There are a few optional fields that you can use to customize your deployment:

    * **Hugging Face Token**: Only **required if** the model you want to deploy is **private** or **requires authentication**.
    * **API Key**: A secret key that will be used to authenticate requests to your Inference endpoint. If left empty, a random API Key will be generated and displayed to you after you initiate the deployment process. Make sure to copy it and store it in a safe place, as you will not be able to see it again.
    * **vLLM Parameters**: A [set of arguments that will be passed to vLLM](https://docs.vllm.ai/en/latest/serving/engine_args.html). You can use this to customize the behavior of the vLLM server, such as setting the maximum number of tokens to generate, the temperature, and other parameters.

    <Note>
      **Note:** The `--device` vLLM Parameter **is not supported**. FlexAI handles the device selection tasks.
    </Note>

    ### Starting the Inference Endpoint

    After filling out the form, select the **Submit** button to start the Inference Endpoint deployment.

    You should get a confirmation window displaying the details of your Inference Endpoint, including the API Key that needs to be used to authenticate requests towards the endpoint.

    <Tip>
      Make sure to copy the API Key and **safely store it**.

      You can always delete the Endpoint and create a new one if you lose it, but better to save yourself the hassle.
    </Tip>
  </Tab>

  <Tab title="Using the FlexAI CLI">
    <Steps>
      1. Create a new Inference endpoint.

         ```bash theme={null}
         flexai inference serve tiny-llama \
           --hf-token-secret hf_token \
           -- --model=TinyLlama/TinyLlama-1.1B-Chat-v1.0
         ```

      2. Store the API Key you're prompted with. You will need it to authenticate your requests to the Inference Endpoint.

         ```text title="flexai inference serve tiny-llama..." theme={null}
         Inference endpoint "tiny-llama" started successfully
         Here is your API Key. Please store it safely: 0ad394db-8dba-4395-84d9-c0db1b1be0a8
         You can reference it with the secret name: tiny-llama-api-key
         ```

      3. Run [`flexai inference list`](/cli/reference/inference/list) to follow the status of your Inference Endpoint and get its URL.

         ```bash theme={null}
         flexai inference list
         ```

         ```text title="flexai inference list" wrap=false theme={null}

         NAME       │ STATUS           │ AGE │ ENDPOINT
         ───────────┼──────────────────┼─────┼──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
         tiny-llama │ starting         │ 32s │ https://inference-e0ed242b-dbd3-423e-b525-76beac222d44-d41b1b44.platform.flex.ai
         ```
    </Steps>
  </Tab>
</Tabs>

## Checking the status of your Inference Endpoint

<Tabs>
  <Tab title="Using the FlexAI Console">
    After a few minutes, your Inference Endpoint should be up and running.

    **Inference Endpoint Details**

    You can select the gear icon ⚙️ (labeled as *Configure*) in the `Actions` field of the Inference Endpoint list row of your newly created Endpoint to open the *details panel* of the Inference Endpoint deployment.

    The Details tab will be opened by default, showing you all the relevant information about your Inference Endpoint.

    This tab provides you with detailed information about your Inference Endpoint, including:

    **The Summary tab**

    | Field            | Description                                                                                                 |
    | ---------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
    | `ID`             | The unique identifier of the Inference Endpoint.                                                            |
    | `Name`           | The name you assigned to the Inference Endpoint.                                                            |
    | `Status`         | The current status of the Inference Endpoint (e.g., `Running`, `Stopped`, etc.).                            |
    | `URL`            | The base URL of the Inference Endpoint, which you can use to query the model.                               |
    | `Playground URL` | The URL of the Inference Playground, a user-friendly interface to interact with your deployed model.        |
    | `Dashboard URL`  | The URL of the Inference Endpoint dashboard, where you can monitor the performance and usage of your model. |

    **Configuration**

    | Field                  | Description                                                                                                                                                                                      |
    | ---------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
    | `Device Architecture`  | The architecture of the device where the Inference Endpoint is running (e.g., `nvidia`).                                                                                                         |
    | `Runtime Args`         | The vLLM runtime arguments that were used to deploy the Inference Endpoint. These can be customized when creating or updating the Inference Endpoint.                                            |
    | `HF Token Secret Name` | The name of the FlexAI Secret that contains the Hugging Face Access Token, if applicable. This is only shown if the Inference Endpoint requires a Hugging Face Access Token to access the model. |
    | `API Key Secret Name`  | The name of the FlexAI Secret that contains the API Key used to authenticate requests to the Inference Endpoint.                                                                                 |

    **The Activity tab**

    The Activity tab provides you with a timeline of events related to your Inference Endpoint, including deployment status changes, scaling events, and more.

    ***

    **The Logs tab**

    The Logs tab provides you with real-time logs from your Inference Endpoint, allowing you to monitor its activity and troubleshoot any issues that may arise.

    You can use the **Search bar** input field to filter the logs by a specific keyword. This is useful to quickly find relevant information in the logs.

    ***
  </Tab>

  <Tab title="Using the FlexAI CLI">
    ##### `flexai inference list`

    The `flexai inference list` command offers a quick overview of the current **status** and **HTTP endpoint** of your Inference Endpoints.

    ```bash theme={null}
    flexai inference list
    ```

    Output:

    ```text title="'flexai inference list' response" wrap=false theme={null}
    NAME       │ STATUS           │ AGE │ ENDPOINT
    ───────────┼──────────────────┼─────┼──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
    tiny-llama │ starting         │ 32s │ https://inference-e0ed242b-dbd3-423e-b525-76beac222d44-d41b1b44.platform.flex.ai
    ```

    #### `flexai inference inspect`

    The [`flexai inference inspect`](/cli/reference/inference/inspect) command provides detailed information about a specific Inference Endpoint, including its current status, configuration, and lifecycle.

    ```bash theme={null}
    flexai inference inspect tiny-llama
    ```

    This will display your endpoint's full configuration, runtime status, and connection details.

    ##### `flexai inference logs`

    ```bash theme={null}
    flexai inference logs tiny-llama
    ```

    Output:

    ```text title="flexai inference logs response" wrap=false theme={null}
    [...]
    [INFO] Starting inference for tiny-llama
    [INFO] Inference completed successfully
    [...]
    ```
  </Tab>
</Tabs>

## Managing your Inference Endpoint

<Tabs>
  <Tab title="Using the FlexAI Console">
    The Inference Endpoints table's Actions column provides a set of actions that you can use to manage your Inference Endpoint:

    * **Configure**: To access its Details panel.
    * **Pause**: To temporarily stop the Inference Endpoint without deleting it.
    * **Delete**: To permanently remove the Inference Endpoint.
    * **Resume**: To restart a paused Inference Endpoint.

    ***
  </Tab>

  <Tab title="Using the FlexAI CLI">
    The FlexAI CLI provides a set of commands that you can use to manage your Inference Endpoints:

    * [`flexai inference delete`](/cli/reference/inference/delete) - Deletes an Inference Endpoint.
    * [`flexai inference scale`](/cli/reference/inference/scale) - Allows for the definition of scaling policies for an Inference Endpoint.
    * [`flexai inference stop`](/cli/reference/inference/stop) - Stops an Inference Endpoint.

    ***
  </Tab>
</Tabs>