Quantasia Sysop Quick‑Start Guide

Your fast path to installing, configuring, and running the Quantasia AI Assistant Door
Quantasia is designed to be easy to deploy, powerful to customize, and friendly to both new and veteran sysops.
This guide walks you through the essential steps to get the door running smoothly on your BBS.


IMPORTANT!!!
The door connects to APIs to gather it's data that is presented to the user. You must either have a local 
backend serving up LLM AI endpoints or an API Key for either Ollama.com or OpenAI.com cloud APIs. 

The FASTEST TRACK to getting this accomplished is to simply go to ollama.com/settings/key and request a developer's
API key. The key is free and their hourly/weekly token caps are very generous so I doubt that you will run into an 
issues with data limits within the door. 

Once you have acquired the Ollama API key, you will then enter this key into the config.toml configuration file. 
This is the main configuration file for the door. You will want to look at the [[providers]] sections of the config.toml
file and find the [[providers]] that has the name="Ollama" line within it. Enter your Ollama API key on the line that reads
api_key = "".


1. Placement of the Door's Files
Copy the Quantasia executable and its support files within the ZIP archive into a dedicated directory on your BBS system.
Example:

C:\BBS\DOORS\QUANTASIA\

Or on Linux:

/opt/bbs/doors/quantasia/

Make sure the directory is writable by the BBS node process.

2. Create or Edit the Configuration File
Quantasia uses a TOML configuration file named

config.toml

Place this file in the same directory as the executable.
A minimal working config looks like:
api_timeout = 90
language = "en"
email_address = "youraddress@gmail.com"
bbs_name = "Your BBS"
sysop_level = 99
sysop_editor = true
allow_import_dupes = true
intro = """{white}DISCLAIMER:{red} By using this door"""
enable_sixel = true
enable_subtitles = true
enable_humor = false
scrollback_buffer_lines = 1000
debug_mode = true
reg_key = "yourregkey"


You can customize the intro text and other options later.

3. Set Up Your BBS to Launch the Door
Quantasia supports DOOR32.SYS style invocation.
In your BBS configuration, set the door command to something like:

QUANTASIA.EXE -D%n (synchronet) (Socket)
QUANTASIA.EXE -D%P (mystic) (D3)

Or on Linux:
./opt/bbs/doors/quantasia -D%n (synchronet) (Standard)
./opt/bbs/doors/quantasia -D%P (mystic) (D3)

NOTE: If the display is all jumbled together, try the following commandline option
to set the terminal emulation type under Linux.

export TERM=pcansi && ./opt/bbs/doors/quantasia -D%n (synchronet) (Standard)
export TERM=pcansi && ./opt/bbs/doors/quantasia -D%P (mystic) (D3)


Make sure your BBS passes the correct node directory and DOOR32.SYS file.

4. Verify Your Registration Key
Quantasia requires a valid registration key to unlock all features.
- Visit firesidebbs.com to generate your key
- Ensure the bbs_name in your config matches the name used to generate the key
- Paste the key into:
reg_key = "yourregkey"


If the key doesn’t match, Quantasia will run in limited mode.

5. Test the Door in Local Mode
Before going live, run the door manually:

quantasia.exe -L

Or:

./quantasia -L


With debug_mode = true int the config file, you’ll see:
- API call details
- Terminal detection info
- Sixel capability checks
- Service loading messages
This helps you confirm everything is wired correctly.

6. Configure Sysop Access
Quantasia uses the sysop_level setting to determine who can access sysop‑only features.
sysop_level = 99


Make sure your BBS assigns this level (or higher) to your sysop account.
Sysop features include:
- Adding/removing AI services
- Editing service definitions
- Viewing diagnostic information
If you want to lock down service editing, set:
sysop_editor = false



7. Customize the User Experience
Quantasia supports ANSI, Sixel graphics, subtitles, and humor.
Recommended for most boards:
enable_sixel = true
enable_subtitles = true (displays subtitles in the I'm Thinking popup window)
enable_humor = false (add a little AI nerd humor to the subtitles)


Customize the intro message:
Use {white}, {red}, {yellow}, {darkred}, {cr}, etc.
Example:
intro = """{white}Welcome to Quantasia!{cr}{yellow}Your AI companion awaits..."""


8. Tune Performance for Multi‑Node Systems
The scrollback_buffer setting tells the door how many lines of chat to store during each chat session
This allow the user to scroll through the char session through the amount of lines that are stored
If you run many nodes or have limited RAM, adjust the number of lines the scroll back buffer uses:
scrollback_buffer_lines = 1000

For modern systems, 1000 or more is fine.

Before going to Step 9, you will need to review and make edits to the [[providers]] and the [[services]] sections of the config.toml file.
Look that the services.txt document and the providers.txt document for instructions on what you'll need to customize for your setup.
At the very least, you'll need to enter your Ollama and/or OpenAI API keys in order to connect to one of these cloud providers

9. Go Live
IMPORTANT!!!
- You MUST edit the [[providers]] section of the config.toml file and set your Ollama and/or OpenAI API keys, else you will receive 401 Unauthorized errors.

Once everything looks good:
- Set debug_mode = false
- Restart your BBS
- Open the door from a live node
- Enjoy the Quantasia experience
Your users should now see the intro screen, spinner, and AI menu.

10. Troubleshooting Tips
Door doesn’t start
- Check that DOOR32.SYS is being passed correctly
- Ensure the working directory contains the config file
Registration key rejected
- Confirm bbs_name matches the name used to generate the key
- Check for stray spaces or quotes
No Sixel graphics
- User’s terminal may not support Sixel
- Try SyncTERM or IcyTerm
Slow responses
- Increase api_timeout
- Check your network connection
- Try a faster AI model
401 Unauthrorized Error 
- Check that your Ollama or OpenAi API key in the config.toml [[providers]] section is correct. Or that you entered it into your ENV correctly.
404 Not Found
- Check that the url paths are correct in the offending [[providers]] section in the config.toml ile.



TOMLYN file format settings for the Quantasia AI Assistant Door
Quantasia uses a TOML‑based configuration file to control its behavior, appearance, sysop permissions, and integration with external AI services. This document explains every available setting, its purpose, and recommended usage.

IMPORTANT: The settings in each section MUST stay in their original order or the Tomlyn API cannot process the file correctly. You can have multiple [[Providers]] and [[Services]] 
sections, but each settings in those section must maintain their original order as they are in the example config.toml file.

Next look at the Providers and Services (services.txt) guide to see how to setup LLM (Large Language Models) Providers 
and Services (the actual LLM itseld). The guide will walk you through setting up each LLM to get the
most out of each LLM.

Please feel free to ask if you need help configuring Quantasia. I can 
be reached at the following locations:
	  
	Support BBS:	firesidebbs.com telnet port: 23231
	Email:			firesidebbs@gmail.com
	Internet:		firesidebbs.com


Disclaimer:
THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS" AND ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES,
INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY,
FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, OR NON-INFRINGEMENT, ARE DISCLAIMED.  IN NO
EVENT SHALL THE AUTHOR BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL,
EXEMPLARY, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES (INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, PROCUREMENT
OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS OR SERVICES; LOSS OF USE, DATA, OR PROFITS; OR BUSINESS
INTERRUPTION) HOWEVER CAUSED AND ON ANY THEORY OF LIABILITY, WHETHER IN
CONTRACT, STRICT LIABILITY, OR TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE OR OTHERWISE) ARISING
IN ANY WAY OUT OF THE USE OF THIS SOFTWARE, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY
OF SUCH DAMAGE.

Thanks:
I would like to thank my beta testers, who contributed many 
helpful suggestions and subjected their systems to a new door 
without hesitation. Kudos to Gamgee, Greyhawk and Shurato for
making the door much better than it would have been otherwise.
Your efforts are very much appreciated. These folks can also help
you get Quantasia up and going, feel free to reach out to them
on many of the BBS echos.

Vincent Jacobs aka Lonewolf
Lone Wolf Software Copyright (C) 2026








