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+# Foundry Local C++ SDK
+
+The Foundry Local C++ SDK provides a C++17 static library for running AI models locally via [Foundry Local](https://www.foundrylocal.ai/). Discover, download, load, and run inference entirely on your own machine — no cloud required.
+
+> **Windows-only** — requires MSVC or clang-cl (MSVC-compatible toolchain).
+
+## Features
+
+- **Model catalog** — browse and search all available models; filter by cached or loaded state
+- **Lifecycle management** — download, load, unload, and remove models programmatically
+- **Chat completions** — synchronous and streaming via OpenAI-compatible types
+- **Audio transcription** — transcribe audio files with streaming support
+- **Tool calling** — define tools and handle tool-call responses in chat completions
+- **Download progress** — wire up a callback for real-time download percentage
+- **Model variants** — select specific hardware/quantization variants per model alias
+- **Optional web service** — start an OpenAI-compatible REST endpoint
+- **Execution providers** — ensure EPs are downloaded and registered for hardware acceleration
+
+## Prerequisites
+
+| Requirement | Notes |
+|---|---|
+| **Foundry Local / AI Toolkit** | Install via `winget install Microsoft.AIToolkit` or the VS Code AI Toolkit extension |
+| **CMake >= 3.20** | Ships with Visual Studio 2022 |
+| **Ninja** | Ships with Visual Studio 2022 |
+| **vcpkg** | Set the `VCPKG_ROOT` environment variable to your vcpkg installation |
+| **MSVC** (or clang-cl) | Visual Studio 2022 Build Tools or full IDE |
+
+## Building from Source
+
+### 0. Open an x64 developer environment
+
+All commands below must run in a shell that has the x64 MSVC toolchain on the PATH.
+Choose **one** of the following:
+
+| Method | How to open |
+|---|---|
+| **Developer Command Prompt** | Start Menu → *"x64 Native Tools Command Prompt for VS 2022"* |
+| **Developer PowerShell** | Start Menu → *"Developer PowerShell for VS 2022"* |
+| **Inside an existing cmd** | Run `"<VS_INSTALL>\VC\Auxiliary\Build\vcvars64.bat"` where `<VS_INSTALL>` is your Visual Studio installation path (e.g. `C:\Program Files\Microsoft Visual Studio\2022\Enterprise`) |
+| **VS Code terminal** | Open the project folder in VS Code with the CMake Tools extension; it configures the environment automatically |
+
+Verify by running `cl.exe` — the banner should say **x64**.
+
+### 1. Clone & navigate
+
+```bash
+git clone <repo-url>
+cd foundry-local-sdk/sdk/cpp
+```
+
+### 2. Configure (CMake + vcpkg)
+
+```bash
+cmake --preset x64-debug
+```
+
+This uses the `x64-debug` preset which:
+- Uses the **Ninja** generator
+- Resolves dependencies via **vcpkg** (`nlohmann-json`, `ms-gsl`, `wil`, `gtest`)
+- Builds with the `x64-windows-static-md` triplet
+
+### 3. Build
+
+```bash
+cmake --build --preset x64-debug
+```
+
+### Release build
+
+```bash
+cmake --preset x64-release
+cmake --build --preset x64-release
+ctest --preset x64-release
+```
+
+## Quick Start
+
+```cpp
+#include "foundry_local.h"
+#include <iostream>
+
+using namespace foundry_local;
+
+int main() {
+    // 1. Create the manager
+    Manager::Create({"MyApp"});
+    auto& manager = Manager::Instance();
+
+    // 2. Get a model from the catalog
+    auto& catalog = manager.GetCatalog();
+    auto* model = catalog.GetModel("phi-3.5-mini");
+    if (!model) return 1;
+
+    // 3. Download (if needed) and load
+    model->Download();
+    model->Load();
+
+    // 4. Chat
+    OpenAIChatClient chat(*model);
+    std::vector<ChatMessage> messages = {{"user", "Hello!"}};
+    ChatSettings settings;
+    settings.max_tokens = 128;
+
+    auto response = chat.CompleteChat(messages, settings);
+    if (!response.choices.empty() && response.choices[0].message) {
+        std::cout << response.choices[0].message->content << "\n";
+    }
+
+    // 5. Cleanup
+    model->Unload();
+    Manager::Destroy();
+}
+```
+
+## Usage
+
+### Initialization
+
+`Manager` is a singleton. Call `Create` once at startup:
+
+```cpp
+Manager::Create(Configuration{"MyApp"}, &myLogger);
+```
+
+Access it anywhere afterward via `Manager::Instance()`. Check `Manager::IsInitialized()` to verify creation.
+
+Call `Manager::Destroy()` to perform deterministic cleanup when done.
+
+### Catalog
+
+The catalog lists all models known to the Foundry Local Core:
+
+```cpp
+auto& catalog = Manager::Instance().GetCatalog();
+
+// List all available models
+auto models = catalog.ListModels();
+for (auto* m : models)
+    std::cout << m->GetAlias() << " — " << m->GetId() << "\n";
+
+// Get a specific model by alias
+auto* model = catalog.GetModel("phi-3.5-mini");
+
+// Get a specific variant by its unique model ID
+auto* variant = catalog.GetModelVariant("phi-3.5-mini-generic-gpu-4");
+
+// List models already downloaded to the local cache
+auto cached = catalog.GetCachedModels();
+
+// List models currently loaded in memory
+auto loaded = catalog.GetLoadedModels();
+```
+
+### Model Lifecycle
+
+Each model may have multiple variants (different quantizations, hardware targets). The SDK auto-selects the best variant, or you can pick one.
+
+```cpp
+// Check and select variants
+if (auto* concrete = dynamic_cast<Model*>(model)) {
+    for (const auto& v : concrete->GetAllModelVariants()) {
+        std::cout << v.GetId() << " (cached: " << v.IsCached() << ")\n";
+    }
+    // Switch to a specific variant (e.g., CPU)
+    for (const auto& variant : concrete->GetAllModelVariants()) {
+        if (variant.GetInfo().runtime &&
+            variant.GetInfo().runtime->device_type == DeviceType::CPU) {
+            concrete->SelectVariant(variant);
+            break;
+        }
+    }
+}
+```
+
+Download, load, and unload:
+
+```cpp
+// Download with progress reporting
+model->Download([](float progress) {
+    std::cout << "Download: " << progress << "%\n";
+});
+
+// Load into memory
+model->Load();
+
+// Unload when done
+model->Unload();
+
+// Remove from local cache entirely
+model->RemoveFromCache();
+```
+
+### Chat Completions
+
+```cpp
+OpenAIChatClient chat(*model);
+
+std::vector<ChatMessage> messages = {
+    {"system", "You are a helpful assistant."},
+    {"user", "Explain async/await in C#."}
+};
+ChatSettings settings;
+
+auto response = chat.CompleteChat(messages, settings);
+if (!response.choices.empty() && response.choices[0].message) {
+    std::cout << response.choices[0].message->content << "\n";
+}
+```
+
+### Streaming
+
+Use a callback for token-by-token output:
+
+```cpp
+chat.CompleteChatStreaming(messages, settings, [](const ChatCompletionCreateResponse& chunk) {
+    if (!chunk.choices.empty() && chunk.choices[0].delta) {
+        std::cout << chunk.choices[0].delta->content << std::flush;
+    }
+});
+```
+
+### Chat Settings
+
+Tune generation parameters per request:
+
+```cpp
+ChatSettings settings;
+settings.temperature = 0.7f;
+settings.max_tokens = 256;
+settings.top_p = 0.9f;
+settings.frequency_penalty = 0.5f;
+```
+
+### Audio Transcription
+
+```cpp
+OpenAIAudioClient audio(*model);
+
+// One-shot transcription
+auto result = audio.TranscribeAudio(R"(C:\path\to\audio.wav)");
+std::cout << result.text << "\n";
+
+// Streaming transcription
+audio.TranscribeAudioStreaming(R"(C:\path\to\audio.wav)", [](const AudioCreateTranscriptionResponse& chunk) {
+    std::cout << chunk.text;
+});
+```
+
+### Tool Calling
+
+See `sample/main.cpp` (Example 5) for a full tool-calling walkthrough.
+
+### Web Service
+
+Start an OpenAI-compatible REST endpoint for use by external tools or processes:
+
+```cpp
+Configuration config{"MyApp"};
+config.web = WebServiceConfig{ "http://127.0.0.1:5000" };
+Manager::Create(std::move(config));
+
+Manager::Instance().StartWebService();
+auto urls = Manager::Instance().GetUrls();
+for (const auto& url : urls)
+    std::cout << "Listening on: " << url << "\n";
+
+// ... use the service ...
+
+Manager::Instance().StopWebService();
+```
+
+### Execution Providers
+
+Ensure EPs are downloaded and registered for hardware acceleration:
+
+```cpp
+Manager::Instance().EnsureEpsDownloaded();
+```
+
+## Configuration
+
+| Property | Type | Default | Description |
+|---|---|---|---|
+| `app_name` | `std::string` | (required) | Your application name |
+| `app_data_dir` | `optional<path>` | `~/.{app_name}` | Application data directory |
+| `model_cache_dir` | `optional<path>` | `{app_data_dir}/cache/models` | Where models are stored locally |
+| `logs_dir` | `optional<path>` | `{app_data_dir}/logs` | Log output directory |
+| `log_level` | `LogLevel` | `Warning` | Verbose, Debug, Information, Warning, Error, Fatal |
+| `web` | `optional<WebServiceConfig>` | `nullopt` | Web service configuration (see below) |
+| `additional_settings` | `optional<unordered_map>` | `nullopt` | Extra key-value settings passed to Core |
+
+**WebServiceConfig**
+
+| Property | Type | Default | Description |
+|---|---|---|---|
+| `urls` | `optional<string>` | `127.0.0.1:0` | Bind address; semicolon-separated for multiple |
+| `external_url` | `optional<string>` | `nullopt` | URI for accessing the web service in a separate process |
+
+## API Reference
+
+Key types:
+
+| Type | Description |
+|---|---|
+| `Manager` | Singleton entry point — create, catalog, web service |
+| `Configuration` | Initialization settings |
+| `Catalog` | Model catalog — list, search, filter |
+| `IModel` | Model interface — identity, metadata, lifecycle |
+| `Model` | Model with variant selection (implements `IModel`) |
+| `ModelVariant` | A specific variant of a model (implements `IModel`) |
+| `OpenAIChatClient` | Chat completions (sync + streaming) |
+| `OpenAIAudioClient` | Audio transcription (sync + streaming) |
+| `ChatSettings` | Chat generation parameters |
+| `ModelInfo` | Full model metadata record |
+
+## Tests
+
+```bash
+ctest --preset x64-debug
+```
+
+Or run the test executable directly:
+
+```bash
+.\out\build\x64-debug\CppSdkTests.exe
+```
+
+## Project Structure
+
+```
+sdk/cpp/
+├── include/                  # Public headers
+│   ├── foundry_local.h       # Umbrella header (include this)
+│   ├── configuration.h       # Configuration struct
+│   ├── foundry_local_manager.h  # Manager singleton
+│   ├── catalog.h             # Model catalog
+│   ├── model.h               # Model & ModelVariant
+│   ├── logger.h              # ILogger interface
+│   └── openai/
+│       ├── openai_chat_client.h    # Chat completion client
+│       ├── openai_audio_client.h   # Audio transcription client
+│       └── openai_tool_types.h     # Tool calling types
+├── src/                      # Private implementation
+├── sample/
+│   └── main.cpp              # Sample application
+├── test/                     # Unit & E2E tests (GTest)
+├── CMakeLists.txt
+├── CMakePresets.json
+├── vcpkg.json                # vcpkg dependencies
+└── vcpkg-configuration.json
+```
+
+## Troubleshooting
+
+| Error | Cause | Fix |
+|---|---|---|
+| `DML provider requested, but GenAI has not been built with DML support` | GPU variant selected but ONNX Runtime GenAI lacks DML | Select a CPU variant or update Foundry Local |
+| `OgaGenerator_TokenCount not found in onnxruntime-genai` | Version mismatch between Foundry Local components | Update Foundry Local: `winget upgrade Microsoft.AIToolkit` |
+| `API version [N] is not available` | ONNX Runtime version too old for the Foundry Local service | Update Foundry Local: `winget upgrade Microsoft.AIToolkit` |
+
+## License
+
+Licensed under the MIT License.