Choose an interface

gatOS has one live snapshot and command model, but it does not force every consumer to pretend it is a filesystem. Choose the shape that makes the job pleasant.

Interface	Best for	Where it runs	Start here
/sim	shell work, guest programs, discovery	Alpine guest	Filesystem overview
HTTP /v1	dashboards, browser tools, simple host scripts	host and guest	HTTP overview
MQTT	pub/sub telemetry and automation tooling	host and guest	MQTT overview
MCP	AI agents and structured tool clients	host	MCP overview
Virtio serial	hardware-style telemetry and SCPI	Alpine guest device	Serial overview

/sim is the richest human exploration surface. HTTP and MQTT project the same snapshot and command pipeline, including an optional per-field mirror. MCP deliberately groups the model into logical JSON resources and tools instead of reproducing thousands of paths. Serial is a focused bridge, not a full transport twin.

HTTP, MQTT, and MCP bind to 127.0.0.1 by default. Their *_bind_host settings accept a specific host-interface IP or a wildcard such as 0.0.0.0 when another machine needs direct access. Those services do not gain authentication when exposed, so choose the reachable interface deliberately.