Can AI help with a FET file? What we found
We put an AI assistant next to the FET file check. It finds the FET rule for what you describe. Here is what it does well, and where it fails.
You know what you want. "This teacher should not have gaps." "Physics must not be on Friday afternoon." But FET has more than a hundred kinds of constraint, and you do not know which one it is.
We wanted to find out how far AI can help with that. So the FET helper on fetviewer.com/check now has an AI assistant next to the file check.
What you can ask
Describe a rule in your own words. The assistant tells you which FET constraint matches, with the name that FET uses. Then you can find that constraint in FET and add it.
After a check, you can also ask questions about your own file.
The assistant only answers. It never changes your file.
Three ways to use it
- In your browser, without an account. A small AI model runs on your own computer. Your question and your timetable stay there. The first time, the model is a download of about 1 GB.
- On AI that you already run. If you use Ollama or LM Studio on your computer, the assistant can use it.
- With your own key from an AI provider. This gives the best answers. You need a free account on fetviewer.com and an account with the provider. In the assistant settings, each provider has a Get a key link to its key page. Some providers have free models. Others charge for use.
What to expect
Think of it as an experiment. Mostly, it lets you see what AI can do with a FET file. Sometimes it is very useful: you know what you want, but not what FET calls it, and the assistant finds the rule for you.
We tested it, and here is what we found:
- The small model in the browser often picks the wrong rule. So the page always shows other possible rules too.
- With your own key, the answers are much better. About 9 of 10 were right in our tests.
- It works best on small and medium timetables. If a file is too big for the model, it tells you, and it does not guess.
- It does not count for you yet. A question like "which room is free on Tuesday at 10:00?" gets no reliable answer.
In this example, the small model picked a rule about afternoons. The rule that fits best, maximum gaps per week, is in the list under it. So treat every answer as a suggestion, and check it in FET.
Your data
In the browser, or on AI that you run yourself, your question and your timetable stay on your computer.
With your own key, your question and a summary of your timetable go to the AI provider that you chose. The assistant asks you first. Your key stays in your browser.
The file check itself sends our server a summary with no names, because the calculations run there. Your .fet file never leaves your computer. Read more in Checking a file without an account.
Try it, and tell us where it is wrong
We are curious how far this can go with real FET files. If the assistant gives you a wrong answer, tell us your question in the FET forum topic. That helps us more than anything else.