Your Own Computer
The problem this solves
AI Partner normally runs somewhere else — on a server. That server has its own disk, its own browser, its own everything. So when you ask for "open my Q3 spreadsheet and update row 7", there is no spreadsheet to open: your files are on your machine, and your machine is not where the agent lives.
Connecting a computer closes that gap. Once connected, work you ask for on that machine happens there — your folders, your scripts, your Excel, your Outlook, your local repo — instead of quietly happening on the server against files that don't exist.
A connected computer starts with no access at all. Connecting it grants nothing. You then choose, per computer, which folders it may touch and whether it may run commands or use the screen. Nothing is on by default.
Connect a computer
Go to Settings → Connected Computers → Connect a computer. The panel walks you through two copy-paste steps and then waits for the machine to appear.
- 1Install the companion on that machine
The panel shows an install command with a copy button. Run it on the computer you want to connect — not on the server, and not in the app.
Works on macOS, Windows and Linux. The panel tells you the one prerequisite it needs, and the install comes from your own instance rather than a public registry.
- 2Pair it with a one-time code
The panel shows a second command containing a short pairing code and your instance's address. Run that on the same machine.
The code expires after a few minutes. If it runs out, close the panel and start again — a fresh code is issued each time.
- 3Watch it come online
The panel shows "Waiting for the computer to connect…" and then replaces it with a card for the machine: its name, its platform, and a green dot when it's reachable.
The connection is made outbound, from your machine. You don't open a port, forward anything, or poke a hole in a firewall — it works from behind home routers and corporate networks. Only your own login can attach a computer to your account.
Connected several machines? One is marked main computer — the one used when a request doesn't name a machine. Click make this my main on any other card to move it. In chat you can name a specific one explicitly.
Choosing what it may do
Every permission is set per computer, on that computer's card. There are three, and they stack: files, then commands, then screen.
Files — share a folder
Until you add a folder, AI Partner cannot read or write anything on that machine. Type a path (for example ~/AIPartner) and click Add folder. Add as many as you want; remove takes one back.
Everything else on the disk stays invisible. Reads, writes and searches are confined to the folders you listed.
Shell — run commands
Turn on Shell and AI Partner can run commands on that machine — installing what a script needs, running a build, processing a batch of files.
- Commands run inside your shared folders only, so the toggle stays disabled until you've added at least one.
- They are never elevated — no administrator or root.
- They are logged on your own machine, in a log you own.
Screen control — use your apps
Turn on Screen control and AI Partner can click and type in your actual applications. This is the answer for anything with no file and no API: a desktop app, a legacy tool, a signed-in program that only exists on your machine.
You ask for it in plain language — "open the Q3 sheet in Excel and update B7".
Two things must be true before it will run, and the card tells you when one is missing:
| Requirement | What you'll see if it's missing |
|---|---|
| The companion on that machine supports screen control | "Not available yet" — the toggle is greyed out, and the card names the extra piece that machine needs |
| A model that can read a screenshot is configured | "Screen control cannot run yet: it needs a model that can read a screenshot" — with the check's own explanation and a Check again link |
That second message quotes the actual result of showing your models a test image — not a guess based on a model's name. If a model you believe is capable is being rejected, the reason on the card is the real one.
On Linux under a Wayland session, your desktop will ask you for a screen-sharing grant each time — the card warns you up front.
Sharing one computer with the agent
Screen control means you and AI Partner are holding the same mouse and keyboard. Two per-computer settings govern how that's shared; both are on unless you turn them off.
When you touch the mouse or keyboard, AI Partner holds its next click or keystroke. Once you've stopped for a few seconds it looks at the screen again — fresh — before acting. It never types into a window you just switched to.
Shows that computer's screen inside the Inspector while AI Partner works on it, so you can watch from wherever you are — a phone, another laptop — not only from the chair in front of it.
What the person at the machine sees
While AI Partner is working on a connected computer's screen, that computer shows a banner saying so, plus notifications as work proceeds. Nobody sitting at the machine is left guessing why the cursor moved.
If a computer is running an out-of-date companion, its card says so explicitly: it will not show the banner or notifications, and cannot copy files. Reinstall it on that machine and restart it — the card gives you the command.
Asking for work on your computer
Three ways, depending on how explicit you want to be.
Ask normally. "Summarise the PDFs in my AIPartner folder", "run the test suite in my local repo and tell me what fails". When a request needs your machine, it goes to your main computer.
If nothing can take it — no computer connected, or the needed permission is off — it says so instead of silently doing the work on the server against files that aren't there.
Opening a file
Asking AI Partner to open something on your machine opens it directly and deterministically, with the app your system already associates with that file type — it does not squint at the screen and hunt for an icon. Executables are refused.
Stopping it
| You want | Do this |
|---|---|
| Stop the current run now | Stop in the side panel under Your computer, or cancel the parent goal |
| Take the mouse back for a moment | Just use it — with Pause while I'm using it on, AI Partner yields and re-reads the screen before continuing |
| Turn off one ability | Flip that computer's Shell or Screen control toggle off |
| Withdraw a folder | remove next to it, on that computer's card |
| Cut the machine off entirely | The trash icon on its card — disconnects that computer |
Reviewing what it did
Below your computers, Activity on your computers · last 30 days summarises every action: how many ran, how many failed, and how many were refused.
Refusals are counted separately from failures on purpose — a refusal is a moment AI Partner reached for something you hadn't allowed. Expand the list and each entry shows what was attempted, on which computer, when, and how long it took. A refused entry is labelled "refused — did not run" and carries the reason.
Your machine also keeps its own log, on your disk, that you own outright — independent of anything the server records.
Your computer vs. a cloud computer
Connecting your own machine is one of two ways to have AI Partner "use a computer". They solve different problems.
| Your own computer | A cloud computer | |
|---|---|---|
| Where the work happens | Your laptop or desktop | An isolated desktop on the server |
| Reaches | Your files, your installed apps, your LAN, your printer | Websites and web apps |
| Best for | Excel, Outlook, a legacy desktop tool, a local repo, files on your disk | Portals and SaaS where your sign-in is already saved |
| When you close your laptop | Work stops — the machine has gone | Keeps running |
| Watch it live | Yes, with Live view on | Yes |
Most "log into this portal and download the invoices" work belongs on a cloud computer — it persists, it survives you closing the lid, and its sign-ins are already saved. Reach for your own machine when the thing you need genuinely only exists there.