# Apps (/docs/apps)

Three ways to use codai — the desktop app, the browser at app.codai.ro, and the Android app — and which one to pick.

codai runs where your work is. The **desktop app** does things on your computer (files, shell, browser, Windows apps). The **web app** at [app.codai.ro](https://app.codai.ro) is the same interface in a browser tab — chat anywhere, and drive a desktop that is signed in with the same account. The **Android app** brings voice, tasks, transcripts and Studio to your phone and asks before anything risky; the APK build can also read the screen, tap and type for you.

All three speak the same [shared-sessions protocol](../sessions/index.mdx), so one conversation can be watched or steered from any of them.

<Cards>
  <Card title="Desktop" href="./desktop.mdx" description="Windows installer with signed auto-updates; Linux packages. Files, shell, browser, computer use, a code workbench." />
  <Card title="Web (app.codai.ro)" href="./web.mdx" description="Sign in with your codai account, chat from any browser, run agents on a connected desktop." />
  <Card title="Android" href="./android.mdx" description="APK from GitHub or Google Play. Phone control through the Accessibility service, on-device model optional." />
  <Card title="iPhone and iPad" href="./ios.mdx" description="Native SwiftUI app in testing: chat, voice, transcripts, Studio, vault approvals and real terminals (environments, desktops, sandboxes, SSH)." />
  <Card title="Control an iPhone remotely" href="./iphone-remote.mdx" description="The codai iPhone bridge: live screen and control from the hub, Android or agents." />
  <Card title="VS Code" href="./vscode.mdx" description="Your GitHub Copilot Chat sessions on the watch and phone: approve tools and answer questions from anywhere. Plus @codai in chat." />
  <Card title="Verify downloads" href="./verify-downloads.mdx" description="Checksums and minisign signatures — what is actually signed, per platform." />
  <Card title="FAQ" href="./faq.mdx" description="Safety, costs, leases, REMOTE badges, permissions." />
</Cards>

## Which one should I pick? [#which-one-should-i-pick]

| You want to… | Use |
| --- | --- |
| Edit code, run commands, review diffs before they land | **Desktop** (Developer skin) |
| Chat with codai and occasionally ask it to do something on your PC | **Desktop** (Assistant skin), or **Web** with the desktop open as a host |
| Use codai from a machine where you cannot install anything | **Web** — chat only until a desktop host is online |
| Let codai use apps on your phone, read notifications, set alarms | **Android** |
| Start a task on your PC while away from it | **Android** or **Web** → *dispatch* to the desktop |
| Watch a task that runs on your phone from a big screen | **Desktop** or **Web** (the session shows a **REMOTE** badge) |
| Approve Copilot Chat tools in VS Code from your watch or phone | **VS Code** extension + **Wear OS** / **Android** |
| Open a terminal into an environment, a desktop, a sandbox or an SSH server from your iPhone | **iOS** app |
| See and control an iPhone from another device or let an agent use it | **[iPhone bridge](./iphone-remote.mdx)** on the PC the phone is paired with |

## What they have in common [#what-they-have-in-common]

- **One account, one key per device.** Signing in mints a `codai_` key for that installation; signing out revokes it. Every device is listed in [hub.codai.ro](https://hub.codai.ro) → **Security → Devices**, where you can revoke one you no longer recognise.
- **Ask before acting.** Shell commands, file writes, browser actions, messages and payments show an ask card first. Anything that is not a clear "yes" counts as a deny.
- **Shared sessions.** Exactly one device executes (it holds the *lease*); the others follow the live transcript. Roles are owner / editor / viewer.
- **No analytics SDK** in any of the three apps. What leaves the device is what the model needs: your request, the conversation, tool results, and the step mirror for your other devices.
- **Open source** (Apache-2.0): [codai-desktop](https://github.com/codai-ro/codai-desktop), [codai-phone](https://github.com/codai-ro/codai-phone), [codai-protocol](https://github.com/codai-ro/codai-protocol).

<Callout type="info">
Prefer the API? Everything the apps do goes through the public [gateway](../gateway/index.mdx). The apps are clients, not a separate service.
</Callout>