# FAQ (/docs/apps/faq)

Common questions about the desktop, web and Android apps — safety, costs, leases and REMOTE badges, permissions, offline mode, updates.

## Safety and control [#safety-and-control]

<Accordions>
<Accordion title="Is it safe to let an AI run commands on my computer?">
It never runs a command silently. The first time in a session that codai wants to run a shell command, write a file or do anything in the browser, an ask card appears and nothing happens until you answer — **Allow once**, **Always allow (this session)** or **Deny**. Anything that is not a clear yes is a deny. Output is capped at 64 KB per stream and every command has a timeout (30 s by default, 10 minutes at most), so a runaway command is killed with the processes it started.

If you click **Allow**, the command really runs with your user's permissions — read the card the way you would read a script before pasting it into a terminal.

</Accordion>
<Accordion title="Which folders can the desktop touch?">
Only the **approved folders** in *Settings → Executor* (default: your home folder). Paths are canonicalised, so `..` tricks and symlinks pointing outside are rejected. Reads are capped at 512 KB, writes at 2 MB, listings at 500 entries.
</Accordion>
<Accordion title="What do the autonomy levels mean?">
**Desktop** (computer control): *Strict* asks before every action in sensitive apps and before any key chord that can close or destroy work; *Assisted* (recommended) acts freely in ordinary apps, asks in sensitive ones and never types secrets; *Autopilot* keeps only the credential filter — use it while watching.

**Android**: _strict_ asks before every action; _assisted_ (default) before anything that sends or pays and inside sensitive apps; _autopilot_ only before sending or paying. Messaging apps additionally have _ask / block / allow_.

</Accordion>
<Accordion title="How do I stop it?">
Desktop: **Esc** or **Stop** cancels the turn and releases the lease; closing the window releases it too. During computer control `Ctrl+Alt+Space` (or `Esc` twice) is the kill switch, and your own mouse or keyboard input pauses the agent. Android: **Stop** in the chat or on the bubble; every turn also has a time budget (4 minutes by default). From another device an editor or owner can send **cancel**.
</Accordion>
<Accordion title="Can the Android app see my passwords?">
While a task runs it can see what is on screen, including text you typed into a visible field. Android masks password fields from accessibility services, but other sensitive text — a bank balance, a 2FA code — is visible. That is why banking, wallet, payment, authenticator, password-manager and system Settings apps are **sensitive**: in *assisted* mode every action inside them needs your approval. Do not ask codai to do things in apps you would not hand to a friend.
</Accordion>
<Accordion title="Something ran on my computer that I did not start.">
Most likely a task was **dispatched** to this desktop from your phone or the hub — the app checks every 30 seconds and runs them; every step is in the session transcript. Turn it off with *Settings → Executor → Run tasks dispatched to this device*. If you do not recognise the session at all, revoke unknown devices in **hub → Security → Devices** and rotate your key.
</Accordion>
</Accordions>

## Sessions across devices [#sessions-across-devices]

<Accordions>
  <Accordion title="What is a lease?">
    A session can be viewed by several devices at once, but only one should be *doing* the work.
    That device holds the **lease** (30 seconds, renewed every 10). **Run here** on the desktop
    claims it; the app gives it back on Stop or close. If another device holds it you see who, and
    can **Take over**.
  </Accordion>
  <Accordion title="Why does a session say REMOTE?">
    Because the device executing it is not this one — the work is on your phone, another computer or
    a dispatched host, and you are watching a live mirror. It flips to **LOCAL** when you claim the
    lease with *Run here*.
  </Accordion>
  <Accordion title="Which roles exist?">
    **Owner** — everything, including *Run here*, rename, share, delete. **Editor** — watch, send,
    answer, cancel. **Viewer** — watch only; controls are shown disabled with the reason. Roles are
    assigned when a session is shared from the hub (to a user, an org, or an expiring link).
  </Accordion>
  <Accordion title="Can I start a task on my phone from my laptop, or the other way round?">
    Both. **Dispatch** targets one of your devices and wakes it (push on Android, 30-second poll on
    the desktop). From the desktop, *Continue on phone* sends the conversation to the phone; from
    the phone or the hub, dispatch a task to a named desktop. The web app's **Run on** picker is the
    same idea for tools: the browser chats, a desktop executes.
  </Accordion>
  <Accordion title="Does the web app work without the desktop?">
    Yes, for chat. File and shell tools need a host — a desktop signed in with the same account with
    *Serve as a remote host* on. Until one is online you see **Chat only in the browser**.
  </Accordion>
</Accordions>

## Costs and data [#costs-and-data]

<Accordions>
  <Accordion title="What does it cost?">
    The apps are free and open source (Apache-2.0). Running the model costs whatever your codai plan
    bills — every session shows a **cost card** (desktop) or **Cost · Receipt** sheet (Android)
    broken down by model. Budgets in Settings cap a stuck task. With your own provider key the
    provider bills you directly; on-device steps on the phone cost nothing.
  </Accordion>
  <Accordion title="What is sent to the codai gateway?">
    Your messages, the conversation history the model needs, tool results (the command output or
    file content codai asked for), and a copy of every step so your other devices show the same
    transcript. Your API key goes only to the gateway URL you configured, as an `Authorization`
    header. There is no analytics or telemetry SDK in any of the apps. Traces, memory and file
    checkpoints stay on the device.
  </Accordion>
  <Accordion title="Where is my key stored?">
    Desktop: the operating system's credential store (Windows Credential Manager, the Secret Service
    keyring on Linux), never a plain file. Web: this browser's `localStorage` for `app.codai.ro`.
    Android: encrypted shared preferences. **Sign out** removes it and revokes the device
    server-side; you can also revoke any device from **hub → Security → Devices**.
  </Accordion>
  <Accordion title="Does it train on my conversations?">
    Only if you opt in. Training consent is **off by default**; toggle it in the app (*Settings →
    About* on Android, the legal screen on desktop) or with `PATCH /v1/account`.
  </Accordion>
</Accordions>

## Platforms and offline [#platforms-and-offline]

<Accordions>
  <Accordion title="Which platforms are supported?">
    **Desktop**: Windows x64 today (installer, MSI, portable zip, signed auto-updates). Linux
    `.AppImage` / `.deb` / `.rpm` are built from the same source when a Linux build is produced for
    a release; computer control and global shortcuts are Windows-only. macOS is configured but not
    published. **Web**: any modern browser. **Android**: 11 or newer; the on-device model wants a
    recent flagship. **iPhone / iPad**: the [iOS app](./ios.mdx) (iOS 18+, in testing) — it cannot drive
    other apps, because iOS does not allow it; to control an iPhone remotely use the
    [codai iPhone bridge](./iphone-remote.mdx).
  </Accordion>
  <Accordion title="Does it work offline?">
    The desktop and web apps need the gateway (or a local model via Ollama / LM Studio on the
    desktop). On Android, with the on-device model downloaded and mode `local-first`, simple tasks —
    open an app, tap through screens, set an alarm — run with no internet; harder steps wait for a
    connection.
  </Accordion>
  <Accordion title="Will the Android app drain my battery?">
    While a task runs, yes — reading the screen and especially running the on-device model on the
    GPU uses power like a game. Idle, codai does nothing in the background unless you enabled the
    daily digest or session sync. *Battery: Unrestricted* only stops Android from killing a task
    midway; it does not make codai run more.
  </Accordion>
  <Accordion title="How do updates work? Are they signed?">
    The desktop fetches `https://codai.ro/api/desktop/latest.json`, downloads a newer installer and
    checks its minisign signature against the public key compiled into the app; a file that does not
    verify is refused. The web app is always current. On Android, the Play build updates through
    Play. The APK from GitHub has a built-in self-updater: it reads a signed release manifest from
    `codai.ro/api/phone/latest.json` (stable) or `beta/latest.json` (beta channel, your choice),
    checks the signature against a key pinned in the app and the APK's SHA-256 before installing,
    and never installs during a running task. A new APK must be signed with the same key, otherwise
    Android refuses the update. Details and manual checks: [Verify
    downloads](./verify-downloads.mdx).
  </Accordion>
  <Accordion title="Can I use my own (self-hosted) gateway?">
    Yes. Desktop and Android: set the **Gateway URL** on first run or in Settings. The desktop build
    allows `https://*.codai.ro` plus `http://localhost` / `127.0.0.1`; another domain needs the
    `http:default` scope widened in `src-tauri/capabilities/default.json` and your own build. The
    web app needs your gateway to allow the `app.codai.ro` origin.
  </Accordion>
</Accordions>