Computers
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Computers let you connect real machines so the AI can run commands, work with files, and run scripts on your behalf. Pair a machine you already own or launch a cloud one in seconds 🖥️
A computer is a machine that runs a small idapt daemon, so the AI can use it during a conversation. It can run commands, read and edit files, search content, and run scripts, all on a real machine.
Computers belong to you, the account that pairs them, not to a single workspace. Their names are unique within your account.
There are two ways to add a computer:
Your own machine: a server or laptop you already have. You generate an install command, run it on the host, and the daemon connects back to idapt.
Cloud: an instance idapt provisions for you on demand, ready to use in about a minute. See Cloud computers.
Pair your own machine when you already have a server you want the AI to work with. Choose cloud when you need a fresh environment with no setup.
Go to the Computers tab and click Add computer
Give the computer a name
Copy the install command and run it on the host you want to pair
Wait for the computer to show as connected
The install command sets up the daemon as a background service. You do not upload server passwords or private keys to idapt.
Owning a computer and using it are separate. Owning it means you can see it, rename it, delete it, and decide where it works. Using it comes from allowing a workspace, one capability at a time, and that applies to you too: a computer allowed into no workspace cannot be used by anyone, including you. You allow exactly what you want that workspace to reach:
Terminal and files: run commands and browse the file system.
Computer use: drive the screen, mouse, and keyboard. See Computer use.
Ports: forward a port to a public URL. See Ports and port forwarding.
Containers and Private AI: run containers and local models.
Anything you do not allow stays out of reach, even inside a shared workspace. Revoking access takes effect at once, and it also closes any terminal that workspace already had open on the computer.
During a conversation the AI can run commands, browse and edit files, run scripts, and search file content. It decides when to reach for a computer based on what you ask.
Ask "deploy the latest code on my server" or "check the disk usage on staging", and the AI connects to the right computer and runs the commands. Its reach is limited to what the chat's workspace is allowed to do on that computer, and to what your own permissions allow. A computer that workspace was never allowed is invisible to the AI, not merely refused.
To keep prompts short, the AI is told about the first few computers it can reach in the current chat, plus a count of how many more exist. You can always name a specific computer in your message.
The design keeps a paired machine under your control:
Outbound only: the daemon dials out to idapt and opens no inbound ports. idapt never connects into your machine.
Run-as users: commands run only as the Unix users the computer allows, so the AI can never exceed what those accounts can do.
Capabilities off by default: on your own machine, sensitive capabilities like computer use, the interactive terminal, and local inference stay closed until you enable them on the host.
To hand a computer a password or token without hard-coding it, store it as a secret and reference it by name. See Credentials.
Related articles
Cloud computers
Launch an on-demand cloud machine, understand what it costs per second, and suspend it when you're done.
Computer commands and files
Run commands through the daemon and browse remote files with the built-in file manager.
Letting AI use your desktop
Give an agent the screen, mouse, and keyboard of one computer, watch every action, and stop it instantly.
Terminal and SSH
Open a shell on any of your computers from the browser or your own terminal, with no SSH keys to set up.
Ports and port forwarding
Forward a port on one of your computers to an authenticated public URL through a tunnel, then close it again.
Credentials
Store API keys and app connections once, then let your commands, functions, and agents use them without pasting a key into a chat.
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