> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.usecadence.gg/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Computers

> A Linux computer with a browser, where bots do real work.

Bots do more than chat. Each one can use a **computer**: a Linux machine with a desktop, a terminal and a web browser. It is where a bot opens websites, fills in forms, runs commands, and reads and writes files.

## Team or private

| Mode | What it means |
| - | - |
| **Team** | The default. Bots in a space share one **Team Computer**. Each bot still gets its own screen and its own browser profile, so logins and cookies stay separate. |
| **Private** | The bot gets a computer of its own. |

Switch it in the bot's settings, under **Computer**.

## The browser

Each bot has its own browser with a profile that persists. Once you sign in to a site on a bot's browser, it stays signed in for that bot.

The computer image ships Chromium by default. A server built with `CADENCE_PLUS_COMPUTER_BROWSER=chrome` gives bots **Google Chrome** instead. See [Configuration](https://docs.usecadence.gg/self-hosting/configuration.md#computers).

## What a bot can do on it

| Tools | What they do |
| - | - |
| `browser_navigate`, `browser_snapshot`, `browser_act` | Open pages, read them, click and type. |
| `computer_observe`, `computer_act` | See the screen and use the mouse and keyboard. |
| `shell` | Run commands in the terminal. |
| `list_files`, `read_file`, `write_file`, `attach_file` | Work with files, and send you a file in chat. |
| `open_path`, `launch_app` | Open files and apps. |

The computer comes with common tools installed, including uv for Python, the GitHub CLI, pandoc and pdftotext.

## Watch and take over

Open a bot's computer to see its screen live. Click **Take control** to use it yourself, for example to sign in to a site or solve something the bot cannot. Click **I'm done** to hand it back.

A bot can also ask you to take over, when it needs a person. The computer shows **Needs you**.

While you have control, the dock under the screen gives you a **Shell**, a file browser (upload and download files) and an **Activity** feed of the commands the bot ran.

## When it runs

* A computer starts the first time a bot needs it.
* It goes to sleep after about 10 minutes idle. Open it to wake it.
* Its files and browser profile are kept between sessions.

If something goes wrong, use the maintenance actions: **Recover computer**, **Reset computer** (restore the last saved workspace) or **Update computer** (save the workspace and install current software).


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