> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://cortex-foundation-add13747-droid-2a5c5e50-docs-ferndesk-pro.mintlify.site/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Computer

> The Computer rail is a live desktop on a Cloud guest — screen, browser, shell — not a slideshow of screenshots. Web is Cloud-only.

Every bot can have a computer. In the web app it is an isolated Cloud guest with a desktop, and the **Computer rail** on the right of the open bot shows that desktop live while the bot works.

## Hosts

| Host        | Where                                | Desktop                       | Available from                       |
| ----------- | ------------------------------------ | ----------------------------- | ------------------------------------ |
| **Cloud**   | An isolated guest on the Cortex farm | Yes — desktop, browser, shell | Web app, Bot desktop app             |
| **This PC** | Your machine                         | Your own desktop              | [Bot desktop app](/bot/desktop) only |
| **SSH**     | A host you register                  | No — shell only               | Bot desktop app                      |

The browser cannot choose This PC or SSH; that is host placement, not a missing option. A Cloud bot still has a full desktop and a shell.

## Open desktop and Sleep

<Steps>
  <Step title="Open a bot you own">
    Guests cannot drive a bot.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Choose Open desktop">
    The guest starts. The rail reads **Connecting** only while the guest is starting.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Watch it work">
    The live screen shows what the bot sees and does — pages it opens, controls it clicks, files it edits.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Choose Sleep when you are done">
    The guest hibernates. The next active turn wakes it before the model is prompted, so the bot never has to apologise that it has no shell.
  </Step>
</Steps>

## Rail states

| State                  | Meaning                                                                                                                    |
| ---------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Connecting**         | The guest is starting. Only then.                                                                                          |
| Live desktop           | The guest is running and its screen is reachable                                                                           |
| **Stream Unavailable** | The guest is running but its live screen is not reachable right now. This is its own state — not stacked under Connecting. |
| Asleep                 | You chose **Sleep**, or the guest hibernated after idling                                                                  |

## What the bot can do on its computer

The computer-use tools let the bot look (`screenshot`), point precisely (`grounded_click`), type, press hotkeys, scroll, drag, wait, open and switch apps, save a note, and hand a coding task to `code_agent`. The planner describes the control it wants; a second inference call returns the exact framebuffer coordinates, so the planner never guesses raw pixels. A `browser` tool and a `shell` round it out. Full list: [Tools](/bot/tools).

Dangerous computer steps park behind [Approvals](/bot/approvals) before they run.

## Three machines, again

| Surface          | Machine                                                            |
| ---------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------ |
| **Bot computer** | Isolated Cloud guest **with** a desktop                            |
| **Code Cloud**   | Isolated Cloud guest, headless — see [Cloud runtimes](/code/cloud) |
| **Chat Python**  | A snippet sandbox, no workspace                                    |

A bot's desktop cannot see a Code repository, and a Code session cannot reach a bot's screen. See [Security](/security/overview).

## Related

* [How Bot works](/bot/how-it-works) — the turn that wakes a hibernated guest.
* [Routines](/bot/routines) — scheduled work on the same computer.
* [Troubleshooting](/bot/troubleshooting)