Environments (Companion and cloud)
Some files are too big or too private to upload. An environment is your own computer, paired to CoChat through a small companion app, so the assistant can read and edit files and run commands there — as you, with your permission.
An assistant can also have a separate cloud environment, with persistent files belonging to the assistant. Companion uses your own machine; the optional cloud workspace does not. See Assistant cloud environments below. Instead, the assistant’s owner can grant it their own cloud workspace (see Granting Companion or your cloud workspace to an assistant).
Setting up
Section titled “Setting up”1. Install CoChat Companion
Section titled “1. Install CoChat Companion”Open Settings → Environments, or go to app.cochat.ai/environments. Under Get CoChat Companion, download the installer for your computer. CoChat puts the suggested download first; all other formats remain available if you need a different one.
On macOS, open the .dmg and drag CoChat Companion to Applications. On Windows, run the .exe installer.
Linux downloads are x86-64 / amd64 only. When your browser identifies a supported distro, CoChat suggests its native package. Many browsers report only “Linux”, so CoChat suggests AppImage instead; you can still choose a native package yourself.
| Download | Requirements |
|---|---|
| Ubuntu / Debian (.deb) | Ubuntu 22.04+ or Debian 12+, with WebKitGTK 4.1 |
| Fedora (.rpm) | Modern Fedora with WebKitGTK 4.1 |
| Arch Linux (.pkg.tar.zst) | Arch Linux with WebKitGTK 4.1 |
| Linux (AppImage) | glibc 2.35+; GTK and WebKitGTK are bundled |
Open a .deb or .rpm with your software installer. On Arch, install with sudo pacman -U ./CoChat-Companion-linux-amd64.pkg.tar.zst. Then launch CoChat Companion from your application menu. Native packages are updated by downloading and installing a newer package; they do not self-update.
For AppImage, enable Allow executing file as program in the file’s Properties / Permissions, then open it. No root access is needed. If FUSE is unavailable, run ./CoChat-Companion-linux-amd64.AppImage --appimage-extract-and-run. Keep the file in a permanent location before enabling Launch at login.
2. Pair the machine
Section titled “2. Pair the machine”- On the computer, run
cochat-companion pair. It prints an eight-character code likeAB3D-7KXQ. - Back on the Environments page, enter the code under Connect a machine and click Connect.
- You’ll see “… is connected. It may take a moment to come online.”
Codes expire after 15 minutes. If you see “That code is not valid or has expired”, run the pair command again for a fresh one. Case and the dash don’t matter.
Using it in a chat
Section titled “Using it in a chat”Pairing doesn’t automatically put the machine into your chats. In the composer, click the wrench (Tools and integrations) → Native → Environments, and switch on the machine you want. Each one shows whether it’s Online or Offline. If its status has not loaded, cannot be read, or the device is no longer returned, it shows Status unavailable, not Offline. The choice is remembered for later chats.
Then just ask: “Find every reference to billing_cycle in ~/projects/api and summarise how it’s used.”
The submenu lists available machines and cloud workspaces. If neither is available in a personal chat, open Settings → Environments to pair your first machine. Assistant chats also show their environment-settings entry before a workspace has been created. Manage environments opens your personal machine settings without leaving the chat.
Switching Cloud workspace off disables its shell and file tools. Python calculations still work in that chat: the assistant’s run_python tool runs in a sandbox of the chat instead, where files stay while you use the chat and the usual data-science and science libraries are installed. The switch is remembered for later chats.
Granting Companion or your cloud workspace to an assistant
Section titled “Granting Companion or your cloud workspace to an assistant”The assistant’s owner can open Assistants → select the assistant → Setup → Manage Integrations → Native → Environments. This is the same tool picker used in chat, with controls scoped to the assistant. It remains available when cloud environments are not configured.
Choose Grant environment access to open Grant tool access. This dialog lists your paired Companion machines and Your cloud workspace, badged Cloud workspace. Select what you want, review the credential and sharing notice, then confirm. It does not copy unrelated integrations or HTTP endpoints. Use Copy my connections in the Integrations panel for those other connections.
Your cloud workspace is the personal workspace your own chats use, and it needs the Starter or Pro plan. On other plans the row is disabled and says Available on Starter and Pro. It is not offered when the assistant already has its own cloud environment: an assistant uses one cloud workspace at a time. Once granted, everything that runs through the assistant uses your workspace, including collaborators’ chats, its automations and the tasks it delegates. Anyone who can use the assistant can read and change every file in your workspace, including files from your other chats. If your plan stops including the cloud workspace, those runs are refused until you upgrade again; the grant stays.
After granting, the assistant’s Cloud environment section says Uses your personal cloud workspace, with a Remove access button for the owner. Removing access deletes no files. In a chat using the assistant, Environments shows Your cloud workspace to the owner and Owner’s cloud workspace to everyone else.
Granted machines appear in this submenu, not mixed into the other integrations. Switching one on or off changes only this assistant’s enabled tools; it does not change your personal chat preferences. You do not need a cloud environment to grant a Companion machine.
Sharing the assistant lets collaborators use that machine through the assistant on your behalf. The machine’s permissions and command approvals still apply. Only the owner grants these connections; editors and viewers do not get the grant controls.
In a chat using that assistant, Tools and integrations → Environments also lists its granted machines, with their connection status and Managed via assistant settings. These entries are read-only in the composer; your own paired machines remain separately toggleable. Assistant environment settings opens the assistant’s Setup page, while Manage environments manages your own machines.
What the assistant can do — and who decides
Section titled “What the assistant can do — and who decides”On a connected machine the assistant can read and write files and run commands. Which of those it’s allowed to do is set on the machine itself, in the companion, not in CoChat. The default is to ask you before every command, including commands from delegated sub-agents. If you switch a machine to run commands without asking, the Environments page flags it.
The companion connects out to CoChat over an encrypted connection. CoChat never opens a connection into your computer.
Only what the assistant asks the machine for comes back — the contents of a file it reads, the output of a command it runs. Nothing else is uploaded.
Revoking a machine
Section titled “Revoking a machine”On the Environments page, under Your machines, click Revoke. It takes effect immediately — even if the machine is asleep or offline — and the assistant can no longer reach it. Pair again any time.
Good to know
Section titled “Good to know”- Companion is available on every plan, with no limit on how many machines you pair.
- Linux desktop downloads do not support ARM or 32-bit machines.
- Long-running commands are allowed, but a single command can’t run for more than about half an hour.
Assistant cloud environments
Section titled “Assistant cloud environments”For a separate hosted workspace, open the assistant’s Setup → Manage Integrations → Native → Environments submenu and find Cloud environment. Cloud management lives here alongside Companion machines, not in a separate card. Your server must have the feature configured, and the assistant owner must have an active paying subscription. Trials and sponsored access do not qualify. If the owner granted their own cloud workspace, they must click Remove access before creating a separate one.
The owner explicitly clicks Create environment. Merely opening an assistant, its settings, or the Environments submenu never creates a cloud workspace. Wait for Creating environment… to become Ready before asking the assistant to work there. The submenu reports configuration, subscription, and environment errors; a failed status request offers Refresh status.
If creation fails, Retry creation resumes setup using the same workspace identity; it never retries automatically. If deletion fails, retry Delete environment to finish cleanup before creating another workspace. A subscription-verification outage is shown separately from an unpaid subscription and does not hide the existing workspace or its Delete control.
The files persist with that assistant, not with a person or chat. Collaborators can run code through the assistant using the same workspace. Editors can read its status, but only the owner can create or delete it. This section does not provide a direct IDE URL or a human sign-in to the workspace.
In that assistant’s chat, the composer lists Assistant cloud workspace only after its status confirms that it exists, is ready, and is configured and subscription-eligible. If it is missing, still starting, unavailable, or its status cannot be read, the composer does not offer your personal cloud workspace as a fallback. Only the owner’s explicit grant of their own workspace (see above) lets an assistant use a personal cloud workspace. Opening the menu or sending a message does not create an assistant workspace. Use Assistant environment settings to check its status or explicitly create it as the owner. When comparing an assistant with other models, select the assistant alone to use its cloud environment. Personal chats keep their existing hosted-workspace option.
To remove it, the owner clicks Delete environment and confirms the warning. This permanently deletes the cloud workspace and all its files for everyone using the assistant. The operation cannot be undone and does not delete any Companion machine. Deletion of an existing workspace remains available to its owner if subscription eligibility ends.