Cloud sessions and execution
Choose where a session runs (Cloud, This computer, or Remote), how the default is picked, and what a cloud session looks like while it runs.
Every session runs on one execution target: a cloud computer Alan hosts, or a machine you connected. You choose it in the composer before the first message, and it stays fixed for that session.
The three targets
Open Execution target in the composer. The menu is headed Work in:
| Target | Runs on | Then choose |
|---|---|---|
| Cloud | A cloud computer started from your team's cloud environment | Repositories and branches for the session |
| This computer | The machine running the Alan desktop app (desktop app only) | A folder |
| Remote | A computer or team VM connected to Alan | The machine, then a folder |
The same picker appears in New Session, a task's Start work panel, and when creating a task. See Start a session for the rest of the composer, and Local execution for This computer and Remote.
If the team has no cloud environment yet, choosing Cloud creates one, named Cloud. A team has exactly one. If your plan doesn't include cloud sessions, the Cloud row is disabled and shows why.
Starting a cloud session needs some cloud budget left. See Usage and credits for how cloud time is counted and what happens when the budget runs out.
How the default target is picked
A new session preselects the first of these that applies:
- The target you pinned in your preferences, if it's still available.
- The target you last used in this team (remembered in this browser).
- The computer you're on, in the desktop app.
- An online computer you registered yourself. A teammate's computer is never picked for you.
- The team's cloud environment, if your plan includes cloud.
If none applies, nothing is preselected and sending shows Choose an execution target before sending.
Cloud or local
| Choose Cloud when… | Choose This computer or Remote when… |
|---|---|
| The work should be isolated from anyone's working tree | The code is already checked out on that machine |
| The repository can be cloned and set up from scratch | The work needs local credentials, simulators, or desktop-only tools |
| Teammates should be able to follow the same environment | Services the work depends on already run there |
| Nobody's machine needs to stay on | You want to watch or keep the files as the agent works |
Start a cloud session
Choose Cloud
Open Execution target and choose Cloud.
Choose repositories
Next to the target, pick the repositories (and branches) the session should start with. The list shows the repositories linked to the team in Settings → Integrations.
Set up the environment first, if asked
If the environment has no image yet, a Set up cloud environment button appears under the composer. If you picked a repository that isn't in the current image, it reads Set up selected repositories. Either starts a setup session; see Cloud setup.
Send
Pick the agent and model, describe the work (scope, checks to run, whether to commit or open a pull request), and press Enter.
While the cloud computer starts, the transcript shows a short checklist, such as Setting up workspace or Waking up, then Starting and the agent name, ending in Workspace ready.
Use a sandbox from tasks and chats
A cloud session gets its own cloud computer (a sandbox), started from the environment's current image. It belongs to the session, whether you started it from a task or from New Session.
- See its state: the session's execution details show Cloud with the computer's status, such as Ready, Working, or Asleep. On a task, the execution chip in the header shows it, for example Running or Asleep.
- It sleeps on its own: when the agent is done and nobody is using it, the computer goes to sleep. Send a message to wake it. See Sandboxes.
- Files stay with the computer: sleeping and shutting down keep files. Nothing a session changes reaches the environment's image unless it's committed, pushed, and built.
With a local target, the agent works directly in the selected folder on that machine.
Switch a task between cloud and local
A session's target can't change. A task's can: open the task's Execution target (or Change task target… from the session's target chip) to open Switch environment.
The change applies to the task's next session. Existing sessions become read-only. Prepare the branch on the destination, then start a new session.
The dialog shows the current checkout (Branch, Working tree, Upstream) and guidance such as Make your branch available to cloud or Prepare your local checkout. Choose the new target and its repositories or folder, then Switch environment.
Cloud computers and local machines are separate filesystems. Push the branch before moving work to cloud, and pull it before moving work to a local folder.