Question 1

Do I need to know how to code?

Accepted Answer

No. Deska is one workspace for anything you do with AI. If you write code, every tool you need is here. If you do not, you can still keep your AI agents, notes, and browser together in one place.

Question 2

Is it free?

Accepted Answer

Yes. The full workspace is free forever, no card needed, and every month you get 300 free credits to run voice, Ask Deska, and AI agents on our keys. Paid plans simply add more credits when you want to go further.

Question 3

What does it cost if I need more?

Accepted Answer

Plans start at $5 a month for 1,500 credits. Pro is $29 for 9,000 credits and frontier models, Ultra is $80 for 25,000, and annual billing takes 20% off. A one-time Lifetime license is $500 and replaces credits with your own API keys.

Question 4

What is a credit?

Accepted Answer

One monthly pool that covers voice, Ask Deska and managed coding agents, so there is a single balance rather than three. Each action is weighted by what it actually costs: voice is about half a credit per minute, frontier agent models cost the most. The pool resets monthly and does not roll over.

Question 5

Which AI agents does it work with?

Accepted Answer

The ones you already use. Claude Code, Codex and OpenCode launch from the Panel Library today, and Deska also resumes Cursor and Gemini CLI sessions in a terminal. Each keeps its own sign-in and models.

Question 6

How is this different from ChatGPT or Claude in a browser?

Accepted Answer

A browser tab forgets everything when you close it, and it can only answer with text. Deska is a workspace that remembers, where the agent acts on your real files, terminals and tools and you watch it happen.

Question 7

Where do my files and data live?

Accepted Answer

On your own computer. Your repository, terminal sessions, layouts, notes and keys are written to your disk, there is no automatic cloud sync, and nothing is uploaded behind your back.

Question 8

What does it run on?

Accepted Answer

Desktop on macOS (Apple Silicon and Intel), Windows 11 and 10 on x64, and Linux (Debian, Ubuntu, Fedora). Mobile on iOS and Android, plus a companion app in any browser. One account, the same workspace on all of them.

Question 9

Can I use my own API keys?

Accepted Answer

Yes, on the Lifetime license. You add your own provider keys under Settings and every request goes straight from your machine to that provider, on your account and your budget, never through us. Free and subscription plans use managed Deska AI instead.

Question 10

Do you train models on my code?

Accepted Answer

No. Deska does not use your prompts, audio, workspace files or AI output to train models. A managed request runs on our servers, which forward it to the model that answers it and nothing else.

Question 11

Does it work offline?

Accepted Answer

The workspace does. Panels, terminals, the editor and git all run without a connection, because they run on your machine. Only the managed AI features and reaching your desk remotely need the network.

Question 12

What happens if I run out of credits?

Accepted Answer

The managed AI features pause until the pool resets at the start of the next month, or until you upgrade. The app itself keeps working exactly as before, and a Lifetime license with your own keys never touches credits at all.

Question 13

Can I cancel?

Accepted Answer

Any time, from the billing portal on your account page. Cancellation takes effect at the end of the period you already paid for, and fees are non-refundable except where the law says otherwise. Write to us from the contact page with billing questions.

Question 14

Does this replace my editor?

Accepted Answer

Only if you want it to. The editor is Monaco with a git-aware file tree, and the terminals are real shells with your own config, so plenty of work happens entirely inside Deska. Others keep their editor open and use Deska for the agents, terminals and browser around it.

Question 15

Do panels keep running when I switch workspace?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Terminals hold their session and a Pomodoro keeps counting while you are somewhere else. Each workspace restores its own layout when you come back to it.

Question 16

How do I keep a big layout navigable?

Accepted Answer

Group related panels into a labelled region with Cmd/Ctrl + G, use the minimap in the bottom-right cluster, and jump anywhere by name from the command palette.

Question 17

Can I split panels instead of floating them?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Drag a tab onto a split divider to split the node, onto the centre to merge it into a stack, or out of the frame to pop it into its own floating node or window.

Question 18

Does the terminal use my own shell setup?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Panels open a real shell through a native pty, so your prompt, aliases, environment and dotfiles load exactly the way they do in any other terminal.

Question 19

Can I have more than one project open?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Each workspace holds its own project, layout and colour, and you switch between them without closing anything. The workspace overview shows every board at once, filtered by what is active or has agents running.

Question 20

What happens to my layout when I quit?

Accepted Answer

It is written to your own disk against that project: panel positions, open files, regions, spaces and which panels were running. Reopen the project and it comes back the way you left it.

Question 21

Do I need an account to use the canvas?

Accepted Answer

No. The workspace runs on your machine without signing in. An account only matters for the managed AI features, billing, and reaching your desk from your phone.

Question 22

Can I use Deska without an account?

Accepted Answer

The workspace runs on your machine without one. An account is only needed for managed AI, billing, and reaching your desk from the phone.

Question 23

What exactly is sent when I use voice or Ask Deska?

Accepted Answer

Your prompt, the audio for voice, and a snapshot of relevant context: project name, relative file paths, open panel titles and terminal status. Not your repository contents.

Question 24

Does Deska keep a copy of my code?

Accepted Answer

No. There is no automatic cloud sync of workspaces today. If an optional sync is ever added, you will be told what it involves and asked before it applies.

Question 25

Can I turn telemetry off?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Crash reports and anonymous usage data each have a toggle in Settings, Privacy. Crash reports are scrubbed of home-directory paths and common secrets first, and usage data never includes file paths or project names.

Question 26

Do you train models on my code?

Accepted Answer

No. Deska does not use your prompts, audio, workspace files or AI output to train models.

Question 27

Who processes a managed AI request?

Accepted Answer

It runs on our servers, which forward the request to the model that answers it and keep no copy of your workspace. With your own key on a Lifetime license, nothing passes through us at all.

Question 28

Where are my API keys kept?

Accepted Answer

On your machine, in the operating system secure storage when it is available. On some Linux setups without it, the desktop falls back to base64 encoding, which is not encryption, so treat that machine accordingly.

Question 29

Does the app phone home when I am not using AI?

Accepted Answer

It checks for updates, and it sends crash reports or anonymous usage events while those toggles are on. Nothing about your project, your files or your terminals is part of that.

Question 30

Can I delete my data?

Accepted Answer

The local half is yours already: it lives in your file system, so deleting the folder deletes it. For account data, the privacy policy sets out your rights and how to ask.

Question 31

Do I need an API key to start?

Accepted Answer

No. Free and subscription plans run on Deska AI with a monthly pool of credits. Bringing your own keys is a Lifetime feature, and then requests go straight from your machine to the provider without passing through us.

Question 32

Can I run several agents at once?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Each one is its own panel, so Claude Code can be fixing a test while Codex reviews the diff and a third waits in the queue. Deska marks the one that has stopped to ask you something.

Question 33

Which agent should I pick?

Accepted Answer

Whichever you already pay for. Deska does not resell them: each CLI keeps its own sign-in, its own models and its own permission prompts. The workspace is what they have in common.

Question 34

What happens to a run if I quit the app?

Accepted Answer

The terminal process ends with the app, but the conversation is not lost. Reopen the project and Deska resumes the agent session where it left off.

Question 35

Where do the agents actually run?

Accepted Answer

On your machine, in a real terminal, with your project as the working directory. Deska does not copy your repository anywhere to run them.

Question 36

Do they ask before changing files?

Accepted Answer

Each CLI keeps its own permission prompts and Deska surfaces them in the panel, marking the agent that is waiting. The auto-approve toggle at launch skips them for a run you already trust.

Question 37

Can Ask Deska answer an agent for me?

Accepted Answer

It can clear the routine approvals and pass along your reply, so a long run does not stall on a yes or no while you are away from the desk.

Question 38

Which models do I get?

Accepted Answer

On managed plans the ladder goes up with the tier, and the higher ones reach frontier models. With your own key on a Lifetime license you reach whatever your provider account allows.

Question 39

Does using an agent cost me twice?

Accepted Answer

No. A CLI you already pay for signs in on its own account and never touches Deska credits. Credits are only spent by the managed features: Ask Deska, voice and the managed coding agent.

Question 40

Does it work when Deska is in the background?

Accepted Answer

Yes. The dictation shortcut is registered globally, so you can capture a thought or fire off a task without switching windows first.

Question 41

What does it actually know about my work?

Accepted Answer

What is on the canvas: the project you are in, the panels that are open, what the terminals are doing, and your notes. A managed request sends that context snapshot, your prompt and, for voice, the audio. Not your repository.

Question 42

Is it a coding agent?

Accepted Answer

It drives the workspace and hands heavy work to one. A quick spoken question runs on a fast, inexpensive model; a real task goes to a coding agent and Ask Deska reports back when the turn closes.

Question 43

What does it cost?

Accepted Answer

Voice transcription is about half a credit per minute of audio, and the reply is billed in proportion to the request. Every plan shares one pool of credits, and a Lifetime license can use its own transcription key instead.

Question 44

Which languages can it reply in?

Accepted Answer

Auto matches whatever you speak, or you can pin the reply to English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, German, Italian, Japanese or Chinese.

Question 45

Where does my audio go?

Accepted Answer

Managed transcription runs on our servers, which forward the audio to the model that transcribes it and keep no copy. On a Lifetime license you add your own key under Settings and it never passes through us at all.

Question 46

Can I undo something it did?

Accepted Answer

Edits it makes in an editor land as unsaved, undoable changes, so Cmd/Ctrl + Z puts the file back. Anything it runs in a terminal is a normal command you can see and stop with Esc.

Question 47

Does it keep what I dictated?

Accepted Answer

Yes, in the Voice panel: a timeline of every dictation grouped by day, where you can copy it, insert it into whatever has focus, or delete it.

Question 48

Does my computer have to be on?

Accepted Answer

For a personal connection, yes: the phone reaches the machine that is running Deska with Remote Access enabled. Deska-hosted environments, which keep working with the laptop closed, are rolling out in stages.

Question 49

Do I have to open ports or set up a VPN?

Accepted Answer

No. Traffic flows over an encrypted relay that forwards it without opening anything on your network, and every device on your account is visible and revocable from your account page.

Question 50

What can I really do from a phone?

Accepted Answer

Drive any terminal on that machine, watch a build, tunnel a local port to check a preview, talk to Ask Deska by voice, and answer an agent that is blocked on your reply.

Question 51

Can someone else reach my machine?

Accepted Answer

Only if you share it. Sharing is a one-time code that expires quickly, the person appears with the role you granted, and you can revoke them at any time.

Question 52

Do I still need the desktop app?

Accepted Answer

Yes, on the machine that does the work. The phone app and the web companion drive that machine; they are not a second copy of your workspace.

Question 53

What if my computer goes to sleep?

Accepted Answer

The connection drops and the app reconnects on its own once the machine is awake and online again. Deska cannot wake a sleeping computer for you, so leave it awake if you plan to work from the phone.

Question 54

Does mobile cost extra?

Accepted Answer

No. Reaching your own computer is part of the app. Only the managed AI you use from the phone draws credits, exactly as it does at your desk.

Question 55

Is there a web version?

Accepted Answer

Yes. app.deska.dev opens the same companion in any browser with the same account, which is handy on a machine where you cannot install anything.

Everything else,answered.

The rest, grouped by what you are asking about.

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