Desk app
Desk mode
Autonomous AI agent that plans, executes, and reports on local file tasks — with approval gates you control
Desk mode is the primary feature of the desktop app. You describe a legal task in plain language — organise a discovery folder, extract key dates from contracts, build a chronology — and the AI agent plans the work, shows you its plan, then executes it step by step on your local files.
You stay in control at every stage. The agent cannot modify or delete a file outside the approval controls and folder permissions you set for the task.
Starting a task#
Select a workspace folder
Use the workspace selector to choose which local folder the agent has access to. You can add multiple folders and restrict or expand access per folder.
Set approval control
Choose how much authority the agent has before you confirm the task. See Approval controls below.
Choose a model and thinking mode
Select the AI model (defaults to Sonnet 4.6) and thinking depth. See Thinking modes below.
Describe the task
Type your instruction in the task box. Be specific about the output you want — a reorganised folder structure, a filled-in tracker spreadsheet, a set of summary memos.
Approve the plan
Before any files are touched, the agent proposes a plan. Review each step and confirm. The agent will not proceed until the plan is approved.
Approval controls#
You decide how much the agent can do without pausing to ask.
Ask mode#
The agent pauses before every file write, move, rename, or delete and waits for your confirmation.
| Permission level | What the agent can do |
|---|---|
| Read-only | Read files only — no changes |
| No delete | Read and write files, but cannot delete anything |
| Full access | Read, write, and delete files |
Agent mode#
The agent runs continuously after the plan is approved. It pauses only for actions that exceed the permission level you set.
| Permission level | What the agent can do |
|---|---|
| No delete | Read and write files autonomously, cannot delete |
| Full access | Read, write, and delete files autonomously |
Full access in Agent mode gives the AI permission to delete files without stopping to ask each time. Use it only when you trust the plan and have a backup. Start with No delete for new task types.
Watching the task run#
Once the plan is approved and execution begins, the task run view shows you everything happening in real time:
Live screen preview
A live capture of the agent's desktop activity. You see exactly what it is reading and writing as it works.
Progress checklist
A five-step checklist in the sidebar — Create task → Inspect → Plan → Execute → Verify — updates as each stage completes.
Working folders
The sidebar lists which folders the agent is currently accessing.
Attention items
Any action that needs your input appears in an approval bar at the bottom of the screen.
You can send follow-up instructions to the agent mid-run using the reply dock at the bottom of the screen. You can also stop the session at any time.
Task states#
| State | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Idle | No task running |
| Starting | Agent is initialising |
| Capturing | Taking the initial screen and folder snapshot |
| Running | Agent is reading files and building its plan |
| Awaiting approval | Waiting for you to approve the plan or a specific action |
| Executing | File operations are in progress |
| Stopping | Session is winding down after a stop request |
Thinking modes#
The thinking mode controls how deeply the model reasons before taking each action.
| Mode | Use for |
|---|---|
| Fast | Simple reorganisation tasks, single-file operations |
| Balanced | Most everyday Desk tasks |
| Deep | Multi-folder analysis, complex extraction, cross-file consistency checks |
| Expert | Large-scale discovery review, high-stakes matter organisation |
Workflow detection#
Desk recognises common legal workflows from your task description and adjusts its approach accordingly. When detected, a workflow hint appears in the task view.
| Workflow | Trigger keywords |
|---|---|
| Tabular review | table, grid, extract columns |
| Redline | redline, track changes, markup |
| Playbooks | playbook, standard position |
| Matter-oriented | matter, chronology, pleading |
Recurring tasks and projects#
Use the Projects view to save a task description to a specific folder. Desk will re-run the task on that folder automatically, or on demand.
The Scheduled view shows all tasks with a recurrence set — daily, weekly, or on a custom interval.
Desk and Ambient agents#
Desk can act as a local surface for Ambient agents. Use it when a delegated task needs local files, desktop context, or local approval controls. Browser automation, code execution, and untrusted file transforms still route through the tool broker and sandbox policy where required.