Cloud computer
A full Linux desktop that runs on your instance and streams into the app. Use it by hand, or let Nova operate it with the mouse and keyboard the way a person would.
Some work needs a real desktop program: a spreadsheet editor, an image editor, or an app with no website and no API. The cloud computer is a complete desktop running on your instance, with its own apps, files and browser. You and Nova share the same screen.
Open it with Toggle Live Desktop, the monitor icon next to the clock. It appears in the right pane under the title Live Desktop. In the Workspace it is also available as its own window.
Use it yourself
- Click and type as if you were sitting at the machine. The desktop resizes to fit the pane and scales down on phones.
- Copy and paste between your own computer and the desktop. The clipboard is shared with your browser.
- On touch screens a small toolbar offers Tap, where your finger clicks where you touch, and Pad, where the screen works like a trackpad.
- Sound plays in the Workspace's desktop window. Click its Audio chip, or anywhere in that window, to start desktop sound.
- Close the pane with Toggle Live Desktop again. The desktop keeps running on your instance.
The apps on the desktop
The apps on the desktop depend on how your instance was set up. A terminal and a Chromium browser are always there. A typical instance also has:
| Kind | Examples |
|---|---|
| Office | LibreOffice Writer, Calc, Impress, Draw, Base and Math |
| Browsers | Google Chrome, Chromium, Firefox |
| Creative | GIMP, Blender, VLC |
| Work | VS Code, Obsidian, a file manager, terminals, text editors |
| Messaging | Telegram Desktop, Discord |
Ask your administrator if you need another program installed.
How Nova uses it
When a task needs a desktop app, Nova uses its Desktop Control tool. It works the way a person does:
- It takes a screenshot to see what is on screen.
- It opens the app it needs, or finds the right window.
- It moves the mouse, clicks, double-clicks, right-clicks, scrolls, drags, types and presses key combinations.
- It uses the clipboard to copy, paste and read text.
- After every action it takes a fresh screenshot, and checks the result before the next step.
The screenshots appear in the chat as it works, so you can follow along. Nova can open a set of trusted apps directly: the browser, Firefox, Writer, Calc, Impress, the file manager, a text editor and the terminal. It can also open any other desktop app it finds installed.
Good jobs for the cloud computer
- Spreadsheets and documents in desktop apps. For example: "Open the export in LibreOffice Calc, remove the empty rows and add a totals line."
- Programs with no website or API, that can only be driven through their own windows.
- Work that spans several apps. For example: take a figure from a PDF, put it into a spreadsheet, then paste the chart into a document.
- Checking how something looks. Open a file or a page in a real desktop app and see the result for yourself.
For anything a website can do, the Browser app is quicker. For files Nova only needs to read or write, its file and code tools are quicker still.
Share the screen politely
You and Nova act on the same desktop. While Nova is working, don't type or move the mouse on the desktop, or the two of you will fight over the pointer. Watch instead, then take over when it is done. To stop Nova mid-task, use Stop in the chat.
Cloud computer or Browser app
Both run on your instance and both can be driven by Nova. Use the one that fits the job.
| Browser app | Cloud computer | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | One web browser in the side pane | A whole desktop with many programs |
| Best for | Websites, web forms, online research | Desktop programs, local files, work that spans several apps |
| How Nova drives it | Browser Automation: reads pages and clicks elements directly | Desktop Control: screenshots, mouse and keyboard |
| Speed | Faster for web pages | Slower, because each step is a screenshot |
| You can take over | Yes | Yes |
For ordinary web work Nova prefers the Browser app. It reaches for the cloud computer when a job needs a real desktop program.