The local agent
This page shows you how to run tickets on your own computer through the By Dawn desktop app. By the end you’ll know how to turn the local agent on or off, how to tell whether it’s working, and how to keep it to your own tickets or share it with your team.
The local agent is the agent built into the desktop app. It runs a ticket’s worktree, its terminals and its browser on this computer. It’s the same agent a paired machine runs (see Remote agents and machines), so a ticket behaves the same wherever it runs.
You’ll find it under Settings, then You, then This computer. That page only exists in the desktop app, because By Dawn in a web browser has no agent of its own to look after.
Turn it on or off
Section titled “Turn it on or off”The Local agent switch at the top of the page starts and stops it. It’s on until you turn it off, and By Dawn remembers your choice the next time the app opens.
With the local agent off, the page says “The local agent is off — tickets can’t start until you re-enable it or add a remote agent.” So if this computer is the only machine your organization has, turn it back on or pair one before you start work.
Check that it’s running
Section titled “Check that it’s running”Under the switch, a status line says how the agent is doing:
| Status | What it means |
|---|---|
| Running | The agent is up and can take work. |
| Starting… | The agent is starting. |
| Running locally · connecting to your organization… | The agent is up, but hasn’t finished joining your organization yet, so it can’t take work. |
| Running locally · not connected to your organization | The agent is up, but couldn’t join your organization, so it can’t take work. A line underneath says why. |
| Disconnected | The agent isn’t running. |
| Connecting… | The app is still finding out. |
Running on its own isn’t enough for a ticket to start here: the agent also has to be connected to your organization. That’s why the status says so when it isn’t.
If the agent is stuck, choose Restart. It’s greyed out while the local agent is off.
If the line under the status reads “Your organization has no agent machine slots. Ask an owner to activate a plan.”, your organization’s plan has no room for another machine. An org owner can change the plan.
Whose work it runs
Section titled “Whose work it runs”Once the agent is connected to your organization, Who can run work on this machine appears under the status. It names this computer and offers two choices:
- My team: any ticket in the organization may run here, and Auto counts this computer as spare capacity.
- Only me: only tickets you start or are assigned run here. Nobody else can send work to it or pin a ticket to it.
Pick Only me if you don’t want teammates’ tickets using your computer. Changing it never stops work that’s already running. Only the computer’s owner or an org admin can change it, and an org admin can also change it from Settings, then Organization, then Remote Agents, where the same choice is described in Whose work a machine runs.
The registry
Section titled “The registry”Registry lists every machine By Dawn can send a ticket to: this computer, marked local, and each paired machine, marked remote. Each row shows the coding tools the machine can run, its operating system, whether it has a browser for the agent browser, and its status. “capabilities pending” means the machine hasn’t said what it can run yet.
To pair another machine, choose Open Remote Agents at the bottom of the page.
Do I need the local agent if my organization has paired machines?
No. Tickets can run on any machine your organization has paired. Keep the local agent on if you want tickets to run on your own computer as well, for example to watch them closely.
Why don't I see Settings › You › This computer?
You’re using By Dawn in a web browser. The page is only in the desktop app.
Where to go next
Section titled “Where to go next”- Remote agents and machines: pair machines so tickets don’t depend on your computer.
- Models and runtimes: choose which machine, tool and model a ticket runs with.