Lowkey concepts — a glossary

Short, plain definitions of the words that come up in Lowkey.

Agent — A named personality you chat with, with its own name, avatar, and style of speaking. You start with one and can rename it or add your own. Their tone differs; they share the same tools. (See /agents/.)
Automation / Routine — A task configured to run automatically on a schedule, like a daily calendar check or a weekly backup. You can ask an agent to set one up for you: “Every weekday, check my server backups and alert me if they fail.” (See /automations/.)
Conversation / Session — A single, continuous chat thread with its own history. You can open multiple sessions inside a project to keep different tasks separate. Conversations are saved directly on your Lowkey box; you can close your browser or switch computers, and they will resume exactly where you left off. When you switch agents mid-session, they share this context and automatically read the earlier chat history so you do not have to repeat yourself. (See /sessions/.)
Device — A physical computer (like your laptop, home server, or desktop) that you pair with Lowkey. Once paired, you can direct an agent to act on it: “On my laptop, check the disk space.” To stay in control, browser and desktop access are off by default and require your explicit permission to enable, and every action leaves a secure audit trail. (See /devices/.)
Focus pane — The side panel in your workspace where agents show you things, like file previews, live screens, or interactive canvases. It lets you inspect the agent’s work visually while you continue chatting. (See /files/.)
Lowkey box — The private server or computer where your Lowkey installation lives. It stores your projects, files, and configuration safely on your own hardware, running the background tasks and hosting your workspace.
Model — The specific AI “brain” behind an agent (a particular Claude, GPT, Gemini, or Grok model). Each agent has a default model, and you can switch the model for a single conversation from the model menu next to the message box.
Project — A self-contained workspace for a specific area of work, like Taxes or Vacation planning. Projects hold their own sessions, files, and automations, and can be shared with other people. (See /getting-started/.)
Run — A durable background task that runs independently of your active chat. When you start a long-running command, Lowkey tracks it as a run so it can finish in the background without locking up your conversation. To stay in control, you can view, manage, and stop active runs at any time.
Runtime / Provider — The underlying service provider that hosts the model (such as Claude, Codex, Gemini, or Grok). Runtimes connect your Lowkey box to external AI services to power your agents. (See /operator/providers/.)
Turn — A single round of exchange in a chat: you send a message, and the agent works, uses its tools, and replies. To stay in control, you can stop a running turn at any time if the agent goes off-course. (See /sessions/.)

Lowkey concepts — a glossary

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