Desktop AI workbench

Leave the computer. Keep the project in motion.

Cteno is a local-first AI workbench for delegation and proactive service: it reads the project situation, guides running sessions, remembers cross-session experience, and hands work back when you return.

Project unit

workdir + root sessions

Agent peers

Cteno · Claude · Codex · Gemini

Machine mesh

desktop · server · phone

project://Cteno2.0

Delegation contract

mode: conservative

Claude

paused

README positioning

Codex

running

daemon RPC fix

Cteno

watching

cargo check gate

Mac Studio

idle

heavy build worker

Situation brief

Leave now. Return to signal.

Continue the daemon fix on Mac Studio, keep README edits paused, ask on mobile before push or public protocol changes.

agents

4

gates

3

risk

low

Mobile approval armed

Notify only for blockers, permission gates, or completed handoff.

Product modes

Two moments where agents need a host.

Cteno focuses on the handoff moments around real work: when you leave and when you return without a clean next step.

Leaving

Delegation

When the task is not done and you need to step away, Cteno creates a bounded handoff contract for the active project.

  • Decide which sessions continue, pause, move machines, or become read-only.
  • Message running agents with scope, gates, and stop conditions.
  • Push only approvals, blockers, and completion briefs to your phone.
Returning

Proactive Service

When you come back or do not know what to do next, Cteno turns scattered project state into grounded choices.

  • Summarize what changed across sessions, tests, PRs, and external signals.
  • Recall relevant project memory and prior cross-session lessons.
  • Suggest next actions with evidence, scope, and risk.

Situation layer

Always watching. Thinking only when useful.

The daemon collects cheap facts continuously. Cteno's native agent wakes for interpretation: delegation, return briefs, conflict checks, and memory updates.

Session state

Running tools, permissions, background tasks, blockers, and active plans.

Workspace changes

Git status, file overlap, tests, CI, and whether an agent must re-read.

Machine capacity

Presence, trust level, workload, and which machine should run which task.

External signals

GitHub, Slack or IM, Figma, Linear, and schedules become project signals.

Control plane

Agent Traffic Control without turning into a generic workflow engine.

The situation agent can propose and message sessions. The host daemon owns deterministic control: leases, queues, gates, pause/resume, machine routing, and notifications.

Observe

Collect facts without paying model cost for every heartbeat.

Interpret

Wake Cteno Agent for briefs, conflict analysis, and next-action proposals.

Route

Dispatch bounded work to the right session or machine.

Gate

Stop at risky actions and ask the human through the right surface.

Balance

Top up balance when you need capacity.

Cteno uses a simple balance model. The desktop app remains useful locally; paid balance is for managed model routing and server-side conveniences.

Manage billing

Start

¥10

Small recharge for testing managed routing.

  • Account console access
  • Usage ledger visibility
  • Good for first-run checks

Work week

¥50

A practical balance for regular agent work.

  • More room for model experiments
  • OpenRouter subkey budget sync
  • Device and billing overview

Heavy day

¥100

For longer research, coding, and review sessions.

  • Higher managed-routing cushion
  • Ledger-backed spend tracking
  • Works with desktop-first sessions

Download

Install the desktop host and keep the web for account work.

macOS Community

Apple Silicon build from the public desktop download route.

Download

Windows

Windows installer from the public download route when a release is available.

Android

APK download route for mobile companion testing.

Linux Headless

One-line CLI installer from the public install route.

Install command

curl -fsSL https://dev.frontfidelity.cn/public/install/cteno-host-cli.sh | sh