FIRST RUN
Your first AI employee is one conversation away.
No passwords to create. No configuration menus to navigate. Click one button, complete sign-in in your browser, and you are describing a task to an agent who already knows how to act on it.
Step one
Download and install.
Actionist is a desktop app. The download lives on your dashboard — no app store needed.
Open the dashboard
Go to app.actionist.ai. This is where you manage everything — agents, runs, settings, and your download link.
Actionist
Sign in securely through your browser. You’ll be redirected back here automatically.
Sign in with Browser
No password required
Step two
Watch the browser handoff live.
Actionist delegates authentication entirely to your browser. No new password. Your browser’s existing session — including MFA, passkeys, and social login — does the work. The animation below shows every step as it happens.
Waiting for browser…
Sign-in page open in your default browser
Connection Successful
Navigating to Home screen…
browser · auth started
—Checking your session…
session found
—Creating desktop sign-in ticket…
ticket created
—Sending sign-in ticket to Actionist…
ticket delivered
desktop app · Generating secure token…
—Connection Successful
—You can close this tab.
Your browser’s existing session handles everything — MFA, passkeys, and social login all carry through.
If the app detects your existing browser session, it skips opening the browser entirely — you land on Home without any extra steps.
If the window expires, click Cancel on the waiting screen and try again. Brave, Safari, or Firefox users may need to click a button on the auth page to complete delivery manually.
The sign-in window times out after 5 minutes. If it expires, click Cancel on the waiting screen and try again. If your browser (Brave, Safari, or Firefox) does not hand the ticket back automatically, look for a button on the authentication page and click it to complete delivery manually.
Actionist
Authenticating your desktop session
Checking your session
Creating desktop sign-in ticket
Sending sign-in ticket to Actionist
Connection successful
Under the hood
Six stops from click to Home.
Click button”Sign in with Browser” — the app transitions to a waiting state.
Browser opensYour default browser navigates to the Actionist authentication page.
AuthenticateBrowser walks through session check, ticket creation, and delivery. You may need to confirm a social login.
Ticket deliveredThe app receives the signed ticket from the browser.
Secure token”Generating secure token…” — the app finalizes authentication locally.
Home screen”Connection Successful” — a brief pause, then the app navigates automatically.
Step three (macOS)
Grant macOS permissions.
When Actionist detects that macOS permissions are missing, a modal appears automatically. These two permissions are what let Actionist control apps on your behalf — without them, automation features are unavailable.
Screen Recording
Allows Actionist to see your screen — required for Computer Use and vision-driven automation.
Accessibility
Allows Actionist to control UI elements — required to interact with on-screen apps on your behalf.
Can skip for now
Chat, scheduling, memory, and all app integrations work immediately. Only Computer Use requires these permissions.
- Grant on first launch
- Grant later in Settings
The permissions modal appears automatically when you land on the Home screen for the first time. It shows two rows:
Click Grant access on each row. macOS opens System Settings to the relevant pane. Toggle the switch next to Actionist and return to the app. Once both are granted, click Continue.
| Permission | What it does |
|---|---|
| Screen Recording | Allows Actionist to see your screen |
| Accessibility | Allows Actionist to control UI elements |
Permissions required
Actionist needs access to run automations on your Mac.
Screen Recording
Allows Actionist to see your screen
Grant access
Accessibility
Allows Actionist to control UI elements
Grant access
Critical permissions required to continue
Skip for now
Continue
The workspace
Your Home screen at a glance.
Home is where every task begins. One composer, any agent, live visibility into what is running — everything without leaving the screen. Select a zone to explore it.
What should Actionist handle today?
Choose an agent, describe the result, and let Actionist run it.
Working with Maya
Ask Maya to…
Send · new line
Agents running in the background now
M
Summarize weekly digest
A
Follow up with Northwind
The composer card
The dark frosted card in the center of the screen. It is the single launch point for any task on any agent. The “Working with” pill at the top shows the current agent — click it to switch. The textarea below shows the placeholder “Ask [name] to…”. Type your task and press Enter to send; Shift+Enter adds a new line. The gradient send button is disabled until you type something.Clicking the pill opens the agent picker. It lists all your enabled agents — each row shows the agent’s avatar, name, and role subtitle. Click any agent to select it; the picker closes and the placeholder updates. If you have no agents yet, the picker shows “Build an agent” with the hint “Create your first agent to get started.” Clicking it navigates to the Agents page.
What should Actionist handle today?
Choose an agent, describe the result, and let Actionist run it.
Working with Maya
Ask Maya to…
Return to send · Shift+Return for new line
Background agents section
Below the composer: a live section that shows every agent run currently executing in the background. A green pulsing dot in the section header means at least one agent is active right now. A dim white dot means idle; the empty state reads “No agents running in the background”. Each active row shows the agent’s avatar, the task name, the agent name and relative time, and a spinning green ring. The empty-state hint is: “Schedule an agent and its background runs will show up here.”
Agents running in the background now
M
Summarize weekly digest
A
Follow up with Northwind
Chats tab
The right sidebar has two tabs. Chats (shown with a live count badge) lists every conversation, most recent first. A search bar at the top accepts free text: “Search conversations…”. The filter button opens a popover with two multi-select groups: SOURCE (Desktop / Telegram / Slack) and AGENT. Active filters show as chips below the search bar with a Clear link. Each conversation row shows the agent avatar, a small source dot, the peer label (“Me” for desktop sessions), the agent name, relative time, and a two-line message preview. Clicking a row reopens that conversation in a floating chat window.
Upcoming tab
The Upcoming tab (with its own count badge) shows every scheduled agent run within the next 60 days, grouped into TODAY, TOMORROW, and LATER. A TRIGGERS section appears when trigger-based schedules are active. Times come from the calendar-events API so they reflect per-occurrence accuracy — not the raw schedule definition. If nothing is scheduled yet, the tab shows “Nothing scheduled.”
Scheduled runs beyond 60 days are not shown until they move inside that window.
In the wild
Thirty seconds to your first result.
Sam runs his solo business from a single inbox. Here is exactly what happened the first time he typed a task.
S
@sam_actionist_bot
ONLINETriage my inbox — flag anything urgent, archive newsletters, and give me a summary of what needs a reply today.
09:07
SEEN · READING CONTEXT
TOOL · LIST_EMAILS
Scanned 34 unread emails. Found 3 that need a reply today, archived 11 newsletters, and flagged 1 message from your accountant as urgent.
09:07
TOOL · APPLY_LABELS
Reply today — Northwind contract (due Friday), investor update request, and a support escalation from Priya’s team.
Urgent — Q2 invoice from your accountant needs approval before end of day. 09:08
Urgent — Q2 invoice from your accountant needs approval before end of day. 09:08
34 emails processed · 3 flagged for reply · 11 archived · 1 urgent
Open inboxMark done
The payoff
Send your first task.
This is the whole loop in sixty seconds. Follow it once and the rest of the app makes sense.
Summarize the three most recent items in our Slack #announcements channel and draft a short email I can send to the team.
tool · mcp_slack_list_messages
mayaReading #announcements… found 3 recent posts.
tool · mcp_slack_get_message ×3
mayaSummarized. Drafting your email now.
mayaSubject: Team announcements — this week
mayaThree highlights attached. Ready to send or edit.
Task complete — conversation saved to Chats
Check the welcome header
Home loads with the heading “What should Actionist handle today?” and the subtitle “Choose an agent, describe the result, and let Actionist run it.” The composer card is centered below.
Choose your agent
Look at the “Working with” pill at the top of the composer. If the right agent is already selected, skip this step. If not, click the pill, find your agent in the dropdown, and click it. The textarea placeholder updates to “Ask [name] to…”.
Only enabled agents appear in the picker. If an agent you expect is missing, open Agents in the left sidebar and check whether it has been disabled.
Describe the task
Click inside the textarea and type what you want the agent to do. Be direct — describe the outcome, not the steps. For example:
“Summarize the three most recent items in our Slack #announcements channel and draft a short email I can send to the team.”Use Shift+Enter to add a new line if your task needs more than one sentence.
Send it
Press Enter (or click the gradient send button). The textarea clears and a floating chat window opens beside the Home screen, showing your agent’s response building in real time.
Watch the background section update
While the agent runs, the BackgroundAgentsSection shows it as an active row — green pulsing dot, spinning ring, task name. When the run finishes, the section returns to idle.
You have sent your first task. The agent handled the work; the conversation is saved; the app is ready for the next one.
What comes next
Your first week, handed off.
Most new users hand off the same handful of recurring chores in their first few days. Here is a typical tally.
YOUR FIRST WEEK
Actionist · getting-started receipt
Daily inbox triage (5 days)saves ~25 min/day
Meeting notes + action items (3 calls)saves ~15 min/call
Morning digest — calendar + messagessaves ~10 min/day
Follow-up drafts after sales calls (4)saves ~12 min each
Weekly status summary to teamsaves ~30 min/week
Typical first-week total~4 hrs reclaimed
ILLUSTRATIVE — BASED ON THE TASKS DESCRIBED ON THIS PAGE
First launch
Pip walks you through setup.
On your first launch, a floating assistant called Pip appears and guides you through a five-turn setup wizard. Answer each prompt and you will have a working agent set configured before your first task.
pip · first launch
pipHi — I’m Pip. Let’s get your workspace ready. What’s your company name?
youNorthwind Trading
pipGot it. Want me to create a starter set — a receptionist, a support agent, and an executive assistant?
youYes please.
pipDone — 3 agents created. Want to connect Telegram or Slack so they can reach you outside the app?
pipYou’re all set. Tap the composer to send your first task.
What Pip asks
- Your company name.
- Whether to create a starter agent set: a receptionist, a customer-support agent, and an executive assistant.
- Whether to connect Telegram or Slack so agents can reach you outside the app.
- Your preference for proactive nudges.
- A brief tip and a “Got it” to finish.
What you get
A named workspace, up to three pre-configured starter agents, and optionally a messaging channel connected — all before you type a single prompt. Skip any step and configure it manually later.
Good to know
Things that trip people up first.
My agent is not in the picker
My agent is not in the picker
The agent picker only shows enabled agents. If an agent you created is missing from the list, navigate to Agents in the left sidebar and look for a disabled toggle next to its name. Re-enable it and it will appear in the picker immediately.
The sidebar width resets every time I restart
The sidebar width resets every time I restart
Clicking a Chats row opened the old conversation, not a new one
Clicking a Chats row opened the old conversation, not a new one
That is intentional. The Chats tab is a history viewer — clicking a row reopens the existing conversation thread. To start a fresh task with the same agent, go back to the composer, type your new task, and send it. A new conversation is created automatically.
How do I know if an agent is actively running?
How do I know if an agent is actively running?
The green pulsing dot in the BackgroundAgentsSection header is your ambient signal. Green and glowing = at least one agent is running right now. Dim white = nothing is active. You do not need to open any other panel to check.
I filtered by source and agent but got unexpected results
I filtered by source and agent but got unexpected results
The conversation filter uses AND logic across the two groups (Source and Agent) and OR logic within each group. Selecting “Telegram” under Source and “Alice” under Agent shows only Alice’s Telegram conversations — not all Telegram conversations and not all Alice conversations. To clear filters, click the Clear link that appears below the search bar.
I skipped permissions — what still works?
I skipped permissions — what still works?
Skipping macOS permissions at first launch is fine. Chat, scheduling, memory, and all app integrations work immediately without them. The only features that require Screen Recording and Accessibility are Computer Use (vision-driven screen automation). The permissions modal reappears each time you visit the Home screen until both are granted. You can also grant them any time from Settings → Permissions.
You’re set up
Now put them to work.
Describe the task. Actionist runs it while you move on.
No passwords. No configuration menus. One click, one browser window, you’re in.
macOS desktop app · Browser-delegated auth · Permissions always skippable
Keep going
Next steps.
Agents
Build, configure, and supervise AI employees — the full studio guide from identity to approval modes.
Schedules
Put agents on a recurring schedule so they show up to work without anyone asking.
Channels
Connect Telegram or Slack so your agents respond where your team already is.
Apps
Browse the integration catalog — Slack, Notion, Linear, GitHub, HubSpot, Stripe, and more.