---
title: What is Pantaray?
description: Ask Pantaray to do a task, or get a suggestion for what to do next.
---

Pantaray helps you get work done. You can use it in two ways:

- **It does what you ask.** Write what you want done and it gets to work: opening files, changing
  them, running commands, searching the web.
- **It suggests before you ask.** Using your day-to-day work as context, it finds useful next steps
  and says so. Accept, and it does the work.

## What you need

Pantaray runs on macOS, on Macs with Apple silicon (M1 and later). The app itself is free and open
source; what you may pay for is the AI you connect it to. Pick one in **Settings → AI connection**:

| Option | What it is |
| --- | --- |
| **ChatGPT account** | Sign in and run on the plan you already pay for |
| **API key** | Your own key for OpenAI, Anthropic, or Fireworks AI |

Neither needs registration with us. See [Connect to an AI](/connect/chatgpt).

## What you decide

- Every file change and every command stops and shows you what it wants to do. You can let a
  conversation run without asking. See
  [Approve or deny what Pantaray wants to do](/using/approvals).
- Edits and commands happen inside the folders you register in **Workspace**. See
  [Choose which folders Pantaray can use](/using/workspace).
- Recording can be switched off at any time, or narrowed to the apps and sites you choose. See
  [Stop recording, or limit what is recorded](/privacy/recording-controls).

## What is recorded

With your permission, Pantaray records the apps you use, the titles of your windows, the text on
screen, and what you type. The recording is an encrypted file on this Mac and is deleted after 48
hours. Password managers, and sign-in and payment pages, are never recorded.

The recording file stays on this Mac. The parts needed for suggestions and Actions are sent to the
AI you chose. For the full picture, see
[What Pantaray records, and where it is kept](/privacy/what-is-recorded).

## Where to start

**[Install Pantaray](/install)**

Download, install, and get through the first setup.

**[Connect to an AI](/connect/api-key)**

Use your ChatGPT account or your own key.

**[Hand work to Pantaray](/using/actions)**

How to ask, and what you can do while it works.

**[Receive suggestions](/using/suggestions)**

How suggestions arrive and what you can do with one.

**[What Pantaray records](/privacy/what-is-recorded)**

What is recorded, and what leaves this Mac.

**[Current limitations](/limitations)**

What does not work yet.