How do I run a task on my computer from my phone?

Create a task on the project folder you want, then tap Execute. The web app does not run the work itself; it tells a computer that has codus open to do it. As long as a live desktop has that folder open, tapping Execute hands the task to it, and you watch it move from queued to running from your phone. If no live desktop has the folder open, you see the grey word offline instead of the button.

Before you start

For Execute to appear, all of these need to be true:

1. A computer of yours is running codus and signed in to the same GitHub account.
2. That computer has the task's project folder open in a quadrant.
3. Your phone shows that desktop as live on the Quadrants tab.

If any of these is missing, you get offline rather than Execute. That is covered at the end of this page.

Steps: create the task

1. Sign in at app.trycodus.com.
2. Tap + New task (on the List tab), or the + on a project card in the Quadrants tab.
3. In the New task box, pick the Folder the work belongs to.
4. In the Title field, type what you want done. The box prompts you with "What needs to happen?".
5. Tap Submit task. It reads "Creating…" for a moment, then the task appears with a status of Proposed.

A brand new task sits at Proposed until you run it. Creating a task does not start it, so nothing happens on the desktop yet.

Steps: run it

1. Find the task in the List tab or on its project card.
2. To the right of the task you see the Execute button, a small play triangle. Its tooltip reads "Run this task on the desktop now".
3. Tap Execute.

The run control now walks through three words as the desktop picks the task up:

• queued while the cloud holds your request and the desktop has not grabbed it yet.
• starting once the desktop has grabbed it and the agent is booting.
• running once the agent is actually working on it.

You do not have to keep the app open on your phone. The task keeps going on the desktop.

How do I know it worked?

• The run control changes from Execute to queued, then starting, then running, and the task's status turns to Running.
• Open the task to watch the Live activity feed. The agent reports its progress there as short lines you can follow along on your phone.
• For anything visual, the agent takes phone, tablet, and desktop screenshots of the changed page and attaches them to the task, so you can see the result without being at the Mac.

When you see "offline" instead of Execute

Where the button would be, you may see the grey word offline. Its tooltip explains why: "No live desktop has this folder open. Open codus on the right machine and mount this folder to enable Execute." This is not a hidden or broken button. It means there is no machine online right now that can do this task, so codus does not offer to run it.

Two different things cause this, and each has its own fix:

• The whole Quadrants tab is empty or your desktop is missing. The desktop has stopped checking in. See My phone says "No live desktops" but codus is running.
• The desktop is live but this one task still shows offline. That machine does not have this task's folder open. See I can't run a task I created on my phone.

Common problems

• I tapped Execute and it shows "! retry". The desktop tried to pick the task up but could not, often because the folder is not open in a quadrant there. Fix that on the desktop, then tap ! retry. The full walkthrough is in I can't run a task I created on my phone.
• It has said "queued" for a while. The desktop has not grabbed it yet. Check the machine is still live on the Quadrants tab; if it dropped off, see My phone says "No live desktops" but codus is running.
• The New task button is greyed out. Its tooltip says "Sign in and sync at least one folder". You need to be signed in and have at least one project folder synced from a desktop before you can create tasks.