---
title: How do I see my live desktops and what my agents are doing?
question: the Quadrants tab
area: cloud
order: 5
surface: cloud
audience: beginner
keywords: [Quadrants tab, live desktops, machine name, no live desktops, board, 2x2, watch agent, what is running, tabs, active, last seen, phone, mobile, monitor]
related: [my-phone-says-no-live-desktops, push-a-task-from-your-phone, the-list-tab, what-is-the-codus-web-app]
updated: 2026-07-21
---

# How do I see my live desktops and what my agents are doing?

Open the **Quadrants** tab. It shows every computer of yours that is running codus right now, each under its own machine name, with a 2x2 board of project cards that mirrors what you would see on that Mac. From here you watch what each agent is doing and push work to any card. If no machine is checked in, you see "No live desktops right now."

## What the Quadrants tab shows

Each live desktop gets its own section:

- **A green dot and the machine name.** The name is the computer's own name, so you can tell your machines apart. Next to it, "last seen" tells you how recently it checked in.
- **A 2x2 board.** Four project cards, matching the four quadrants on that Mac. Each card is headed with its slot, from **Q1** to **Q4**, and the project's name. An unused slot reads "Q1 · empty".
- **Recent tasks per card.** Each card lists that project's latest tasks, running ones first, so live work reads at the top. A card with none says "No tasks yet. Tap + to add one."
- **A + on each card** to create a task in that project without leaving the tab.

If the machine has more than one tab open, a small strip of tabs appears under its name. The one the person is actually looking at on the desktop is marked **active**, with the tooltip "Currently focused on the desktop". Tap a tab to see its board.

## Steps: watch an agent work

1. Open the **Quadrants** tab.
2. Find the desktop by its machine name.
3. On the project card, watch the task list. A task that is being worked reads **running**.
4. Tap the task to open it and follow the **Live activity** feed and any screenshots the agent posts.

Because the page refreshes itself every few seconds, you do not need to reload to see progress.

## The "No live desktops right now" empty state

When none of your machines has checked in recently, the tab shows:

> No live desktops right now.
> Open codus on one of your machines and a 2x2 board will appear here within a few seconds.

A desktop drops off this tab about a minute after it stops checking in, which happens when codus is closed, asleep, or has lost its connection. If codus is clearly running on a machine but it still does not appear here, that is a connection problem on the desktop. See [My phone says "No live desktops" but codus is running](../troubleshooting/my-phone-says-no-live-desktops.md).

## How do I know it worked?

Your machine appears as a section with a green dot, its name, a "last seen" time, and a 2x2 board of your projects. Tasks you push from a card move through **queued**, **starting**, and **running** right there on the card.

## Common problems

- **The tab is empty even though codus is open.** The desktop has stopped checking in. See [My phone says "No live desktops" but codus is running](../troubleshooting/my-phone-says-no-live-desktops.md).
- **I see the project but the run control says "offline".** The machine with that folder is not live right now. See [How do I run a task on my computer from my phone?](push-a-task-from-your-phone.md).
- **A card says "Q1 · empty".** That quadrant on the desktop has no project pinned to it. Pin a folder to it on the Mac and the card fills in.