Concepts

Cmdop is an execution-state continuity layer: you hold a conversation with a real computer you have joined to a relay, and an execution engine does the work there. This section defines the eight nouns the whole product is built from — machine, session, conversation, Project Root, engine, operator, relay, fleet — and the behaviour that follows from them.

Cmdop is a machine workspace: a conversation bound to one joined computer. Choose a machine, start or resume a conversation, optionally select a project folder, and ask an execution engine to work.

The core model

• Machine — the joined computer that holds the files, tools, and execution authority.
• Session — the live execution behind a conversation. It lives on the machine, not in your browser tab, and it survives your disconnect.
• Conversation — the durable work thread you see and return to.
• Project Root — an optional folder that gives a conversation repository scope.
• Execution engine — CMDOP, Claude Code, or Codex performs the work in that session.
• Operator — anything attached to a live session: you in a browser, you in a terminal, or the AI itself. Operators come and go; the session does not.
• Relay — the service a machine dials out to, and the thing that serves the web console.
• Fleet — many machines under one relay context. One machine is a machine workspace; many are a fleet.

The properties that follow from it

• Execution state is single-homed. One machine owns the state for its work. Operators are distributed across browsers, terminals, and clients; the state they act on is not.
• A session survives disconnect. Close the browser, lose the network, walk away — the work continues on the machine and you reattach to the same session, not to a fresh one.
• You observe directly, not by replay. When you attach, you see live state. The session is not reconstructed for you from a log of what happened.
• Sessions are ownerless. No operator holds a privileged occupancy that others must wait behind. This is a liveness property — it is about who may be present, not about what each of them is permitted to do. Permissions are a separate boundary.
• AI is an operator, not a controller. The model attaches to the same session you do and works alongside you inside the same boundary, rather than driving a system you can only watch.
• The browser is a client, not the authority. It renders the machine’s model and requests explicit actions. It never owns filesystem paths, session identity, engine bindings, or permissions.

Start here

Read Agents, Conversations and sessions, and AI chat for the work loop. System overview draws the product boundary; the blog series treats execution-state continuity in depth.

Common questions

What are the core Cmdop concepts?

The core concepts are machine, session, conversation, Project Root, execution engine, operator, relay, and fleet.

What is a Cmdop machine workspace?

A machine workspace is a conversation bound to one joined computer, with a durable session, optional project folder, and selected execution engine.

Why does Cmdop say the browser is not the authority?

The browser is a client. The machine owns filesystem paths, session identity, engine binding, and permission policy.