FAQ

Short answers to the questions that come up most. For step-by-step guides, follow the links.

Do I need an API key?

No. vord doesn’t call any AI model itself — it hosts and supervises the coding-agent CLIs you already have installed on your Mac (claude, codex, kimi, Grok, OpenCode, Muse). Whatever billing arrangement you use for them (subscription or API key on their side) is unaffected by vord; vord’s own license just unlocks the app. For Muse, sign-in is muse login or META_API_KEY.

See What vord Is for the full picture.

What’s the difference between Basic and Pro?

Basic covers the core cockpit: the status grid, terminals, git inspector, notifications, Auto-Pilot, MCP servers, SSH, Skald dictation, and vord Chat. Pro adds the phone companions — pairing and remote control from an iPhone, iPad, or Android device — and cross-user session sharing (beta). Android notifications while the app is closed still need the Firebase integration. Pro-gated controls are disabled in the UI with an “Upgrade to Pro” hint rather than hidden.

For current pricing and what’s included, see vord-app.dev/pricing. For the account and trial mechanics, see Account, License & Trial. Plans, team, invoices, and MCP access: The Hub.

Does it work with codex as well as claude?

Yes, both are first-class agent kinds you can start from the same cockpit — but they aren’t identical everywhere:

• claude shows subagents and teams inline in the main transcript; codex uses a separate rollout that vord reconstructs into the same hierarchy tree.
• Plan Mode and the Shift+Tab permission-mode ring are claude-only; codex switches modes through its own /permissions slash command instead.
• claude has box formats codex doesn’t produce — a “Type something” free-text option and checkbox multi-select — so some claude-specific answer paths simply don’t apply to codex. codex approval boxes also move by arrow keys and Enter rather than digit quick-select.

Note

None of this is a missing feature so much as a real difference between the two CLIs. vord follows each agent’s own model rather than forcing one UI onto both.

Full breakdown: Claude, Codex, Kimi, OpenCode, Grok & Muse — What Differs.

Does it work with kimi too?

Yes — kimi (Kimi Code CLI) is a first-class hosted agent: its own + Kimi spawn in the project menu, hook-driven status from the first session (no codex-style trust step), subagent tree, show_to_user, resume, and phone mirroring included. Two honest gaps today: no usage-limit detection (no ⏳ countdown for kimi), and the phone answer path for kimi’s boxes is the newest part of the integration — approvals given at the Mac are fully reliable.

Grok is first-class as well: + Grok in the project menu, hooks, resume, usage, and the native subagent tree from subagents/*/meta.json.

Muse (Muse Code from Meta) is the sixth first-class assistant: + Muse in the project menu, or type muse in a shell tile. Sign in once with muse login or META_API_KEY. Status comes from Muse’s hooks. Resume is muse resume <session>. Muse sessions on the iPhone need a current app version. Same breakdown page: Claude, Codex, Kimi, OpenCode, Grok & Muse — What Differs.

What happens when my subscription ends?

Both trial and subscription access are account-bound:

• Trial runs out without a license activated: vord locks back to the sign-in screen with the reason spelled out (“Your free trial has ended…”). Settings stay reachable via ⌘,; signing in with an account that has an active subscription unlocks the cockpit again.
• A paid subscription reaches its server-signed paid-through date: the app locks; there is no extra grace period and previous payment does not become a perpetual license. Your local projects and chats stay on disk, and renewing plus signing in restores access.
• An explicitly perpetual license: remains available offline only when the server-signed lease says its plan type is perpetual. An old lease with missing fields or a local “paid once” marker is not perpetual.

An App Store subscription (bought in vord mobile on iPhone or iPad) is cancelled and managed in your Apple Account settings, not in the Hub, and refunds for it go through Apple.

Details: Account, License & Trial. Renew or change seats in the Hub under Plans & invoices.

Is my terminal content sent anywhere?

By default, no. Two channels exist and both are explicit:

• Phone companions (Pro): everything between Mac and an iPhone, iPad, or Android phone travels end-to-end encrypted (ChaCha20-Poly1305 with per-session forward secrecy) — the relay server that routes the connection can’t read the content.
• Crash reports: vord asks once after first launch and remembers your answer; decline and it never asks again. If you agree, vord sends crash reports and a technical event log (status changes, hook activity, UI actions, and which reports vord passed from a child session to its parent agent — identifiers and outcomes only) — never terminal content, prompts, or code. A separate “Send feedback…” button works independently of that consent.

Raw terminal recordings are kept on-device so vord can restore the visual scrollback of an archived session on replay. You control how long they stick around (forever, or auto-deleted after 7/30/90 days), and a “Delete all recordings” row erases every stored recording at once.

Full detail: Privacy & Data.

For Android installation, pairing, and the current notification limit, see The Android Companion.

Can two people work in the same session?

Yes — session sharing lets someone else join a running session on another Mac, with read or read-write access.

Caution

Pro feature, currently in beta.

See Session Sharing for the step-by-step flow, and The iPhone Companion (Pro) or The Android Companion for the underlying remote registration it depends on.

Which macOS version do I need?

macOS 15 (Sequoia) or newer. vord runs natively on both Apple Silicon and Intel Macs — there’s no architecture restriction, only a macOS version floor. An older macOS won’t launch the app at all.

Installation walkthrough: Install & First Launch.

Where do I manage billing, team, and MCP access?

In the Hub at hub.vord-app.dev: Plans & invoices, Team, Devices, Connections & MCP. The older Cloud page https://cloud.vord-app.dev/me/mcp-tokens redirects to Connections & MCP. An App Store subscription from vord mobile is the exception: it is billed through the App Store and managed in your Apple Account settings. To delete the account, see Profile & security — or delete it directly in vord mobile under Settings → Account → “Delete Account” (password required, 30-day grace period; an App Store subscription keeps running until you cancel it separately).

Does it run on Windows/Linux?

No. vord is a native macOS app built on SwiftUI/AppKit — there’s no Windows or Linux build, and none planned.

Does everything come back after I quit and reopen?

Yes. All previously open projects and their sessions are restored automatically on the next launch — there’s no “recent projects” picker or manual re-opening step. The restore covers your entire last state, not just a shortlist.

See A Tour of the vord Window for how the window and its panels behave overall.

How many sessions can I run at once?

There’s no hard cap on running sessions, but the cockpit grid shows a maximum of 12 tiles at once (4 columns × 3 rows). Anything beyond that lands in the on-demand pool — a compact list you can pull sessions back from without losing them.