Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions and troubleshooting. More on the Wiki: FAQ.
Why is AionUi a great replacement for Claude Cowork?
AionUi is a free and open-source Multi-AI Agent Desktop. The official Cowork runs only on macOS and is locked to Claude; AionUi is a full-model, cross-platform alternative with deep AI Office Automation support. See AionUi vs Claude Cowork.
What can I do with AionUi?
Use it as your private Cowork workspace: batch organize folders, beautify Excel, preview web code in real time. It's a graphical choice for office automation and for using Claude Code or Gemini CLI. See use cases.
Is AionUi ready to use out of the box?
Yes. After installation, you can use it immediately. AionUi includes built-in Gemini CLI—no extra install. If you already have Gemini CLI, Claude Code, or other CLI tools, AionUi will detect them. See Quick Start.
Is it free?
AionUi is free and open source. Using AI models requires the corresponding API keys (from Google, OpenAI, Anthropic, etc.), which may have their own costs.
Which AI models are supported?
Mainstream: Gemini, OpenAI, Claude, Qwen. Local: Ollama, LM Studio. You can run multiple agents (e.g. Gemini CLI, Claude Code, Qwen Code) at once. See LLM configuration and multi-agent setup.
Is my data secure?
Conversation history inside AionUi is stored in a local SQLite database on your machine—it is not mirrored to an AionUi-hosted cloud by the app itself.
When you use cloud models (Gemini, Claude, OpenAI, etc.), your prompts and context are sent to those providers under their policies. Local models (Ollama / LM Studio) keep inference on your hardware. Read local AI security and Privacy for nuance.
Can I use AionUi from my phone?
Yes, via WebUI or Telegram as described in remote access. The desktop instance still runs on your computer or server; the phone is a client.
What are MCP tools?
MCP (Model Context Protocol) lets you attach external tools—databases, APIs, custom scripts—so agents can call them safely. Configure servers in Settings; each server runs locally with your user permissions.
How do I update AionUi?
Watch GitHub Releases for new builds. macOS Homebrew users can brew upgrade aionui when the cask formula updates. After upgrading, re-open the app and re-check multi-agent detection if CLI tools moved.
Where can I get help?
See Documentation, Community, and the Wiki FAQ. Report bugs or request features on GitHub Issues.