Getting started with Slate

Slate is a Mac workspace for your projects, tasks, and evidence. You can manage work yourself, connect an agent when it helps, and keep important decisions in your hands.

Open Slate

Use the macOS download link on Slate's website when a release is available. If the page says Coming soon, the public release is not available yet. Windows is not available yet.

Open Slate to see your projects. You do not need a cloud account or a terminal to use the app.

Organize a project

Create a project or open an existing one. Add tasks, name your lanes, and move tasks as work progresses. Click a task to edit its title, description, summary, progress, dependencies, and assignee.

Project progress is the average progress of its tasks. A task's progress and its status describe different things: reaching 100% does not approve work that requires your validation.

Inspect the evidence

Attach files from a task's details and click an artifact to inspect it. Supported files open in Slate's preview; other files show their metadata and available file actions.

Artifacts are evidence of work, not automatic proof that a task is complete. If a file is unavailable, its record remains visible. See Data and artifacts for file locations, backups, and transfers.

Connect an agent

  1. Open Connect agent in Slate.
  2. Choose the project access and a recognizable agent name. Use different names when you work with multiple agents.
  3. Copy the provided connection instructions into your trusted local agent tool and give it the one-use pairing code.
  4. Ask it to work on your project and keep Slate synchronized.

Slate does not start agents for you. You choose which tools to connect. Keep credentials out of task descriptions, Threads, and shared exports. Agent access lasts at most eight hours; you can revoke it in Settings sooner.

An agent can update tasks, highlight work, show artifacts, offer suggestions, and ask focused questions. You can continue editing the same project manually. A cloud-backed agent may receive project context under its provider's privacy policy; read Privacy before sharing sensitive work.

Keep your agent connected

The prompt from Connect agent points your agent to Slate's agent instructions (agent.json). Those instructions already ask it to listen for your replies throughout the session, or check for updates each turn when it cannot process live events. The steps below help you confirm it works or troubleshoot a missing reply.

Your agent tool needs to be running to respond to new messages. Slate does not start or wake agents for you. How your agent stays up to date depends on the tool you use.

Live updates

If your tool supports live events, ask your agent: "Listen for this project's events, read messages addressed to you, and keep Slate synchronized."

The tool must both receive board events and deliver them into an active agent turn. Some tools provide a background monitor; others need an active waiting session. A connected event listener alone does not guarantee a reply.

For available background features and their limits, see your tool's official documentation: Claude Code tools or Codex CLI background terminals. Use the features permitted by your tool and organization, and keep its permission and security controls in place.

Check-ins

If your tool cannot process live events, ask your agent to read recent Threads before starting work and between steps. You can also ask it to check for a new message. It can respond the next time it runs.

Confirm it works

Post a short Thread message and ask your agent to acknowledge it. If it does not reply, check that its tool is running, its event monitor or waiting session is active, and its pairing has not expired or been revoked. Pair again when the approved access period ends.

Review and decide

Open tasks awaiting validation to review their evidence. Approve work that meets your expectations, or reject it to return it for more work. Agents cannot approve tasks that require your validation.

Use suggestions and quick actions when they help, or dismiss them. Your project remains yours to organize.

Adjust your workspace

Settings includes Compact and Comfortable display density, agent access controls, and your local data location. Use Data and artifacts before moving data or sharing a project export.