Grok BotGuide

Local computer

Grok Bot local computer not connected

Grok Bot local computer not connected means the helper on the machine in front of you lost its link. Chat can keep working, and the cloud computer can be healthy. Fully quit and let the helper register again before you Reset that cloud machine.

Official troubleshooting separates the two permissions. Cloud work and local work are not the same switch.

What the shared computer is, and what it is not

Why the native method fails

Recover and Reset rebuild the hosted computer. They do not re-register local-exec-daemon on your Mac, Windows PC, or Linux box. People press them because Settings says the local machine is offline, or because a command on the laptop fails while the bot still chats. Staff have confirmed the split: chat stays up, the local-computer link drops, and a full quit reconnects. One Mac path was fixed in 0.23. Later builds still show the helper starting and then failing registration, so quit remains the first step rather than a rebuild.

Settings can also lie the other way. After a large copy off the computer, or a shell that times out, staff say the machine can leave the agent list for about a minute while Settings still says connected. Resetting during that minute does not speed the minute up.

Steps

  1. Open the control official troubleshooting names: Settings, General, Bot, Execution on Local Computer. The same help page also points at the computer's row under Settings, Computer, Computers. Staff posts shorten the label to Execution on Local Computer. If an older screenshot disagrees, follow the labels on the current troubleshooting page. Keep local access off unless the task needs files or commands on the machine in front of you. The handbook default, from the computer lesson, is to ask every time.
  2. Mac, chat up, local shown offline: fully quit from the menu bar and reopen. If it drops again, the log staff asked for is ~/.grokbot/local-exec-daemon.log. After an update, a full quit plus sign-out is what staff said recreates a helper that fails registration. Desktop 0.31.0 was the build they said was rolling out for that report. Do not invent a newer build number than the one in that note.
  3. Windows leftover daemon on 0.30.0: quit from the tray, end remaining Grok Bot and local-exec-daemon processes in Task Manager, relaunch, and wait about a minute to re-register. A different 0.27.0 report stayed disconnected after a clean registration. Staff said to fully quit every Grok process and launch once, and if it still fails it is service-side.
  4. Large CopyFromBox or a timed-out shell: split the copy, wait about a minute before you retry, and if it stays stuck use Cmd+Q, then the staff cleanup pkill -f local-exec-daemon, then reopen. That command is their workaround for a wedged helper, not a reset of the cloud computer.
  5. Linux 0.30.0 empty ListMachines: unlock gnome-keyring or KWallet, quit leftover processes, relaunch. Details are on the Linux setup page.

Limits

Always allow lives only in the desktop app on that machine. iOS can only approve one action at a time, and those approvals clear on every new message. Always allow is still not a promise that every shell runs. Staff have a thread where ExternalShell stayed blocked despite Always allow. Do not widen rules to allow everything in the browser to compensate. Require Approval still outranks Always Allow.

The cloud computer cannot join a corporate VPN. Do not install a VPN client on it. Staff say that can knock the box offline. Internal sites that need the VPN should use Execution on Local Computer on a machine that is already on the VPN. YubiKey, in the same staff note, is a desktop control under Settings, Security Key, on macOS or Windows. This page does not expand that into a key-setup guide.

A Grok Bot login counts as its own Cursor device, and the cloud workspace can count as another, toward Too many computers. That device limit is not fixed by reinstalling the local helper.

FAQ

Chat works and the local machine says offline. Is the cloud computer dead?

No. Staff treat that as the local helper dropping its link. Fully quit and reopen before Recover or Reset.

Settings says connected, but file copies fail. What happened?

A large copy or a timed-out shell can drop the machine from the agent list for about a minute while Settings still says connected. Wait, split the copy, and only then quit and clear the daemon.

Where is the control, exactly?

Official troubleshooting: Settings, General, Bot, Execution on Local Computer, or the row under Settings, Computer, Computers. Staff posts use the shorter name Execution on Local Computer.

Can I set Always allow on the iPhone so the desktop stops asking?

No. Always allow is stored on that desktop. The phone can approve a single action, and the approval clears on the next message.

Will local execution put the bot on my office VPN?

Only by running the command on a computer that is already on the VPN. Installing a VPN client on the cloud computer is what staff say can take that machine offline.

Related

Sources

  • Official troubleshooting
  • Mac local offline
  • Helper registration
  • Windows leftover daemon
  • Copy timeout
  • ExternalShell still blocked
  • VPN and security keys