Carry relevant session or user context into the next task when memory is configured.
Local-first agent system
Give it the work. Keep the control.
Mate remembers context, plans multi-step work, operates browser, shell, files, and connected tools, and keeps recurring work moving. Run local models through Gateway, inspect the execution, and hand larger work to multiple agents.
Why Mate
Everything an agent needs to keep work moving.
Not a collection of disconnected tools. Mate keeps context, action, approval, repetition, and delegation inside one inspectable execution system.
Use the browser, terminal, files, search, and configured MCP tools to produce real output.
Pause at approval or user-input boundaries instead of guessing through important decisions.
Turn successful work into a reviewable skill or run it once, on an interval, or by cron.
Split independent steps across local or registered remote workers while preserving order and policy.
The Mate difference
Local models, controlled execution, evidence you can inspect.
Gateway makes local models part of the working system. Sandboxes and approval policy bound their actions. Events, terminal output, files, previews, diffs, and research evidence show what happened. A2A workers extend the same contract beyond one process or machine.
01 / Execution loop
An agent that moves work forward.
Mate connects reasoning to an execution environment. The task follows a visible loop from plan to tool action to result.
Plan
Break a goal into executable steps.
The planner turns a request into ordered work. Independent steps can be grouped for concurrent agents.
Execute
Use the right tool for each step.
Browse, run commands, read or create files, search, and call configured MCP tools inside the task context.
Observe
See what ran and what changed.
Follow plan and step events, terminal output, files, previews, diffs, and the live sandbox screen where available.
02 / Tools
One workspace for the whole task.
Work rarely fits inside one chat response. Mate can move between the web, a terminal, files, and connected services without losing the task context.
Browser interaction Navigate, inspect, click, type, and use keyboard or pointer input in a controlled browser session.
Shell and long-running processes Execute commands, inspect output, send input, wait, and stop process sessions in the sandbox.
File work and artifacts Read, search, write, replace, compare, preview, and return files created by the task.
Configured MCP tools Add external operations through MCP while keeping calls inside the same approval path.
03 / Control
Autonomy with an explicit boundary.
Mate does not treat every tool call as harmless. A common execution policy evaluates actions before they reach the browser, shell, files, schedules, or MCP.
Allow this action for the current session?
schedule.create
Pause when a decision needs you.
In ask mode, actions that require consent create a pending approval and resume only after approval.
Apply one gate across tool paths.
Policy decisions, session grants, single-use approval tokens, denials, and audit records share one control path.
Keep execution tied to its session.
Sandbox ownership, preview grants, allowed ports, origins, and token lifetimes are checked before access.
Full-access mode can auto-approve eligible actions, while policy-denied and explicitly exempt operations keep their enforced boundary.
04 / Observability
Inspect the work, not only the final sentence.
Mate streams execution as it happens and preserves outputs that can be reviewed after the task.
Plan and step events
Follow status changes, messages, completion, and errors through the session stream.
Live sandbox view
Open the session screen over an authorized VNC channel when visual browser work needs inspection.
Terminal and file streams
Read process output and file content without waiting for the entire task to finish.
Previews, artifacts, and diffs
Review generated files, preview served output, and inspect file changes from the session.
05 / Deep Research
Research that separates exploration from verification.
When Deep Research is enabled, Mate plans the investigation, explores several paths in parallel, records evidence, checks important claims, and assembles a source-linked report.
Choose the shape of the investigation.
Use depth, wide, hybrid, or automatic orchestration so one focused question and a broad landscape are not forced through the same process.
Control sources and cost before the run.
Set source scope, allowed or blocked domains, candidate and time budgets, and optional archive or connected-source access.
Keep claims attached to evidence.
A shared evidence ledger tracks sources, contradictions, and confidence. Verification rounds can revise the report before delivery.
- 01Plan research pathsdepth · wide · hybridDONE
- 02Gather and compare sourcesparallel workers · evidence ledgerDONE
- 03Verify claims and citationscontradictions · confidence · revisionsLIVE
- 04Assemble the reportsource-linked outputNEXT
06 / Continuity
Turn a completed task into the next capability.
Sessions carry the work. Memory, reusable skills, and schedules help useful patterns continue beyond a single request.
Sessions
Create, stream, stop, resume after approval, and inspect the files and state belonging to each task.
Context memory
Keep structured memory in a session or user scope, with optional semantic recall and background synthesis for later tasks.
Reusable skills
Load approved skills into the agent. Successful sessions can produce a skill draft for review instead of silently changing agent behavior.
Scheduled work
Run once, on an interval, or by cron with timezone, isolated or shared sessions, retry policy, run history, and pause or resume controls.
07 / Distributed A2A
A2A lets agents hand work to other agents.
A2A means Agent-to-Agent: a way for one agent to send a task to another agent, follow its state, and receive the result. Mate uses it to move beyond what one agent or one machine can finish efficiently.
Agent-to-AgentA shared contract for discovering a worker, assigning a task, tracking progress, and returning a result.
- The coordinator breaks one goal into independent steps
- Available local or remote workers execute steps in parallel
- Results return to the coordinator and become one final output
Mate carries execution policy and trace context with the task, checks worker capacity, and makes retries safe. Remote request signing can be added when configured—so delegation does not mean losing control.
08 / Interfaces
One execution system, wherever work begins.
Mate keeps planning, tools, sessions, approvals, and artifacts in the same backend whether a task starts in the desktop UI, an API client, a terminal, or a compatible IDE.
Operate and inspect visually
Create sessions, follow streamed events, answer approval or user-input requests, and inspect files, previews, and the live sandbox.
Embed Mate into another product
Use session, file, plan, approval, schedule, memory, skills, research, and A2A endpoints from your own application.
Run one task or stay interactive
Start a one-shot run or chat session, resume work, choose ask or full-access permission mode, and stream readable or JSON output.
Bring the agent into the IDE
The standalone ACP process connects compatible editors to Mate and can use editor-provided files, terminals, permissions, images, context, and MCP servers.
Available interfaces and integrations depend on the deployed components and configuration.
09 / Work patterns
Use Mate where the answer requires action.
These patterns combine capabilities that exist in Mate. The exact result depends on the selected model, enabled tools, access, sandbox, and execution policy.
Research with a source trail
Plan a question, search and browse sources, process findings, and return a report with collected artifacts.
Search → Browser → FilesBuild and verify software
Inspect a codebase, edit files, run commands and tests, preview the result, and review the diff.
Files → Shell → PreviewProcess documents and data
Read supplied files, run transformations or analysis, and return the generated output as task artifacts.
Files → Shell → ArtifactsRepeat an established workflow
Reuse a skill or schedule a task once its steps, access, and approval boundary are understood.
Skills → Schedule → SessionInomina Mate
Give the agent a goal—and a workspace to finish it.
Start with one concrete task, enable only the tools it needs, and inspect the plan, actions, approvals, and artifacts together.