Flotilla docs
Flotilla runs coding agents in the cloud. Each agent works alone in its own VM on boat.dev, and you run the whole fleet from your Mac, your Linux desktop or your iPhone.
What Flotilla is
You give an agent a task in a thread: one conversation with one agent, Claude Code, Codex or OpenCode, on the model you pick. Every thread gets a VM of its own, with its own files and processes, so agents never share a working copy, a port or your laptop.
- Start as many threads as you like. The sidebar puts the ones that need you first, and a small model sums up each reply in a line.
- Idle VMs stop after a few minutes and wake when you send, so a quiet thread uses no VM time.
- Add a GitHub repo as a project, and each thread starts with the repo set up on a branch of its own. The thread's pull request sits above the message box, with its checks, buttons that write the next prompt, and Hold to merge.
- Agents can hand work to other agents, and ask you questions you answer with a tap.
How the pieces fit
Three things work together. You install the first; the other two are services you sign up for.
| Piece | What it does |
|---|---|
| Flotilla | The desktop app for the Mac and Linux, the iPhone app, and Flotilla's server, which keeps your threads and talks to boat.dev and GitHub. The desktop app has a server built in, This Mac, which runs while the app is open. You can also run the server on a Linux machine that stays on. |
| boat.dev | Runs the VMs and the agents in them. You need an account on a paid plan, and boat.dev bills VM time. |
| Your model providers | Bill the tokens the agents use, as they would anyway. |
Agents work in their VMs, so a turn keeps going with your laptop shut. The rest of Flotilla, such as hand-offs between agents, scheduled prompts and your iPhone, needs the server to be running: see Run a server.
Words these docs use
A few words come up on every page.
- Thread
- One conversation with one agent, in a VM of its own.
- Turn
- One round of work: the agent's answer to a message, from when you send until it stops and waits for you.
- Steer
- A message sent while a turn runs. It goes into that turn without stopping it.
- VM
- The cloud machine on boat.dev a thread runs in. It stops when idle and wakes when you send.
- Project
- A GitHub repo you've added. Its threads start with the repo set up, each on a branch of its own.
- Setup
- The scripts that install and build a project, so threads start ready to work.
- Hand-off
- Work an agent gives to another agent, in its VM or in a new thread.
- Server
- The part of Flotilla that keeps your threads and talks to boat.dev and GitHub: inside the desktop app (This Mac), or on a machine that stays on.
Find your way
New to Flotilla? Start with Getting started. The guides show how to do things; the reference pages list every setting and shortcut, and the common commands.
- Getting startedInstall the app, connect boat.dev, start a thread
- ThreadsModels, follow-ups, search, archiving, idle VMs, usage
- Projects and pull requestsRepos, setup scripts, branches, Fix, Hold to merge
- Previews and servicesOpen a port, run dev servers, share a public link
- Agents working togetherReviews by another model, work in a VM of its own
- Questions from agentsAnswer from the Mac, Linux or your phone
- Scheduled promptsSend later, once or every day
- Run a serverKeep going with your laptop shut, pair devices
- The iPhone appPair, follow threads, answer, hold to merge
- The agent APILet Claude Code, OpenClaw or Grok use Flotilla
- SettingsEvery section, as you see it
- Keyboard shortcutsOn the Mac and Linux
- The CLIThe flotilla command, from a terminal
- FAQ and troubleshootingCosts, where data lives, common messages