> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.tesslate.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# FAQ

> Common questions about OpenSail: licensing, pricing, models, data privacy, deployment, and usage

<img src="https://mintcdn.com/tesslate/VT6tbZolrCfpx26M/images/opensail-banner.png?fit=max&auto=format&n=VT6tbZolrCfpx26M&q=85&s=66579c47537b3464fb65b229cc9ab0fd" alt="Tesslate OpenSail" width="4712" height="1612" data-path="images/opensail-banner.png" />

## General

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="What is OpenSail?">
    OpenSail is an open platform for building, running, and sharing AI-powered software. You describe a job, and OpenSail helps turn it into a working agent, app, scheduled automation, webhook handler, or MCP tool. Agents write code, use connected tools, remember context, and run in sandboxed environments.

    Key capabilities:

    * Natural-language agent coding with a real IDE (Monaco, terminal, git)
    * Multi-container projects with live preview
    * btrfs-based workspaces with instant snapshots and forking
    * 22+ deployment targets and 6+ messaging channels
    * Marketplace for agents, skills, MCP connectors, and installable apps
    * Runs on any model via LiteLLM
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Is OpenSail free?">
    Yes. OpenSail is Apache 2.0 licensed. You can:

    * Use it for personal or commercial projects
    * Self-host on your own infrastructure
    * Modify, fork, and redistribute the source

    You only pay for:

    * Infrastructure (if you deploy to a cloud)
    * AI API usage, or use free local models via Ollama or vLLM
    * Optional credit purchases on the hosted service at tesslate.com
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="What is the difference between cloud, desktop, and self-hosted?">
    | Path                 | Who runs it          | Data location                    | When to pick                                   |
    | -------------------- | -------------------- | -------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------- |
    | Cloud (tesslate.com) | Tesslate             | Tesslate infrastructure          | Zero setup, managed updates                    |
    | Desktop              | You, on your machine | Local disk under `OPENSAIL_HOME` | Single user, fully offline capable             |
    | Self-hosted          | You, on your infra   | Your servers                     | Team deployments, data sovereignty, air-gapped |

    The desktop app can also pair to a cloud instance (ours or your own self-hosted) to get remote sandboxed compute while keeping projects local.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Can I use OpenSail commercially?">
    Yes. Apache 2.0 allows commercial use, paid products, client work, selling hosting services, and proprietary extensions. No restrictions on users, revenue, or business type.
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

## Models and AI

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="What models are supported?">
    All model calls route through LiteLLM, so anything LiteLLM supports works out of the box. That includes:

    * Anthropic (Claude Sonnet, Opus, Haiku)
    * OpenAI (GPT-4, GPT-4o, reasoning models)
    * Google (Gemini Pro, Flash)
    * DeepSeek, Qwen, Mistral, Meta, Moonshot, MiniMax, Z.AI, xAI
    * OpenRouter as a meta-provider
    * Self-hosted via Ollama, vLLM, or any OpenAI-compatible endpoint

    Configure available models with `LITELLM_DEFAULT_MODELS`. See the [model management guide](/guides/model-management).
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Do I need to pay for an API key?">
    Not necessarily. Three options:

    1. BYOK: attach your own key from OpenAI, Anthropic, OpenRouter, Groq, Together, DeepSeek, Fireworks, or anyone else. Pay your provider directly.
    2. Local models: run Ollama or vLLM for zero AI cost and full offline operation.
    3. Hosted credits on tesslate.com.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Can I run offline or air-gapped?">
    Yes. Two supported paths:

    * Desktop with Ollama: the Tauri app talks to a local model server over HTTP. No network required.
    * Self-hosted with a local LiteLLM pointed at vLLM, Ollama, or any OpenAI-compatible endpoint.

    Features that require network (marketplace, cloud pairing, external deploys) are gracefully degraded when offline.
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

## Deployment

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="Do I need Kubernetes?">
    No. Three supported modes selected by `DEPLOYMENT_MODE`:

    * `desktop`: SQLite + local subprocess or Docker runtime. Best for single users.
    * `docker`: Docker Compose with Postgres, Redis, Traefik. Best for single-server installs and dev.
    * `kubernetes`: per-project namespaces, btrfs CSI, Volume Hub. Best for multi-tenant production.

    Start on Docker, migrate to Kubernetes when you need isolation, hibernation, or horizontal scaling.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Where can I deploy OpenSail?">
    Anywhere that can run Docker or Kubernetes. Tested paths:

    * Local: laptop, home server, dev box
    * Cloud: AWS (EC2/EKS), GCP (GCE/GKE), Azure (VM/AKS), DigitalOcean, Hetzner, Linode
    * On-prem: company datacenter, private cloud, air-gapped networks

    See [AWS production](/guides/aws-production) and [Kubernetes on Minikube](/guides/kubernetes-local).
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Can I use a custom domain?">
    Yes. Set `APP_DOMAIN=opensail.example.com`, `APP_PROTOCOL=https`, `COOKIE_DOMAIN=.opensail.example.com`. Projects become `{container}.{project-slug}.opensail.example.com` under Kubernetes and `{container}.localhost` under Docker.

    TLS is handled by Traefik + Let's Encrypt (Docker) or cert-manager + Cloudflare DNS (Kubernetes).
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="What are the system requirements?">
    Minimum (Docker): 8 GB RAM, 10 GB disk, Docker Engine + Compose v2.

    Recommended dev: 16 GB RAM, 20 GB disk.

    Production Kubernetes: two or more btrfs-capable nodes with 4 vCPU / 8 GB RAM each, NGINX Ingress, managed Postgres, managed Redis, S3 bucket.

    Desktop: 4 GB RAM, 2 GB disk, macOS 12+, Windows 10+, or modern Linux.
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

## Storage and workspaces

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="How does the btrfs workspace layer work?">
    Each project lives on a btrfs subvolume managed by the OpenSail btrfs CSI driver and the Volume Hub orchestrator. Subvolumes support instant snapshot-clone, which enables:

    * Fork a running workspace in seconds
    * Roll back to any snapshot in the per-project timeline (up to 5)
    * Hibernate and restore a full multi-container project atomically

    Object persistence uses content-addressed storage on S3 (or MinIO in dev). See the [architecture page](/self-hosting/architecture).
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="How does hibernation work?">
    Projects auto-hibernate after `K8S_HIBERNATION_IDLE_MINUTES` of inactivity (default 10). The Volume Hub triggers an S3 CAS sync, then the pods are torn down. On next use, `EnsureCached` brings the volume back: fast path if still cached on a node, otherwise peer-transfer from another node, otherwise restore from S3.

    Multi-container projects hibernate and restore atomically because they share a volume and pod affinity pins them to one node.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Can I export my projects?">
    Yes. Every project is a git repo inside its workspace. Push to any remote, clone elsewhere, or `kubectl cp`/`docker cp` the files out. Apps can also be exported as a CAS bundle via the publish pipeline.
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

## Privacy and security

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="Is my data private?">
    When self-hosted: everything stays on your infrastructure. No telemetry. The only network calls are to AI providers you configure and to marketplaces or deployment targets you connect.

    On tesslate.com: projects live on Tesslate infrastructure. Prompts go to the configured AI provider. We do not sell or share customer data.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Can agents access my host file system?">
    No. Agents are sandboxed:

    * Docker/K8s: agents run inside the project container and can only see files in that container
    * Desktop `local` runtime: agents see only the project directory under `OPENSAIL_HOME` (or a symlinked adopted folder)
    * Shell commands run in the project container
    * Tools gated by `.tesslate/permissions.json` require approval for sensitive actions
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Where are credentials stored?">
    * Passwords: bcrypt hashed in Postgres
    * OAuth tokens, API keys, channel credentials, deployment credentials: Fernet encrypted at rest
    * 2FA codes: Argon2 hashed, 5-attempt cap, short TTL
    * Desktop `tsk_` keys: Tauri Stronghold vault (encrypted on disk)

    See [Authentication](/authentication).
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Is OpenSail SOC 2 or HIPAA compliant?">
    Self-hosted is neutral: compliance depends on your infrastructure. The hosted service at tesslate.com follows SOC 2 Type II controls. Contact [support@tesslate.com](mailto:support@tesslate.com) for a compliance pack.
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

## Pricing and billing

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="How does billing work?">
    Self-hosted: you pay your own cloud and AI bills. OpenSail itself is free.

    Hosted (tesslate.com): tiered subscriptions plus optional credit packs. Stripe handles checkout. Marketplace creators get paid via Stripe Connect on a configurable creator/platform revenue split.

    For self-hosted Stripe setup, configure `STRIPE_SECRET_KEY`, `STRIPE_WEBHOOK_SECRET`, and tier price IDs. See the [billing guide](/guides/billing).
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Are there usage limits?">
    Agent runs are bounded by `AGENT_MAX_COST`, `AGENT_MAX_COST_PER_RUN`, and `AGENT_MAX_ITERATIONS`. Container tiers are bounded by `COMPUTE_MAX_CONCURRENT_PODS`. MCP installs per user cap at `MCP_MAX_SERVERS_PER_USER`. All are configurable.
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

## Building and publishing

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="How do I publish an app?">
    Build your project in a workspace, then publish via the Architecture Panel. The publisher:

    1. Serializes the workspace to a manifest and CAS bundle
    2. Runs the staged approval pipeline (stage0 to stage3) for public listings
    3. Creates an immutable `AppVersion`

    Private and team installs skip the public listing gate. See [Publishing apps](/guides/publishing-apps).
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="How do I deploy agents to Slack or Telegram?">
    Configure a channel under `Settings -> Channels`. Each channel (Slack, Telegram, Discord, WhatsApp, Signal) stores Fernet-encrypted credentials. The Gateway v2 runner maintains a persistent connection, routes messages to the right agent, and delivers responses back to the platform.

    Schedules can fire at cron intervals with per-schedule delivery targets. See [Communication gateways](/guides/communication-gateways).
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="What programming languages does OpenSail support?">
    The platform ships React/TypeScript bases, plus community bases for Next.js, Vite + FastAPI, Vite + Go, Django, Rails, Laravel, .NET, Flutter, Expo, and more. Agents can generate code in any language; containers run whatever the base specifies.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Can I import an existing project?">
    Yes. Options:

    * Git import: paste a GitHub/GitLab/Bitbucket URL
    * Base template: pick a pre-wired stack
    * Describe: let the agent scaffold the stack
    * Desktop: adopt any existing folder via symlink or marker file
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

## Troubleshooting

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="Preview not updating">
    Refresh the preview panel. Check the dev server container logs (`docker compose logs <container>` or `kubectl logs -n proj-<uuid> <pod>`). If hot reload is broken on mounted volumes, set `CHOKIDAR_USEPOLLING=true`.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Agent not responding">
    Verify `LITELLM_API_BASE` is reachable and `LITELLM_MASTER_KEY` is correct. Check the model selector shows valid entries. Look at the orchestrator logs for LiteLLM errors and per-user budget rejections.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Cannot reach studio.localhost (Docker)">
    Check Traefik is running (`docker compose ps`). On systems that do not auto-resolve `*.localhost`, add `127.0.0.1 studio.localhost` to your hosts file.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Container fails to start (Kubernetes)">
    Run `kubectl describe pod -n proj-<uuid>` and check events. Common causes: missing `K8S_DEVSERVER_IMAGE`, PVC still provisioning, image pull secret wrong. Verify the Volume Hub is healthy in `kube-system`.
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

## Getting help

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Docs" icon="book" href="https://docs.tesslate.com">
    Full documentation.
  </Card>

  <Card title="GitHub" icon="github" href="https://github.com/TesslateAI/opensail">
    Source and issue tracker.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Discord" icon="discord" href="https://discord.gg/qmrcHGNch7">
    Community support.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Email" icon="envelope" href="mailto:support@tesslate.com">
    Direct support.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>