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What you need to run Archie
Everything your agent needs to answer, including a computer that stays on.
This guide is also in Archie: press Resources in the sidebar, then Guides. Where a step says this computer, it means the computer running Archie.
On this page
What you need#
- A Mac or Windows computer that stays on and plugged in. Your agent answers only while it is awake; the guide "Your agent stopped replying" shows how to stop it sleeping.
- An Otian account and a plan, signed in through a browser window: $30 a month or $299 a year, or $59 a month or $599 a year with the AI included (then skip the next item). Switch or stop any time. New accounts start on free credits. That account is the only one on our side, and it holds your email address and which plan you're on. Never a conversation we can read.
- An AI account with a key, from a company in the guide Picking your AI account. Your agent thinks with it, and you pay that company directly. With the free credits you need none on your first day. Groq is very cheap after that, but needs a card.
- Internet on that computer: every reply is a round trip to the AI company. A cable from your router is steadier than Wi-Fi.
- Optional: a chat app (Telegram, Discord, Slack, or Matrix; on a Mac, iMessage needs no account), to reach you on your phone. Without one, your agent answers in Archie's Chat tab.
When your agent can answer#
Your agent runs on this computer, inside Archie. It answers only while the computer is awake, Archie is running, and the agent is started. Closing Archie’s window is fine; quitting Archie stops it. Nothing is lost while it is asleep.
| Your computer | Archie | Does your agent answer? |
|---|---|---|
| Awake | Open, agent started | yes |
| Awake | Open, agent stopped | no |
| Awake | Closed | no |
| Asleep | Open, agent started | no |
| Shut down | Not running | no |
What you don’t need#
- Any coding, or a terminal. Chat apps connect by pasting or scanning a code.
- A server, or a cloud account of any kind.
- A second computer, as long as yours can stay on.
- Claude Pro or ChatGPT Plus. Neither includes the key Archie asks for.
Checking that everything works#
On your agent's Setup tab, the AI account row names your provider and the top button reads Switch off. Send a message in the Chat tab and an answer comes back.
A step that no longer matches your screen? The other company may have changed its site since we last checked. Tell us which step and we will fix the guide in Archie and here.