{
  "title": "Background agents",
  "description": "Keep a run going after the operator leaves the session.",
  "slug": "background-agents",
  "locale": "en",
  "seoTitle": "Background agents — Can My Agent Use",
  "socialTitle": "Background agents",
  "socialDescription": "Compare background execution by exact product surface.",
  "llmSummary": "Background agents continue running after the operator leaves the active session. Hosting, subscription, duration, and notification behavior are qualifiers.",
  "audience": "Engineers comparing chat, desktop, and CLI agent harnesses.",
  "contentKind": "feature",
  "status": "published",
  "tags": [
    "runtime"
  ],
  "updated": "2026-08-28T00:00:00.000Z",
  "published": "2026-08-28T00:00:00.000Z",
  "category": "runtime",
  "summary": "Keep a run going after the operator leaves the session.",
  "specLabel": "Common product term",
  "aliases": [],
  "capabilityKind": "atomic",
  "related": [],
  "relations": [],
  "highlight": true,
  "notes": [
    {
      "id": 1,
      "text": "Evidence checked 2026-08-28: OpenWork Desktop can connect to hosted OpenWork Cloud workers; the background-run claim is conditional on that remote worker and an active Cloud subscription."
    },
    {
      "id": 2,
      "text": "Evidence checked 2026-08-28: Grok Bot runs from a persistent cloud computer, continues when the desktop preview or operator laptop is closed, and can run scheduled routines in the background."
    },
    {
      "id": 3,
      "text": "Evidence checked 2026-08-28: Cursor Desktop can start Cloud Agents in isolated hosted VMs that do not require the local machine to remain connected."
    },
    {
      "id": 4,
      "text": "Evidence checked 2026-08-28: VS Code can hand a task to a cloud agent on GitHub infrastructure, after which the operator can close VS Code and return later to the pull request."
    },
    {
      "id": 5,
      "text": "Evidence checked 2026-08-28: Replit Agent supports plan-limited background tasks in isolated task threads, but the reviewed page does not explicitly promise continuation after the browser is closed."
    },
    {
      "id": 6,
      "text": "Evidence checked 2026-08-28: Warp can hand work to Oz cloud agents that run in the background on hosted or customer infrastructure."
    }
  ],
  "issues": [],
  "resources": [
    {
      "title": "Methodology",
      "href": "/methodology",
      "kind": "note"
    },
    {
      "id": "openwork-cloud-workers",
      "title": "OpenWork — Get started with OpenWork Cloud",
      "href": "https://openworklabs.com/docs/cloud/get-started",
      "kind": "docs",
      "publisher": "OpenWork",
      "evidenceType": "documented",
      "reviewedAt": "2026-08-28"
    },
    {
      "id": "xai-grok-bot-background",
      "title": "xAI — Grok Bot computer and apps",
      "href": "https://docs.x.ai/grok-bot/computer-and-apps",
      "kind": "docs",
      "publisher": "xAI",
      "evidenceType": "documented",
      "reviewedAt": "2026-08-28",
      "locator": "Watch computer work"
    },
    {
      "id": "cursor-cloud-background",
      "title": "Cursor — Cloud Agents",
      "href": "https://cursor.com/docs/cloud-agent",
      "kind": "docs",
      "publisher": "Cursor",
      "evidenceType": "documented",
      "reviewedAt": "2026-08-28",
      "locator": "Why use Cloud Agents and how to access"
    },
    {
      "id": "vscode-cloud-background",
      "title": "Microsoft — Agent sessions and where agents run",
      "href": "https://code.visualstudio.com/learn/foundations/agent-sessions-and-where-agents-run",
      "kind": "docs",
      "publisher": "Microsoft",
      "evidenceType": "documented",
      "reviewedAt": "2026-08-28",
      "locator": "Cloud agents"
    },
    {
      "id": "replit-background-tasks",
      "title": "Replit — Agent task system",
      "href": "https://docs.replit.com/core-concepts/agent/task-system",
      "kind": "docs",
      "publisher": "Replit",
      "evidenceType": "documented",
      "reviewedAt": "2026-08-28",
      "locator": "Background-task availability and task states"
    },
    {
      "id": "warp-cloud-background",
      "title": "Warp — Getting started with Warp and Oz",
      "href": "https://docs.warp.dev/",
      "kind": "docs",
      "publisher": "Warp",
      "evidenceType": "documented",
      "reviewedAt": "2026-08-28",
      "locator": "Oz cloud agents"
    }
  ],
  "support": [
    {
      "harness": "openwork-desktop",
      "versions": [
        {
          "track": "current",
          "status": "partial",
          "noteIds": [
            1
          ],
          "target": {
            "kind": "dated-documentation",
            "revision": "current OpenWork Cloud documentation",
            "observedAt": "2026-08-28"
          },
          "environmentProfile": "hosted-default",
          "qualifiers": [
            {
              "type": "plan",
              "value": "active OpenWork Cloud subscription required"
            },
            {
              "type": "runtime",
              "value": "work runs on a connected hosted worker rather than the local desktop process"
            }
          ],
          "evidence": [
            {
              "resourceId": "openwork-cloud-workers",
              "type": "documented",
              "observedAt": "2026-08-28"
            }
          ]
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "harness": "grok-bot-desktop",
      "versions": [
        {
          "track": "current",
          "status": "yes",
          "noteIds": [
            2
          ],
          "target": {
            "kind": "hosted-observation",
            "revision": "2026-08-28 Grok Bot desktop documentation observation",
            "observedAt": "2026-08-28"
          },
          "environmentProfile": "hosted-default",
          "qualifiers": [
            {
              "type": "runtime",
              "value": "work runs on an account-scoped hosted computer and can continue after the desktop preview or operator laptop is closed"
            },
            {
              "type": "plan",
              "value": "an eligible SuperGrok or Cursor plan is required"
            }
          ],
          "evidence": [
            {
              "resourceId": "xai-grok-bot-background",
              "type": "documented",
              "observedAt": "2026-08-28"
            }
          ]
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "harness": "cursor",
      "versions": [
        {
          "track": "current",
          "status": "partial",
          "noteIds": [
            3
          ],
          "target": {
            "kind": "dated-documentation",
            "revision": "current Cursor Cloud Agents documentation",
            "observedAt": "2026-08-28"
          },
          "environmentProfile": "hosted-default",
          "qualifiers": [
            {
              "type": "runtime",
              "value": "Cursor Desktop starts a separate Cloud Agent VM; the default local desktop agent is not itself detached"
            },
            {
              "type": "plan",
              "value": "a paid Cursor plan and connected source-control account are required"
            }
          ],
          "evidence": [
            {
              "resourceId": "cursor-cloud-background",
              "type": "documented",
              "observedAt": "2026-08-28"
            }
          ]
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "harness": "vscode-copilot",
      "versions": [
        {
          "track": "current",
          "status": "partial",
          "noteIds": [
            4
          ],
          "target": {
            "kind": "dated-documentation",
            "revision": "current VS Code cloud-agent documentation",
            "observedAt": "2026-08-28"
          },
          "environmentProfile": "hosted-default",
          "qualifiers": [
            {
              "type": "runtime",
              "value": "continuation after closing VS Code is supplied by a cloud session on GitHub infrastructure rather than the local Copilot process"
            },
            {
              "type": "policy",
              "value": "availability depends on eligible account, repository, and organization settings"
            }
          ],
          "evidence": [
            {
              "resourceId": "vscode-cloud-background",
              "type": "documented",
              "observedAt": "2026-08-28"
            }
          ]
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "harness": "replit-agent",
      "versions": [
        {
          "track": "current",
          "status": "partial",
          "noteIds": [
            5
          ],
          "target": {
            "kind": "dated-documentation",
            "revision": "current Replit Agent task-system documentation",
            "observedAt": "2026-08-28"
          },
          "environmentProfile": "hosted-default",
          "qualifiers": [
            {
              "type": "plan",
              "value": "Core supports one active background task and Pro supports up to ten"
            },
            {
              "type": "runtime",
              "value": "background task isolation and queuing are documented, but continuation after closing the web session is not explicitly stated"
            }
          ],
          "evidence": [
            {
              "resourceId": "replit-background-tasks",
              "type": "documented",
              "observedAt": "2026-08-28"
            }
          ]
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "harness": "warp",
      "versions": [
        {
          "track": "current",
          "status": "partial",
          "noteIds": [
            6
          ],
          "target": {
            "kind": "dated-documentation",
            "revision": "current Warp and Oz documentation",
            "observedAt": "2026-08-28"
          },
          "environmentProfile": "hosted-default",
          "qualifiers": [
            {
              "type": "runtime",
              "value": "background execution is provided by an Oz cloud agent on Warp-hosted or customer infrastructure rather than the default local Warp agent"
            }
          ],
          "evidence": [
            {
              "resourceId": "warp-cloud-background",
              "type": "documented",
              "observedAt": "2026-08-28"
            }
          ]
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "html": "/features/background-agents",
  "markdown": "/features/background-agents.md",
  "json": "/api/v1/features/background-agents.json",
  "body": "Keep a run going after the operator leaves the session.\n\nThe matrix below lists published **web**, **desktop**, and **CLI** surfaces. Unreviewed cells remain **unknown** until a dated note and public source support a more specific status.\n\nUse the Markdown and JSON twins if you are an agent reading this site."
}