Working with AI in the browser

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What Helpwow is

Helpwow is an AI workspace that runs in your browser: chat, a code editor, live preview and several agents working together on one page. It works as soon as the page opens, with nothing to install; when you need real files and real commands, you can connect your own computer or server as a runtime environment.

What it is good for

• Web pages, small games and prototypes: the AI writes the code, the preview updates beside it, and you can point at an element on the page and ask for a change.
• Documents and data: read, reorganise and rewrite files, and sketch with the AI on a shared canvas.
• Work on your own machine: once a computer or server is connected, the AI reads and writes real files there and runs commands in a real terminal.

Install Helpwow windows to use the Helpwow workbench on your Windows desktop with real files and terminals in this computer’s workspace by default. Both editions use the same Laintas account; projects and files depend on the selected storage and do not sync just by signing in.

Get started

Quick start

1. 1Open helpwow.laintas.com and sign in or register from the user icon at the top right.
2. 2Choose a mode above the input: Chat for conversation without tools, Agent to inspect files or use tools, Engine to design and run multi-step workflows.
3. 3Describe the result you want — "make a pomodoro timer page", say. Files the AI creates appear in the file list, and the page opens in the editor’s preview.
4. 4Keep talking to refine it, or use "Select an element to edit" in the preview and point at a button to say what should change.

By default, files live in this browser. To let the AI work on real files on your computer, start with the Helpwow Kernel and Runtime environments.

Get started

Projects

A project links a main folder, keeping conversations, files and references together.

• In Projects, choose Local or Cloud, then New / Link. Create a folder or link an existing one; the folder name is the default project name.
• Open a project to see its history, file tree and linked resources. Conversations open in Create, files in the editor. Use Manage files to add or organize files.
• Local projects use browser folders or authorized computer folders. Cloud projects use Laintas Storage and ask you to mount it first. Sign in to the same account and mount storage on another device to open cloud projects.
• New conversations stay with the project in its storage. Link files, folders or conversations outside the main folder when needed. External computer resources need relinking on other devices.
• Copy to cloud and Copy to local create independent copies, preserving the source. Dependencies, build caches and Git data are excluded; cloud edits do not automatically change the original computer folder.
• Cloud saves check file versions. If another device has changed a file, the current conversation stays visible with a conflict message and can be saved as a new conversation. Cloud projects need a connection to read and save.
• Browse the project list during AI work. Finish or stop tasks and save editor changes before opening another project. Disconnected folders never redirect writes elsewhere.
• Remove from list only removes the entry; files and history remain. Opening a legacy project copies and verifies its history directory while preserving the original as recovery data.

Get started

The interface

The vertical rail on the left (or the right, if you change it in Settings) switches between workspace layouts:

• Ctrl + opens or closes the terminal panel at the bottom.
• The gear at the bottom of the rail opens Settings: General (appearance, language, layout), Plugins, Environments, Usage and Account.
• Settings → General → Layout can switch on the conversation page: history on the left and the AI chat on the right, for chat-only work.

Working with the AI

The three chat modes

Engine only creates the project control page for requirements, blueprint review, build/verify/repair progress, evidence and final deliverable links. A workflow Agent authors HWO/HWG and execution Agents build the actual product outside the control directory. After review, Generate and execute creates, compiles and runs the selected operation. Build-only operations stop after compile. Settings or process changes require regeneration. Saved workflows apply even with one worker; parallelize only independent work and avoid competing edits to one file.

Engine uses a lightweight control framework. Helpwow AI designs the project definition, layout and custom content; standard components handle requirements, plan review, actions, actual progress, delivery evidence and history. The UI and Agent share one definition. Edits invalidate old workflows and require new review/generation. Execution complete and reported acceptance are separate; missing evidence remains pending. Reload preserves saved results, with operations disconnected until Helpwow AI reconnects the control.

Approvals

An action that needs confirmation shows a "wants to run something" card; approve or reject it. While an agent is paused you can also type feedback to change its direction, or cancel it.

Refreshing does not interrupt

If you refresh or briefly lose the connection while the AI is replying, the reply keeps generating on the server and continues on screen when you reconnect, without being charged twice.

Working with the AI

Models, thinking and limits

The chat settings let you choose the model and the thinking level, and adjust the limits of a run.

Which models are in each tier, and their prices, are on the pricing page.

Working with the AI

Image and video generation

• Turn on "Image generation" and "Video generation" separately in the chat settings. When off, the AI will not call these tools.
• Generated images and videos are saved into the workspace; if saving fails, the link shown expires within a day, so save it soon.
• For video, describe what moves, not just the scene.

Files and preview

Where files live

Working with files

• Right-click a file or empty space to create, rename, download, zip, extract or delete; multi-select works.
• Upload files or whole folders, or drag them into the file list.
• "Download from URL" fetches straight into the workspace from your browser, without passing through Helpwow’s servers; the source must allow cross-origin (CORS) requests.
• When Laintas Storage is full, files stay readable and only uploads stop; each product includes free storage, and more can be added in Settings.

Files and preview

Editor and preview

• HTML files and React / TypeScript projects preview directly in the editor — the code is built in the browser, with no dev server needed.
• Switch the preview between desktop, tablet and phone sizes.
• "Select an element to edit": click an element in the preview and the chat picks it up, so you can say what should change.
• Errors in a previewed page are reported back to the AI so it can fix them.
• Spreadsheet files open in the sheet editor; Markdown switches between edit and preview.

Letting a previewed page keep real data

A page in the preview can write its data to files in the workspace through HelpwoBridge.data, instead of relying on mock data: the data is kept in a data/ folder next to the page, and the page can reach only that folder. The AI uses it when you ask for a small app that should remember things.

Files and preview

Source control

The Source Control panel gives you a local git in the browser: initialise a repository, see changes, stage and commit. Set a commit name and email before the first commit. It is a local repository and pushes nowhere by itself; to sync with GitHub, use GitHub cloud storage or real git inside a connected runtime environment.

Runtime environments

Helpwow windows desktop edition

Helpwow windows is the Windows desktop edition of Helpwow, formerly laintas-Helpwo-cli-for-windows. It uses the Helpwow workbench and conversation interface, with real files and terminals in this computer’s workspace by default.

Choose how to work

Install and get started

1. 1Download from the Helpwow windows download page or Settings → Environments in the web app. Requires Windows 10/11 (64-bit) and WebView2; the installer can download WebView2. WSL is not needed.
2. 2Run the installer without administrator rights. Open the desktop app and follow the prompt to sign in to Laintas in your default browser.
3. 3The default workspace is HelpwoWorkspace in your user profile; existing installations keep their workspace. Change it explicitly under Settings → Environments. Open Folder in the file list links an external folder.
4. 4Choose Chat, Agent or Engine as on the web, then chat, edit files and use previews. Local commands run in this computer’s workspace.

Your account, balance and membership allowance work across Laintas products. Local files stay on this computer; use mounted cloud storage or explicitly copy a project to work across devices. The download page lists the version, size and SHA-256 link. For desktop problems, run helpwo selftest in the terminal to check the installation and helpwo logs to view diagnostics.

Runtime environments

What the Helpwow Kernel does

The Helpwow Kernel is a companion program that runs on your Windows or Linux computer, including a server. It connects that machine to Helpwow in your browser as a selectable runtime environment; you still use the Helpwow page and AI chat in your browser.

What it enables

• Read and write real files in the folder selected on that machine, from the file list and editor; the AI works with those same files.
• Run real commands on that machine and open interactive terminals. Commands proposed by the AI still wait for approval when prompted.
• On Windows, share the desktop, inspect windows and control other applications with the mouse and keyboard; these desktop capabilities are not limited to the selected folder.

After installing and authorising it, select the machine under Settings → Environments. Files, commands and terminals then switch to that machine together. Close the Kernel on the machine to take it offline; see Connecting your own computer for setup.

Runtime environments

Connecting your own computer

A runtime environment binds three things together: a filesystem, a command executor and terminals. The default is the browser sandbox; once a computer or server is connected, switch to it under Settings → Environments and all three move together — from then on the AI reads and writes files on that machine and runs commands there.

Install and connect the Helpwow Kernel

Download it from Settings → Environments. Install and run it on the machine you want to connect, then authorise it in the browser.

Share a Laintas CLI session

To share a Laintas CLI session on the same machine, first run the Helpwow Kernel, then type /helpwo in the CLI. The session appears in Helpwow’s terminal list under that machine. The CLI connects through the local Kernel and cannot replace it.

Security and privacy

• The kernel opens no port on your computer. File operations stay within the folder you choose; Windows desktop sharing and control extend beyond that folder.
• File contents and command output travel peer-to-peer between this page and that machine; they do not pass through Helpwow’s servers and never fall back to relaying through them.
• "Unmount" only stops Helpwow browsing that machine; the program there keeps running and its files are untouched.

Runtime environments

Terminal

The terminal panel (Ctrl + ) has two kinds of terminal:

Closing a sub-terminal closes it on the CLI side as well; "Disconnect host" only unlinks it from Helpwow, and the CLI process keeps running.

Customise

System prompts

Each chat mode has an editable prompt file. Turn on "Show Hidden Files" in the file list to see them:

• Everything in these files is yours to edit. Product rules — current capabilities, safety, output style — are appended automatically when a request is sent, not kept in these files, so your edits never leave you behind on updates.
• Updates never overwrite your existing prompt files; new defaults reach new users only.

Customise

Custom commands

Create a file ending in .cli.js at the workspace root (for example mycommands.cli.js) and register commands with register(); once saved, they are available in the local terminal.

register('count', 'Count files in current directory', async function (args, input, ctx) {
  const dirId = store.getState().cliWorkingDirId;
  const children = await db.userFiles.where({ parentId: dirId }).toArray();
  const files = children.filter(c => c.type === 'file').length;
  return { success: true, msg: files + ' file(s)' };
});

The handler receives the argument array, the raw input and ctx (with signal and executeCommand for calling built-in commands), and returns { success, msg }. db, store, events and agentMgr are available inside the file.

Customise

Skills

Skills are guides the AI loads when it needs them. In the local terminal: skills lists installed skills, skill-install {...} installs one from JSON, and skill-remove <name> removes one. Bundled skills cover code review, explaining code, refactoring suggestions, writing tests and debugging.

Customise

Context budget

"Budget" in the chat settings shows how each request’s context was allotted: which blocks were sent as they are, which were compressed, and what was left out. "Open budget page" opens the hidden file .budget.html in the preview; drag its dividers or adjust the shares and press Apply to use them from the next turn. "Restore defaults" removes every custom setting.

Plugins

What plugins are

Plugins are add-ons that run in your browser, separate from Helpwow itself: they can be installed, disabled and removed without affecting the app or your files.

• Browse official and community plugins under Settings → Plugins → Market. Review the version, tools and AI instructions before installing, or import a local ZIP with a manifest at its root.
• Installed packages and enabled state stay in this browser. Updates keep disabled plugins off and restore the old package on failure. Publishing is a separate, explicit action that uploads a public package.
• Plugins run only while the Helpwow page is open and stop when it closes; their AI tools and interfaces run in sandboxes and cannot reach your Helpwow sign-in.
• A plugin can declare tools for the AI. Without ai.triggers, the model may not reach for it on its own, and you have to name it.
• Disabling a plugin unloads its tools and panel but keeps the package, so it can be re-enabled any time; removing one leaves your files alone.

Plugins

Official plugin: Canvas

The canvas comes from the official plugin "Helpwow Canvas", not from Helpwow itself. It is provided by default and can be disabled or removed under Settings → Plugins; when it is off, the Canvas layout disappears from the rail.

• The canvas is an infinite board shared by you and the AI, saved in the workspace as .excalidraw files.
• Bring PDFs, images and text onto it by dropping them or picking them from the workspace; a PDF without a text layer is run through OCR.
• When the AI changes the board it tells you how many items changed; show, keep or undo them.
• If the plugin is removed, the board files stay safe in the workspace and editing resumes once it is reinstalled.

Account

Usage and billing

Settings → Usage shows your balance, membership, daily usage over 7, 30 or 90 days (tokens, spend, calls), the price of each model tier and allowance add-ons.

Top-ups, memberships and refunds are covered in the account and billing documentation.

Account

Where your data is

See the privacy notice for details.