Run Code, the cloud computer and your files

Which of the two ways to run code to use, where each one works, and how to get files in and out, with all the size limits in one place.

Manas has two ways to run a program for you: Run Code and the cloud computer. They sound alike but are built for different jobs. This page explains the difference, where each one works, and how files get in and out.

The difference in one line

Run Code is a quick, closed-off space that belongs to one chat. The model writes a short program, runs it on your file and gives you the result. Nothing is kept after the run, and it has no internet.
The cloud computer is your own computer in the cloud, kept between chats. It has Chrome and the internet, a folder of files, and a command line where the agent can run Python and other tools, install more, and run long jobs.

Run Code compared with the cloud computer. Run Code is a quick, closed-off space for one chat: no internet, each run starts fresh, nothing can be installed, short jobs only, and results come back as download links in the chat. You switch it on with Run Code, or use an agent that has it. The cloud computer is your own computer that is kept: it has the internet and Chrome, files stay on its disk of about 10 GB, tools it installs stay, a command runs up to 10 minutes and background jobs up to 4 hours, and results go to the Files panel or your Google Drive. You use it through the Computer agent. — The two ways to run code, side by side.

Side by side

	Run Code	Cloud computer
What it is for	Totals, clean-ups, charts and turning data into Excel, Word or PDF, from a file you attach	Websites, big files, video and audio, jobs that take a long time, work on your Google Drive files
Internet	✗ None. It can't open links or download anything	✓ Yes, the public internet, with a Chrome browser that stays signed in. Not Kapiva's internal systems
Files kept	Each run starts fresh. Files it makes are copied into the chat, so you can still open them later	Yes. Files stay on the computer (about 10 GB of space) until you delete them
How long a run can take	Short jobs	Up to 10 minutes for one command. Longer work runs in the background for up to 4 hours
Can it install tools?	No. It has Python, JavaScript and shell with common data, chart, Excel, Word and PDF tools	Yes, and what it installs stays. Python, ffmpeg, yt-dlp, ImageMagick, pandoc and git are ready
How you start it	Switch on Run Code in the Tools menu, or use an agent whose owner turned on Run Code (the Manas agent has it)	Use the Computer agent, or switch on Cloud Computer under MCP Servers in any chat
Where results appear	In the reply: a chart, a table, or a file to open or download	In the Files panel under the live view, or saved to your Google Drive

When to use Run Code and when to use the cloud computer

A decision guide. Does the job need the internet, a website or signing in? Then use the cloud computer. Is the file big, or must the job run a long time? Cloud computer. Do you need files kept for later chats, or tools like ffmpeg or yt-dlp? Cloud computer. Otherwise, for a quick total, chart or Excel file from data you attach, use Run Code. Below: in a chat with a model, you choose by switching Run Code on, and the cloud computer only comes with the Computer agent. In an agent, the model picks from the tools its owner gave it, from your wording. Say use Run Code or use the cloud computer to steer it. — Ask yourself these questions in order.

A simple guide

Go down the list. The first "yes" decides.

Does it need the internet, a website or signing in to a site? Use the cloud computer.
Is the file big (over 10 MB in Slack), or will the job take a long time? Use the cloud computer.
Do you want the files kept for later chats, or does it need tools like ffmpeg (video and audio) or yt-dlp (video downloads)? Use the cloud computer.
Otherwise, for a quick total, chart, clean-up or Excel, Word or PDF file from data you attach, use Run Code.

Examples for Run Code:

"Total the Amount column by month and draw a bar chart."
"Remove duplicate rows and give me the cleaned file as Excel."
"Turn this CSV into a one-page PDF report."

Examples for the cloud computer:

"Open kapiva.in and list the products on the homepage with prices."
"Download this YouTube video and cut the first 30 seconds into a clip."
"Find the Diwali brief in my Drive and turn it into a PDF."
"Convert all 40 videos in this folder to MP4." (a long background job)

If both are switched on, which does the model use?

In a chat with a model, you decide what is switched on: Run Code in the Tools menu, Cloud Computer under MCP Servers, or both. If both are on, the model picks from what you ask.
In an agent, the model picks from the tools the agent's owner gave it, following the agent's instructions. The Manas agent has Run Code but not the cloud computer. The Computer agent has the cloud computer but not Run Code. So with these two, the agent you pick decides.
In an agent with both, there is no fixed rule either. The model decides from what you ask.

For work that needs signing in to sites, use the Computer agent. Its instructions tell it to stop and hand over to you for passwords, one-time codes and card numbers. A plain chat with Cloud Computer switched on doesn't have those instructions.

To steer it, say so in your message: "use Run Code" or "use the cloud computer".

The MCP Servers list under the message box, showing Cloud Computer among the tools you can switch on in a chat — **Cloud Computer** in the chat's tool list, under the message box.

A Run Code answer with a chart, an Excel file and the script it ran, with the file preview open — A Run Code answer: the results come back in the chat.

The cloud computer's Files panel open on the This chat tab, listing files with their sizes — On the cloud computer, results are in the **Files** panel.

Where each one works

	Run Code	Cloud computer
Web chat with a model	✓ Switch on Run Code in the Tools menu	✓ Switch on Cloud Computer under MCP Servers. For sign-ins, the Computer agent is safer
Web chat with an agent	✓ Only if the agent's owner turned it on. The Manas agent has it	✓ The Computer agent
Slack DM with Manas	✓ The Manas agent can run code for you. Slack shows a card while it works	✓ As you, on your own computer. Start a message with `+computer`, or just ask Manas and it hands the job to the Computer agent. To watch, press Manas web ↗ and ask "Show me the computer"
Slack channel	✓ The Manas agent can run code there too	✗ A channel has no computer. Ask in a DM with Manas instead

Two things to know about the cloud computer in Slack:

Each Slack message gets its own chat folder on the computer, because every Slack question starts a fresh chat. To use a file from an earlier message, name it ("use the clip you made before") or find it under All files.
A file it makes comes back into the thread, with Save to my Drive, if it is 100 MB or less. A bigger file stays a link; ask Manas to save it to your Drive instead.

Files

In a web chat

Attach files with the paperclip. You choose how each file is sent:

The option for the model itself: for images and PDFs, sent as they are.
Upload as Text: Manas sends only the text. For Word and Excel files, and PDFs with ChatGPT.
The option for code: hands the file to Run Code and switches Run Code on.

Images can be up to 5 MB each and PDFs up to 10 MB. All the files in a chat are sent again with every message, so a chat with many big files can hit a size limit. Files are kept in Kapiva's own private cloud storage, and their links keep working: Manas renews them for you. See Attach files.

Into and out of Run Code

Use the paperclip's option for code. Run Code can only work on files attached to the chat; it can't fetch a link. Anything it makes comes back in the reply to open or download, and stays with the chat. If a file says "Error downloading file", ask it to run the code again.

Into and out of the cloud computer

There is no upload button. Put your file in Google Drive first, then click Files → Drive → Import, or ask "use the brief in my Drive". To get files out:

⋯ → Save to Drive puts a copy in a Manas folder in your My Drive.
⋯ → Copy link gives a download link for your laptop. It works for 5 minutes and for that file only.

Files up to about 2 GB can move between the computer and your Drive. See Files and Google Drive.

In Slack

In: up to 5 files per question, 10 MB each. Manas reads up to 50,000 characters of text from them. You can also paste Google Drive links; Manas reads them as you, read-only.
Out: up to 5 files per answer, 100 MB each, attached to the thread with Save to my Drive. Larger ones stay a link.

See Files and artifacts.

Limits at a glance

	Web chat	Run Code	Cloud computer	Slack
Files in	Images 5 MB each, PDFs 10 MB	Files you attach with the option for code	From Google Drive, up to about 2 GB	5 files per question, 10 MB each
Files out	In the chat	In the reply, to open or download	Save to Drive (up to about 2 GB) or a 5-minute Copy link	5 files per answer, 100 MB each
Space	Kapiva's private storage	Nothing kept between runs	About 10 GB	—
Run time	—	Short jobs	10 minutes a command, 4 hours in the background	30 minutes for one answer

I have a big file

Over 10 MB in Slack. Put it in Google Drive and paste the link, or use the cloud computer on the web and import it from Drive.
A large spreadsheet for totals or charts. Try Run Code first. If the chat gets slow or hits a size limit, start a new chat, or put the file in Drive and ask the Computer agent.
A video, a large PDF or a folder of files. Put it in Google Drive and use the cloud computer. Save the results back to Drive.
A big file the cloud computer made. Save it to Drive. In Slack, files over 100 MB stay a link.

Run Code, the cloud computer and your files

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