FAQ

Frequently asked questions about Comis

Answers to the most common questions about running and using Comis.

General

What is Comis?

Comis is an open-source, self-hosted, security-first runtime for AI agents that learn and act across sessions. It starts work from schedules, messaging channels, APIs, or the web, keeps important run state outside the model’s prompt, applies configured access and cost rules, and records bounded evidence for later review. Controls apply only to paths that run through them.

Is Comis free?

Yes, Comis is fully open source under the Apache-2.0 license and free to use. There is no license fee, no usage cap, and no paid tier.

Model providers and connected services may charge separately. A local model can run without a hosted-provider API credential.

What AI providers does Comis support?

Comis supports:

• Anthropic (Claude models)
• OpenAI (GPT-4 and newer)
• Any OpenAI-compatible provider — this includes Ollama (for local models), Together AI, Groq, and many others

You can configure multiple providers and assign different models to different agents. See the Models page for details.

Do I need an API key?

You need a usable model, but not necessarily an API key. Choose a hosted provider credential, a supported OAuth login, or a running local provider such as Ollama. See Configuration.

Cost and Resources

How much does it cost to run?

Comis itself is free. Your costs come from AI provider API usage:

Provider cost depends on model, tokens, tool loops, media generation, and scheduled work. Comis cannot promise a per-message or per-execution price; inspect your provider billing and use Comis’s cost reports and budgets.

Comis includes token limits, graph budgets, circuit breakers, and opt-in spend ceilings. A configured spend ceiling can warn or refuse later model calls after recorded priced usage crosses the limit; it does not cancel a provider call that is already in progress. See Agent Safety for details.

What hardware do I need?

Use Linux for production or macOS for development. npm installations require Node.js 22.19.0 or newer, Python 3, and native build tools. Capacity depends heavily on browser/media features, local models, traffic, and data retention. See Requirements.

Can I run it on my laptop?

Yes. macOS and Linux are supported for development and personal use. Install Node.js 22.19.0 or newer, clone the repository, build, and start.

For always-on operation (agents responding 24/7), use a server or VPS so the agents keep running when your laptop is closed. See the Installation guide to get started.

Setup and Platforms

Which chat platforms are supported?

Comis supports 10 chat platforms:

• Telegram — full support including groups, inline keyboards, and media
• Discord — servers, DMs, threads, reactions, and embeds
• Slack — workspaces with Socket Mode or HTTP mode
• WhatsApp: via the Baileys WhatsApp Web client
• Signal — via signal-cli (self-hosted)
• iMessage — macOS only, via AppleScript integration
• LINE — via the LINE Messaging API
• IRC — any IRC network
• Email — via IMAP/SMTP (any email provider)
• Microsoft Teams — 1:1 chats, group chats, team channels/threads, Adaptive Cards

See the Channels overview for a detailed comparison of features and limitations across platforms.

Can I connect multiple platforms at once?

Yes. Comis connects to all your configured platforms simultaneously. You can have the same agent responding on Telegram, Discord, and Slack at the same time, or assign different agents to different platforms.

Agent routing controls which agent responds on which channel. You can route by platform, channel, or even specific users.

How do I update Comis?

Pull the latest code and rebuild:

git pull
pnpm install
pnpm build

Then restart the daemon:

pm2 restart comis

Or with systemd:

sudo systemctl restart comis

Your configuration and data are preserved across updates — only the application code changes.

Security and Privacy

Is my data private?

Comis stores its primary state locally, but data can leave the host through the model provider, chat channels, web/media tools, MCP servers, proxies, and optional observability integrations you configure. A local model alone does not make the whole deployment offline. Review each enabled integration and its data policy.

Can agents access my files?

The default tool-policy profile is full, so do not assume least privilege. Configure a narrower tool policy and review all allowed paths before exposing an agent to untrusted input.

Node.js permissions are optional and off by default. system.exec attempts a separate OS sandbox, but can fall back to ordinary execution when its provider is unavailable. MCP and in-process tools are outside that exec sandbox. See Security.

When security.permission.enableNodePermissions is enabled, the Node.js permission model also disables fd-based fs APIs (fsync, fchmod, fchown) in the daemon process itself — credential file writes become best-effort durability and trace permissions are best-effort. This is Linux-only and off by default. See Node Permissions — Production fd-API Disablement for details.

What if an agent goes rogue?

Comis has multiple safety layers to prevent runaway agents:

• Budget limits cap token usage and estimated cost per agent
• Circuit breakers automatically pause agents that hit error thresholds
• Tool policies restrict which tools each agent can use
• Approval workflows can require human approval when explicitly enabled

Approvals are disabled by default and the default tool policy is broad. Configure limits and permissions for your threat model; no control makes a highly privileged agent risk-free. See Agent Safety.

Related Pages

Troubleshooting

Solutions to common issues with exact error messages

Installation

Getting Comis installed and running

Channels

Connecting chat platforms

Agent Safety

Budget limits, circuit breakers, and cost controls