# Devices

> Pair your own machine to an agent so it can work with local files and tools, instead of only what lives in the cloud.

A **device** is a computer of yours that an agent can reach. Pairing one is what lets an agent work with files and tools that exist on your machine rather than in a service you connected.

## Device versus workspace

Both give an agent somewhere to do work, and they are not interchangeable:

| | [Workspace](/docs/build/workspace/) | Device |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Where it runs | Endue's infrastructure | Your own machine |
| Who sets it up | Prepared automatically when work needs it | You pair it |
| Good for | Anything self-contained — checking out code, building a report | Files, tools, and networks only your machine can reach |

## Pairing

The Devices section in [Agent Builder](/docs/build/agent-builder/) lists the machines paired to this agent and their state: available, pairing requested, paired, or inactive. Pairing is initiated from the machine — the agent side is the list you see here, and revoking a pairing here cuts the agent off immediately.

<Aside type="note" title="Setup docs in progress">
  Pairing a device needs the desktop app or the CLI, and neither is generally
  available yet. Install and pairing instructions ship with them — see
  [Surfaces](/docs/get-started/surfaces/) for what each one does today.
</Aside>

## Limits

- A paired device is a door into your machine. Pair only machines you control, and revoke pairings you no longer use.
- Work on a device happens where the device is. If it is asleep or offline, the agent cannot reach it.
- Actions that write or execute are subject to the same [approval](/docs/work/approvals/) gate as everywhere else.
- Devices are paired per agent, not per account.

## Related

<CardGrid>
  <LinkCard
    title="Surfaces"
    href="/docs/get-started/surfaces/"
    description="The desktop app and CLI that make a machine pairable."
  />
  <LinkCard
    title="Workspace"
    href="/docs/build/workspace/"
    description="The cloud machine an agent gets without pairing anything."
  />
  <LinkCard
    title="Security and permissions"
    href="/docs/account/security/"
    description="What an agent can and cannot reach."
  />
</CardGrid>