Step 2: Files, the browser, and memory

You finished the first ten minutes, so the web page is open and the agent is still inside its own Linux container. The steps below are the same on Windows and on a Mac.

These steps were checked on 14 November 2026. If the agent asks to turn on Host access, click Stop, the same as in Step 1.

Leave Host access off

Host access starts off, and it can stay off. Leave it off for this whole step, so that everything you make here stays inside the container.

If you turn Host access on later, you will see a folder control. It only picks the folder where the agent starts working, and it does not keep commands inside that folder, so a command can still reach other files on your computer.

Do not attach your whole home folder unless you understand the risk, and leave your Documents folder out.

What you should see Host access still off, the same as when you finished the first ten minutes.

Make a text file and a spreadsheet

Your files go in the workspace, inside the container. On your own computer, that folder is ~/agent-zero/<instance>/usr, where ~ is your user folder on Windows or your home folder on a Mac, and <instance> is the name of this Agent Zero. The container sees the same folder as /a0/usr, and your Documents folder stays where it is.

Ask for the files in the chat. You can paste this:

Make two files in the workspace. First, a text file named shopping-notes.txt with three grocery items. Second, a spreadsheet with those same items and a price column. Keep both files in this Linux workspace.

The container comes with LibreOffice, where Writer is for documents, Calc is for spreadsheets, and Impress is for slides. Their usual file types are ODT, ODS, and ODP, so ask for DOCX, XLSX, or PPTX only when you need Microsoft Office to open the file.

On the Desktop, the New menu can make a Markdown file, a Writer file, a Spreadsheet, or a Presentation, and a file manager on the Desktop opens Workdir, Projects, Skills, Agents, or Downloads.

The web page also has a file browser that can upload, download, work with folders, rename, and delete, but this guide could not confirm which button opens it.

You may see a sample prompt that opens Blender. This guide could not confirm that Blender is installed, so use LibreOffice for this step.

What you should see the chat says both files are in the workspace. You can open the spreadsheet in LibreOffice Calc after you click the Desktop icon, and your Documents folder is unchanged.

Compare two products

In Step 1 you saved one short comparison, and this time you will compare two products and keep the notes in the workspace.

The container has its own browser, which can open pages, click, type, and take screenshots. It has its own area of the web page, separate from any browser you open on the Desktop.

That browser area has an Annotate mode, where you click something on the page, such as a price or a button, and send a comment about it into the chat. This guide could not confirm which button turns on Annotate mode.

Paste this, and change the two products if you want:

Use the browser to open two product pages, one for a 16 GB USB drive and one for a 32 GB USB drive. Compare the price and one difference that matters. Save the notes as usb-compare.txt in the workspace. Do not sign in. Do not buy anything.

If a price is hard to point at, use Annotate mode: click that spot and send a short comment such as "use the price next to this."

What you should see the browser opens both product pages, and the chat gives you a short comparison. The file usb-compare.txt is in the workspace with those notes.

Remember a preference

Agent Zero can remember facts, solutions, preferences, and things you import. A memory dashboard shows four areas, called main, fragments, solutions, and skills, and you can search, edit, and delete entries there. This guide could not confirm which button opens the dashboard, so look for those four area names.

Each project keeps its own memory, separate from the global memory. The part that files and searches memories runs on your computer's CPU by default, which lets the agent remember a preference the next time you chat.

Tell it one preference:

Remember that I want prices in dollars and answers in short sentences.

What you should see a later reply in this chat uses short sentences and dollar prices. In the memory dashboard, a search for that preference finds an entry you can edit or delete, although this guide could not confirm which of the four areas it lands in.

When the spreadsheet, the product notes, and the preference are in place, continue to guide/04.