> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.openmote.dev/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# How Roomote works

> Understand where work starts, how Roomote runs, and how results come back.

Roomote is designed to act like a shared teammate inside the workflow your team
already has. It is not an IDE, a local copilot, or a desktop app. It is a
reviewable cloud agent that is most at home in chat, where teammates can ask
questions, assign work, and review updates from the conversations they already
use.

Roomote also works from your source-control provider, Linear, and the web
dashboard, but a chat surface such as Slack is the primary day-to-day surface
for most teams.

## Shared engineering work

Most natural-language work starts as a general Roomote task. The recommended
first path is to mention Roomote in chat with a scoped ask. Use it for
implementation, debugging, investigation, small refactors, test fixes,
documentation updates, planning, and codebase questions.

Good handoffs include:

* the outcome you want
* the repository, environment, or thread context Roomote should use
* links to related issues, pull requests, logs, or screenshots
* any constraints, such as "do not change the API contract" or "keep this
  behind the existing feature flag"
* how you want the result returned, such as a plan, explanation, patch, or PR

## Work that starts itself

Some work starts from repository events instead of a manual prompt. For
example, Roomote can review pull requests, follow up on PR comments, or help
with merge-conflict resolution when the relevant automation is enabled. Admins
manage these in the web app under **Automations** — see
[Automations](/automations).

## Where work starts

| Surface       | How work starts                                            | Where updates appear                    |
| ------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------- |
| Slack         | Mention Roomote or reply in an active Roomote thread       | Slack thread and task view              |
| Teams         | Mention the bot in a channel, group chat, or personal chat | Teams thread and task view              |
| Telegram      | Mention the bot in a group chat or private chat            | Telegram chat and task view             |
| Web dashboard | Submit a prompt from **Home**                              | Task view in Roomote                    |
| Linear        | Start an agent session or mention Roomote on an issue      | Linear activity and task view           |
| GitHub        | Pull request events or `@`-mentions in PR comments         | GitHub comments, reviews, and task view |
| GitLab        | Repository or merge request follow-up when configured      | GitLab activity and task view           |
| Gitea         | Repository or pull request follow-up when configured       | Gitea activity and task view            |
| Azure DevOps  | Repository or pull request follow-up when configured       | Azure DevOps activity and task view     |

Chat is the recommended surface for the first task after setup because it makes
Roomote visible inside an existing team conversation. Use the dashboard when
you want to choose the environment directly, inspect task details, review
diffs, or continue with a richer task view.

## How Roomote stays reviewable

Roomote runs in an isolated sandbox and keeps the work visible. The task view
gives your team the transcript, logs, diffs, previews, artifacts, and task
metadata before anything ships.

For code changes, Roomote hands work back through normal delivery paths such
as a branch, pull request, or reviewable diff. For questions and planning, it
gives a clear answer or next step without pretending code was changed.

## Choosing an environment

In chat, Roomote can suggest the right environment and ask for confirmation when
needed. When you start from the dashboard, choose the environment yourself or
use **Auto** when you want Roomote to route the task. Linear can also suggest
an environment from issue context.

For more detail, see [Environments](/environments).