--- title: "How it works | Kodros" description: "How Kodros works: your files on a server you own, a restore test you watch, then private AI one approved job at a time. You keep the hardware and files." url: "https://kodros.ai/how-it-works" --- # How it works. Server first, AI second. Your files go on hardware you own, a backup is proven with you watching, and then the assistant takes one approved job at a time. [Talk to us](https://kodros.ai/contact)[The one-week install](https://kodros.ai/install) ![A mason’s mallet and chisel resting on a freshly squared limestone cornerstone in a sunlit stone yard.](https://kodros.ai/assets/kodros/plates/cornerstone-1600.jpg) The foundation goes in first. ## Your data belongs to you. What you hold, you keep. Years of your history sit on servers run by a few large companies: mail, files, orders, messages. Accounts close and services shut down, and the record can go with them. Kodros puts the model, the app and the compute on a machine you own, in your building. When a job runs there, your questions and files are read on that machine. Accounts open in your name. If you stop working with us, you keep the hardware, the files and the memory. - ### The machine You buy it and keep it. It sits in your office. - ### The files and memory Copied onto your machine, backed up three ways, never held hostage. - ### The keys Admin access stays with a named person in your business. We never ask for a password. ### Take a copy of your history. Many people have a legal right to a copy of their data. In the European Union, Articles 15 and 20 of the GDPR cover access and portability. In California, the CCPA and CPRA give a right to know what a business holds. Your rights depend on where you live, and this page is not legal advice. Most large services offer an export. Tell us which ones your business uses and we will help you find the official export page. Never send us a password. [Ask about your data](https://kodros.ai/contact) ## How a setup fits together. Three parts, in a fixed order. - ### Your server An always-on computer in your office that holds the shared files and records, and runs the model. - ### Hermes Desktop The program you use to hand the server work. Open-source software from Nous Research under the MIT license; we install it, pin a tested version and pair it. - ### The Kodros app Windows and Linux on the desk; the iPhone app, a public TestFlight beta, for quick questions and approvals on the go. - ### Connectors Mail, calendar, files, chat, CRM and accounting, added one at a time, read-only first. ## The install week. Five days, one written record. - ### Day 1 Check the room, power and network. Confirm the list of where your data lives. - ### Day 2 Install the server software and Hermes Desktop, pinned to versions we tested. - ### Day 3 Copy your files in. Nothing is moved or deleted. Set up backups. - ### Day 4 Run the restore test while you watch. - ### Day 5 Pair your devices and try the first approved job. You get a handover record: what was installed, who owns each account and where the backup lives. You sign acceptance only after the restore test passes. The written quote governs the work. [The one-week install](https://kodros.ai/install) ## The restore test. A backup counts only after a restore. A backup counts only after a restore. The setup keeps three copies: the live copy on the server, a second on separate storage in the same building, and a third offline or locked against change for a set time. - ### You pick the file A real file you know, not one we choose. - ### We restore it Onto a spare computer, from the backup. - ### You compare Open it and check it against the original. We write down how long it took. If it fails, we fix the cause and run it again. You do not sign until it passes. ## A named person approves. It drafts. You decide. The assistant drafts. A person at your business approves every send, payment, public post and access change before it happens. If nobody answers, nothing goes out. Deleting stays with a person, in the tool. Pick a first job where a mistake is small and easy to spot: a reply to a common customer question, sorting the inbox, or last quarter’s invoices in one list. Stay on that one job until you trust it. [Security and approvals in detail](https://kodros.ai/legal#security) ### If something looks wrong, stop first. - ### Stop Decline any waiting approval. - ### Pause Ask your named contact to pause the assistant. If you cannot reach them, unplug the server’s network cable. Files are not harmed. - ### Keep everything Do not delete anything to fix it, and do not turn off the backup. - ### Write it down What you saw, when, and anything sent or nearly sent. ## Questions. Do I need the iPhone app? No. Hermes Desktop on your computer is the main way in. The iPhone app adds quick questions and approvals away from the desk. It is a public TestFlight beta, not on the App Store. Can a job leave my server? Only for reasons you allow: the local model cannot do the job well enough, it is too busy, it is down, or a named person sends it out. You choose which reasons are allowed, and you can allow none. Connectors such as email still reach their own provider. What do I keep if I leave? The hardware, the files and the memory. They are yours from day one, and the accounts are opened in your name. Who is it for? Owner-run businesses of about 5 to 50 people whose files, mail and records sit in several places. We do not take healthcare, legal or financial-advice clients for now. ## Start with one conversation. Tell us how many people would use it and the first job you want done. We reply with a written plan. [Ask for a sizing quote](https://kodros.ai/contact?source=sizing)[Download the app](https://kodros.ai/download)