Considerations

Before assigning work to Aru, confirm the folder, tools, and scope. Review the real file or service result, not only the explanation in the conversation.

Aru works on real project files

A project points to an actual folder on your computer. Edits and deletions affect that folder and can interact with other tasks and editors. To keep the source, say so and specify a separate output path. Use a worktree to isolate Git work.

Stopping and reverting have limits

Stopping a task does not undo completed file edits, commands, or external-service actions. Deleting a conversation does not undo them either.

Git revert is not limited to AI edits. It may also affect your own changes and untracked files. Review the scope in Review changes.

Approvals and external services

Full access may automatically approve eligible requests in the current task. Check files, commands, and connected services first. Organization policy and OS permissions still apply.

For actions such as creating events, sending email, submitting forms, or updating issues, review the target and content. Ask Aru to show you the action before execution when necessary. Available read and write operations follow the connected account and MCP tool.

Conversation and file retention

Side Chat is temporary, and automatic cleanup may delete old conversations. Save important results and decisions to project files. A generated file shown in a conversation is not necessarily saved locally; specify a path and confirm it.

Organizations and data scope

Organizations have separate runtimes, models, tools, and tasks. Switching organizations ends the previous runtime and connections, but it does not copy or isolate local files. Follow organization policy before reusing a local folder or sending files to an external service.

Source material may be processed by the selected model and connected tools. Review the retention, sharing, and model-use policies of the organization and service. Do not put passwords or tokens in ordinary chat.

Review AI output

AI output can contain factual, calculation, code, and formatting errors. Verify sources, formulas, changed files, and runtime results. Check document layout in the final app, and inspect image text, logos, details, and usage rights.

Availability and version differences

This manual covers Aru Desktop for macOS and Windows. Features vary by OS, app version, organization, and installed plugins. Use the app’s current model, MCP, skill, and plugin lists as the source of truth. See Updates and Troubleshooting when the screen differs.