# Today One page that answers "what's going on?" Ask a bot for your brief, answer everything that needs you, and see who's working, what runs later, what came back, and your latest threads. Canonical page: https://themachine.myapps.ai/docs/desktop/bots/today **Today** puts your whole day on one page, across every bot: - a **brief** from the bot you choose, in one click, - everything that **needs you**, which you can often answer right there, - which bots are **working now**, - what's scheduled **later today**, - what's already **done today**, - your **recent sessions**. Everything on the page links to where it lives, so it's a good place to start your morning. ![The Today page: Your brief at the top, then Needs you, Working now, Later today, Done today, and Recent sessions](/images/docs/desktop/today.webp) ## Open Today At the bottom of the sidebar, open **Tools → Today**. To leave, click the **Back** arrow at the top left. You go back to your chat. At the top you'll see a greeting and today's date, like *Good morning · Saturday, October 10*. The greeting follows the clock: | Time | Greeting | |---|---| | Midnight to 5am | **Working late** | | 5am to noon | **Good morning** | | Noon to 6pm | **Good afternoon** | | 6pm to midnight | **Good evening** | On a wide window the cards sit in two columns. On a narrow window they stack. ## Your brief The **Your brief** card asks a bot for *"What happened, what's on today, and what needs you, in a few lines."* ### Choose who gives the brief If you have more than one bot, pick one from the **Who gives the brief** menu. It starts on the bot you had open. Pick the bot that can see the most about your day, for example an assistant with Gmail and Google Calendar connected. ### Click Get my brief Machine Desktop opens that bot's chat and sends this message for you, in the thread you have open with it: > Give me my brief for today: what happened since yesterday, what's on today, > and what needs me. Keep it short. ### Read and follow up The bot replies like any other message. Ask follow-ups in the same thread, like *"Draft a reply to the second email"* or *"Move my 3pm to tomorrow."* > **A better brief** > A bot can only brief you on what it can see. Connect the apps your day lives > in (see [Connected apps](/docs/desktop/integrations/connected-apps)), and give > the bot goals in [Responsibilities](/docs/desktop/bots/responsibilities), like > **Prep my day**. Put lasting wishes, like *"Always start with anything from my > manager"*, in its [Soul](/docs/desktop/bots/soul). **Want the brief without clicking?** Set up a routine that sends it every weekday morning. See [Get a briefing every weekday](/docs/desktop/guides/daily-briefing). ## Needs you ![The Needs you inbox showing a routine whose last run failed](/images/docs/desktop/needs-you-inbox.webp) **Needs you** collects what's waiting on you across your bots. It has two groups: | Group | What's in it | What to do | |---|---|---| | **Approvals** | A bot asked permission before doing something, like running a command or sending an email, in the thread you currently have open with that bot. Each row shows what it wants to do, and the bot's name with a short detail. | Click **✓** (**Allow once**) or **⊘** (**Deny**) right there. Or click the row to open the thread and read the whole request first. | | **Routines that didn't run** | A scheduled routine whose last run **Failed**, with when it ran. | Click it to open that bot's **Run logs** in Automations and see what went wrong. | When nothing is waiting, you'll see *"Nothing needs you. Your bots are on it."* Good to know: - **Only the thread you have open.** For each bot, Needs you shows the approvals in the thread you have open with it. A request in one of its other threads waits in that thread, so open the thread to answer it. - **Allow once means once.** The next time the bot wants to do the same thing, it asks again. To change what a bot may do without asking, see [Approvals](/docs/desktop/models/approvals). - **Old requests drop off.** An approval more than a day old stops showing here. It's still in its thread. - **A failed routine stays until it runs again.** Opening the failed run doesn't clear it. It leaves the list once that routine runs again and doesn't fail, or a week after the failed run. The same list sits at the top of **Active Threads** in the sidebar, and its count shows on the Active Threads badge. See [Active Threads](/docs/desktop/bots/sidebar#active-threads). ## Working now Bots that are in the middle of a job right now, each marked **Working**. Click a bot to open its chat. When no bot is busy, you'll see *"Everyone's at rest."* ## Later today Routines that will run later today, in time order, with each one's time, name, and bot. Only active routines are listed; paused ones aren't. When nothing else is scheduled, you'll see *"Nothing else scheduled today."* To add or change routines, open **Tools → Automations**. See [Automations](/docs/desktop/automations/overview). ## Done today Routines that finished today, newest first, with a green tick. Up to eight are shown. Click one to open the thread with its results. Before any routine has finished today, you'll see *"No routine results yet today."* ## Recent sessions Your ten most recent threads across all your bots, newest first. Each shows the thread title, the bot, and when it last changed: a time for today, or a date for earlier days. Click one to open it. ## Troubleshooting | Problem | What to do | |---|---| | There's no **Who gives the brief** menu. | You have one bot, so it gives the brief. | | The brief is vague or says it can't see my email or calendar. | Connect those apps to that bot, then ask again. See [Connected apps](/docs/desktop/integrations/connected-apps). | | The brief landed in an old thread. | It goes to the thread you last had open with that bot. Start a new thread with the bot first if you'd like it on its own. | | A bot is asking permission but it isn't in **Needs you**. | The request is in a thread you don't have open with that bot. Open that thread and answer it there. | | A routine I expected isn't in **Later today**. | It may be paused, or its next run is tomorrow. Check it in **Tools → Automations**. | | A failed routine keeps showing. | Opening the run doesn't clear it. Fix what went wrong (see **Tools → Automations → Run logs**), then click **Run now** on the routine. Once a run doesn't fail, it leaves the list. Otherwise it drops off a week after the failed run. | ## Related - [Responsibilities](/docs/desktop/bots/responsibilities): give bots goals they look after without being asked. - [Automations](/docs/desktop/automations/overview): schedule work. - [The sidebar](/docs/desktop/bots/sidebar): Active Threads and the Tools menu.