# Work with an agent

Prompt an agent in Design, pick its model and thinking level, attach pictures, watch it build board by board, approve what it asks, and keep or undo what it changed.

Canonical page: https://themachine.myapps.ai/docs/desktop/design/design-with-an-agent

The box at the bottom of the canvas is a chat with an AI agent that can see
and edit your design. It edits the same files you do, so what it builds is
real, editable layers, not a picture.

## Send a request

Type what you want and press **Enter** (**Shift+Enter** starts a new line).
Good requests say what the screen is for and where it goes:

- *"Add an iOS sign-in screen next to the other iOS boards, in the same style."*
- *"Make the hero headline bigger and give the buttons more room."*
- *"Build a pricing page for the web, three plans, the middle one highlighted."*

**Point at what you mean.** Select a layer or an artboard first and its name
appears as a chip in the box, so the agent knows exactly what *"make this
bigger"* means. Click the chip's **×** to leave it out. Right-click anything
and choose **Ask the agent about this** to do the same.

**Show it.** Click **+** (**Attach images**), or paste or drop pictures onto
the box: up to 6 PNG, JPEG, WebP or GIF images, 5 MB each. A screenshot of an
app you like, a sketch, or a photo of a whiteboard all work.

## Pick the model and how hard it thinks

![The model menu searched for Haiku: the same model offered by Machine, Machine · OpenCode, your Cursor plan and your Claude plan](/images/docs/desktop/design-model-menu.webp)

Click the model at the bottom right to pick another. The menu groups models
by where they run: **Machine**, **Machine · Codex** and **Machine · OpenCode**
(Machine's own models, paid with your credits), and your own Claude, ChatGPT
or Cursor plan if you've connected one in [Machine Code](/docs/code/models).
Type to search. **Default** marks each group's own default model.

Next to it, the thinking level (for example **Medium**) sets how long the
model thinks before it answers. More thinking is slower and costs more, but
does better on whole pages and tricky layouts.

![The thinking menu: Off, Low, Medium, High, Extra High, Max and Ultra Code](/images/docs/desktop/design-thinking-menu.webp)

The levels on offer depend on the model. Changing the model or the thinking
level after a chat has started begins a **new chat**.

To change what every new chat starts with, see
[Settings](/docs/desktop/design/settings#chats).

## Auto: let it work without asking

With **Auto** off (the default), the agent edits the design's files freely
but asks before anything else: running a command, downloading from the web,
or using a tool. Click **Auto** to turn it on and the agent works without
stopping to ask. Questions and plans still come to you. (Auto shows only
when the model's engine supports it.)

## Watch it build

While the agent works, the chat lists each step in plain words: *Looked over
the boards*, *Looked at iOS · Saved*, *Wrote ios-signin.json*. The line
under the steps says what it's doing now and for how long.

![A chat building two boards: its steps, and a card saying Building 0 of 2 boards with a chip for each](/images/docs/desktop/design-chat-working.webp)

When a request touches two or more artboards, a card shows **Building X of
Y boards**, with a chip for each. Click a chip to jump to that board. On the
canvas, a board being worked on glows and says **Building…**, and boards
still waiting are dimmed and marked **Up next**.

If nothing changes for a minute, a card asks whether to wait, **Nudge** the
agent to carry on, or **Stop** it. **Nudge** stops the turn and asks the
agent to keep going, one board at a time.

## Keep or undo what it changed

When the agent finishes, a card lists every artboard it added, edited or
removed:

![The finished chat: the agent's summary, then a card listing two new artboards with Keep and Undo all](/images/docs/desktop/design-chat-done.webp)

- **Show** jumps to that artboard.
- **Keep** accepts the changes.
- **Undo all** takes back what this turn changed, in one step. Anything you or
  a later turn changed on other artboards stays. If one of this turn's artboards
  (or the theme) was changed again since, nothing is undone and the chat says
  which; undo those later changes first with **Ctrl+Z** (**⌘Z** on Mac), or
  keep this turn.

Changed boards are marked **New** on the canvas until you keep or undo them.
You can also undo the agent's work with **Ctrl+Z** (**⌘Z** on Mac), like any
edit.

If a board the agent changed doesn't load, a red line in the chat says so
and offers **Fix it**, which asks the agent to repair it.

## Approve what it asks

When the agent wants to do something beyond editing the design, a card asks
you first:

![An approval card: Download from the web? with Allow once, Always allow and Deny](/images/docs/desktop/design-chat-approval.webp)

| Button | What it does |
|---|---|
| **Allow once** | Lets it do this one thing. |
| **Always allow** | Allows this kind of request from now on, the same as **Always allow** in Machine Code. Only some requests offer it. |
| **Deny** | Says no. The agent is told and carries on another way. |

**Show command** reveals exactly what it wants to run. Answered cards fold
into one line with your answer, such as *Allow once · Download from the web*.
Click it to see the details again.

The agent may also ask you a **question** (pick an option, or type your own
answer and **Submit**), or show you a **plan** to **Approve plan** or **Keep
planning** before it starts. These always wait for you, even with Auto on,
and stay in the chat marked with your answer.

Looking at the canvas never needs your OK: agents can always see your boards.

## Pictures in replies

When an agent makes or finds a picture, it shows under the reply with two
buttons:

- **Add to board** puts the picture on the selected artboard (or the first one).
- **Recreate as UI** makes a new artboard and asks the agent to rebuild the
  picture as real, editable layers. Tall pictures get a phone-sized board
  (390 × 844), anything else a desktop one (1440 × 900).

## Each artboard keeps its chat

A chat belongs to the artboards it built or changed. Click one of those
artboards later and its conversation comes back, so you can carry on where
you left off. Click a board with no chat and the next message starts a new
one.

At the top of an open chat:

- **Open in Machine Code** carries the chat into Code. See [Design and Machine Code](/docs/desktop/design/machine-code).
- **New chat** starts fresh.
- **Collapse** folds the chat down to the box. **Chat** opens it again.

The plug chip shows which Machine project the agent runs in. Its connected
apps work here too.

## When it's done

If Machine Desktop isn't in front when the agent finishes, you get a
notification: **Design is ready**, or **Design stopped** if something went
wrong. (Only if you've already allowed Machine's notifications.)

## What agents know

Agents in Design follow a built-in guide. They:

- build one board at a time, so you see progress;
- look at each finished board as it actually renders, and fix text that's cut
  off, things that stick out, and pictures that didn't load;
- know the current iPhone (iOS 26, Liquid Glass) and Android (Material 3
  Expressive) styles, sizes and fonts, and use them when you ask for an iOS
  or Android screen;
- draw icons themselves, and save pictures they make in `design/assets`;
- never take screenshots of your screen.