Bring your own compute

Run Cua Spaces on computers you already have: this Mac, a Mac mini, a Linux box or VPS, or a VM in your own cloud account. Cua does not rent you a computer.

Cua Spaces runs on hardware you bring. You don't rent a computer from Cua. You add one you already have, and your agents and your other devices use it from there. This page shows four ways to do that. Pick the one that matches what you have.

You have	Go to
The Mac you are using now	This Mac
A Mac mini or another Mac you don't sit at	A Mac mini
A Linux machine, or a VPS you rent somewhere	A Linux box or VPS
A VM in your own cloud account	A VM in your cloud account

Every route ends the same way. The computer shows up in Computers in the app and in cua spaces ls. Nothing connects inward to it: the computer calls out to the cua.ai relay, so you don't open ports or set up a VPN.

This Mac#

The quickest start. Your Mac becomes your first computer.

Install Cua Spaces and sign in. Install has the steps, and the quickstart walks through the first run.
Open This computer, choose how to use it, and press Set up for access. Your other devices can now reach this Mac.

Prefer a terminal? Run:

cua host setup

macOS asks for two permissions, Screen Recording and Accessibility, so Cua Spaces can see and control the screen. Setup can't grant them for you. Open System Settings, Privacy & Security, and turn both on.

A Mac mini#

A Mac mini in a closet is a good place to run Spaces for your laptop and your agents. Set it up as a spare computer: it runs Spaces for you, and its own desktop and files stay private.

On the mini, in Terminal:

cua host setup --profile spare --name "Mac mini"

If you only reach the mini over ssh, install without a screen and sign in with a code instead. The first command installs. The second prints a web address and a short code. Open the address on any other device and enter the code.

curl -fsSL https://cua.ai/install.sh | sh -s -- -y --select spaces,host --no-onboarding

cua host setup --remote --profile spare --name "Mac mini"

A Mac mini needs someone signed in. Cua Spaces starts when you log in, not at the login window. For a mini with no screen, turn on automatic login in System Settings, Users & Groups, so it signs itself back in after a restart or a power cut. The first run also needs the Screen Recording and Accessibility permissions, granted once at the mini itself.

Then ask for Spaces on it from your laptop:

cua spaces create macos:26 --on "mac mini" --count 2

Spaces on a Mac need an Apple silicon Mac. One Mac runs at most two macOS Spaces at once, because that is Apple's license limit. Add a computer has the rest: limits, Tailscale without the relay and fixes for common errors.

A Linux box or VPS#

This works for a machine in your office or a small server you rent from any provider. You can do it over ssh, with no screen.

Before you start, make sure the machine can run Linux Spaces. They run in containers, so install Docker first. Spaces on a Linux box are Linux Spaces. A Mac or Windows Space needs a Mac or a Windows computer.

Connect to the machine with ssh.
Install Cua Spaces without questions:
```
curl -fsSL https://cua.ai/install.sh | sh -s -- -y --select spaces,host --no-onboarding
```
-y accepts the install without the checklist. --select spaces,host picks the Cua Spaces app and hosting. --no-onboarding skips the sign-in prompt, because the machine has no browser.
Set it up and sign in with a code:
```
cua host setup --remote
```
The command prints a web address and a short code. Open the address on your laptop or phone, sign in, and enter the code. The server keeps only its own token. It does not keep your account session.
Check it:
```
cua host status
```

The server now appears in Computers. Setup installs it as a background service, so it comes back after a restart.

If the server only runs Spaces and you don't want to share its own desktop, add --profile spare to the setup command.

Already on the Cua Spaces app? You can skip the code. Open Computers, press Add a computer, and run the install command it shows on the server. See Add a computer.

A VM in your cloud account#

Any cloud works the same way, because a cloud VM is a Linux box that someone else hosts. Create the VM yourself, in your account, then add it by hand.

There is no one-click setup for a cloud provider yet. You create the VM and run the steps below. Cua never gets access to your cloud account.

Create a VM in your cloud account. Ubuntu 24.04 is a safe choice. Give it enough disk and memory for the Spaces you plan to run. Allow ssh from your own address only.
Connect with ssh and install Docker.
Follow the steps in A Linux box or VPS: install, then cua host setup --remote.

You don't open any other ports. The VM connects outward to the relay, so your cloud firewall can stay closed to everything except ssh.

Because the VM is yours, so are its costs. A stopped VM is not reachable and shows Offline in your list. Start it again and it reconnects on its own.

To remove it, run cua host remove on the VM, then delete the VM in your cloud console. Removing a computer from Cua doesn't delete anything on it.

After you add a computer#

Create a Space on it. See Create a Space.
Let an agent use it. See Connect your agent.
Share it with a team. See Plans and Teams.
Pause or remove it. Run cua host stop to disconnect everyone, and cua host remove to take it out. See Check, pause or remove.

If a computer doesn't show up, run cua host status on it. It names the problem. Troubleshoot covers the rest.