# Frequently asked questions

> Choose between the local Oyster trial, the Shiitake terminal agent and hosted Fungi. Understand accounts, model costs, files and permissions before starting.

## What is Fungi?

Fungi brings Agents, Computers and Apps into a shared workspace. Grove is an App
for talking to Agents. Inkcap edits files on a Computer; Shed opens its
terminal. A Computer gives an Agent somewhere to keep files and run commands. An
Agent can also work without a Computer when you only need a conversation.

[Meet the parts](/ecosystem) or [try the workspace locally](/oyster-quickstart).

## Which way should I start?

| You want to…                                        | Start here                                                           |
| --------------------------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Open the workspace and its Apps on your own machine | [Try Oyster](/oyster-quickstart)                                     |
| Use a coding agent in your terminal                 | [Install Shiitake with Spore](/install)                              |
| Run your own deployed workspace                     | [Deploy Oyster to Cloudflare](/guides/run-your-own-oyster#deploy-it) |
| Have Fungi host the workspace                       | [Check hosted signup status](/quickstart)                            |

Hosted signup is not open yet. You can use the local trial or terminal without
waiting for an invite.

## Is the local trial free?

Starting the Oyster trial does not require an account or payment. You need Node
24 or newer and Git. Connecting a model is a separate step: its provider may
charge for usage or require a subscription. Deploying to your own Cloudflare
account also uses that account's resources.

Hosted Fungi has no general free tier. Hosted Agents and Computers need Team
funding, even when you bring your own model key. Read
[Billing and credit](/account/billing) before choosing hosted use.

## Are Oyster, Shiitake and Spore the same thing?

Oyster runs your own workspace and Apps. Shiitake is the Agent. Spore installs
the `fungi` command that runs Shiitake in your terminal. Installing Spore does
not start an Oyster workspace, and trying Oyster does not require a global Spore
installation.

## Does the trial include a Computer?

Yes. The trial starts a local Computer and opens the desktop with Hello. Grove,
Prints, Inkcap, Trellis, Bonsai and Shed prepare in the background. Watch the
desktop's progress before opening them. Grove needs a connected model for an
Agent to answer; Prints image generation needs a deployed Oyster with Workers AI
configured.

If the Computer cannot start, the trial reports that failure. Files remain
available, but running commands needs a working Computer runtime. See
[Troubleshooting](/troubleshooting).

## Will stopping the trial delete my work?

No. Ctrl-C stops the trial; the project directory holds its data and Hello's
source. Keep it. From the directory containing `my-oyster`, restart with:

```sh
npx @fungi.computer/oyster try my-oyster
```

The owner key is in `my-oyster/.oyster-owner`. Treat it as a credential and keep
it out of screenshots, chat and shared logs. The
[trial guide](/oyster-quickstart) covers signing back in and editing Hello.

## Can an App or Agent access everything?

Review the permissions it requests. Ordinary Apps run in separate frames and
need grants for protected operations. Agents also need permission to use the
tools and resources involved in a task. A model's answer is not evidence that an
operation was authorized or completed.

The dashboard shell is a special case: a shell with workspace-host permission
runs with full Team access. Only choose a shell you trust. See
[dashboard customization](/guides/customize-your-dashboard) and
[Agent permissions](/guides/agent-sandbox-and-permissions).

## Can I use my Claude or ChatGPT subscription?

The local Shiitake terminal supports browser sign-in for these subscriptions.
[Installation and sign-in](/install#first-run) explains the commands and which
account pays. Subscription sign-in in the terminal does not fund a hosted Fungi
Team or automatically connect an Oyster model.

## Which operating systems support the terminal?

Spore supports Linux x64 and arm64 with glibc 2.35 or newer, and macOS 13.5 or
newer on Apple Silicon or Intel. Windows and Alpine Linux are not supported. See
the [installation requirements](/install#install), including Node and optional
native dependencies.

## Where do I go when something fails?

Start with [Troubleshooting](/troubleshooting). Keep the exact command,
installed version, failing step and error message. Remove credentials and
private project content before sharing them. For hosted service health, check
[Fungi status](https://status.fungi.computer).