Desktop vs Web Companion
Vexlynk runs as a desktop app for Windows and macOS, and as a web companion at workspace.vexlynk.app.
They are the same product. The web companion runs the same interface, your same workspaces, and the same agent — it is not a cut-down viewer.
The desktop app is private by default
Section titled “The desktop app is private by default”This is the important part, and it is not a setting you have to go and find.
The desktop app is local-first. Your workspaces and cards are written to your own machine and stay there. They are not uploaded, not held on a server, and not readable by us — because they never leave the computer unless you decide otherwise.
Cloud sync is off by default on every plan, and it is the only thing that would change that. It is opt-in, it is a Plus and Pro feature, and on the Free plan it cannot be switched on at all. Nothing is uploaded because you forgot to check a box.
The only other moments anything leaves your machine are ones you take deliberately:
- Connecting a source contacts that service to fetch your data — because you connected it
- Asking the agent sends the relevant context so it can answer — when you press send, not in the background
That is the complete list. Install the app, never connect a source, never message the agent, leave sync alone, and Vexlynk is an offline tool holding your work on your own disk.
See Privacy & Local-First for the detail.
Use whichever suits the moment
Section titled “Use whichever suits the moment”Desktop is the full experience and the one to install if you only pick one. It keeps your work on your machine, and it is the only place a few features work — listed below.
Web is for when you are on someone else’s machine, on a tablet in landscape, or just want your workspace without installing anything. It runs in a browser, so it does not have the local-first property above: the web companion needs your workspaces to reach it, which is what cloud sync is for.
Phones do not load the canvas. The spatial workspace is built for a bigger screen, so on a phone (or a narrow window) the web companion shows a quick sign-up and points you to a computer instead of a broken board. Open Vexlynk on a desktop, a laptop, or a computer browser to work on your boards.
What needs the desktop app
Section titled “What needs the desktop app”Some things need access to your actual computer, which a browser tab cannot give.
| Feature | Web companion |
|---|---|
| In-App Browser extension | Desktop only |
| Video Editor extension | Desktop only |
| Image Editor extension | Desktop only |
| Code Editor extension | Works |
| Documents extension | Works |
| Files panel — linking a local folder | Desktop only |
| Voice / wake word | Desktop only |
If you open a desktop-only extension on the web, Vexlynk tells you it is available on desktop rather than showing you something broken.
Dragging files in
Section titled “Dragging files in”On desktop you can drag a file straight onto the workspace. Files up to 50 MB are taken directly; anything larger opens a file picker instead, which does the same job without the drag.
The web companion has no access to your filesystem, so the Files panel and local-folder linking are desktop features. You can still add media on the web through the normal upload route.
Your workspaces in both places
Section titled “Your workspaces in both places”Using both means your workspaces have to reach both, and that is what cloud sync does. Turning it on is a real choice, not a default — it is the moment your work starts being stored somewhere other than your own machine, in exchange for having it everywhere.
On Plus or Pro you can enable it whenever you want. On Free it is unavailable, so the desktop app and the web companion each keep their own separate local data — which is the practical reason a Free user should pick one and stay there.
If privacy is why you chose Vexlynk, leaving sync off and working on desktop is the configuration that keeps everything on your own disk.
Updates
Section titled “Updates”macOS updates itself: it checks on launch and every four hours, downloads in the background, and offers a Restart to update button. Nothing restarts without you clicking it.
Windows checks for and downloads signed updates the same way and offers to restart when one is ready. If a version ever does not install itself, download the installer again and run it — your workspaces and settings are kept.
The web companion is always current. There is nothing to update.
- Getting Started — installing the desktop app
- Plans & Limits — which plans include sync
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