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What Botwarren reads and sends
For anyone running (or thinking about running) a Botwarren ship agent on their own computer. Plain English, no small print. It describes ship agent 0.3 and the Botwarren cloud as of 14 October 2026.
Our promise
Botwarren watches the shape of your work, never the work itself.
- It does not read your prompts, the AI's replies, your code, file contents, diffs, terminal output, environment variables, secrets, clipboard or browsing, and none of those leave your computer.
- What does leave is a short list of fixed status codes (such as "working", "build passed", "context getting full"), not free text. There is no field in it that could carry a file name or a sentence.
- By default everything is held back about 90 seconds before it is published, and one command stops it. The agent runs as you (no administrator rights) and only makes outbound connections to your ship's address on botwarren.com.
- You do not have to take our word for any of this: here is how to check each claim yourself.
On your machine
- That an AI coding session exists, and whether it is working or idle
- The kind of step: thinking, reading, editing, running
- Whether a tool call failed
- The model family (Opus, Sonnet, Haiku, GPT)
- How full the context is, as numbers that become a 4-level gauge here
- Whether a build or test you wrapped passed
To botwarren.com
- The state and step as fixed codes
- The 4-level gauge, never the numbers
- Build running, passed, failed or cancelled
- A rounded codebase size
- Random-looking labels and rounded times
- A check-in every couple of seconds so the site knows you are online
Read or sent
- Prompts and AI replies
- Code, diffs, file contents
- File paths and file names
- Terminal output and command arguments
- Environment variables and secrets
- Clipboard, browsing, screen
Topic by topic
Left to right: what the agent looks at on your computer, what actually leaves it, and what a visitor to your ship's page ends up seeing.
| Topic | We read, on your machine | Leaves your machine | Visitors see |
|---|---|---|---|
| AI coding sessions (Claude Code) | We read, on your machineThat a session exists and when it last did something; the kind of step it is on (thinking, reading, editing, running a command, researching, delegating); whether a tool call failed; the model family; the size of the conversation so far, as token counts, which are turned into a gauge on your machine. Tool categories and flags only, never what a tool was asked to do or what it returned. To tell sessions of your projects from other sessions, it also reads the working folder a session is in; that folder never leaves your computer. | Leaves your machineWorking, idle or gone; the step kind; a "stumbled" flag when a tool call failed; the model family; a 4-level context gauge (low, mid, high, full) and a "context was just trimmed" moment; a random-looking label for the session; times rounded to a few seconds; a short project label. | Visitors seeA little crew member per session who works, idles, stumbles and leaves. Anything we are guessing from activity rather than knowing is labelled inferred. |
| Helpers and Codex pairing | We read, on your machineThat a Claude Code helper (sub-agent) session exists and which main session it belongs to, plus its model family. For Codex, only the identity header at the very start of its session file (an id, the working folder, which tool launched it) so it can be paired with a Claude session in the same project. Nothing after that header is read. | Leaves your machineOnly a "helper of" or "paired with" link between two random-looking labels, and the model family. No Codex context gauge: it is not measured. | Visitors seeHelpers standing beside their main crew member; a Codex crew member paired with a Claude one. |
Builds you wrap with botwarren run |
We read, on your machineWhether the command succeeded, failed or was cancelled, and when it started and finished. The program's name and its first few words are used on your machine only to guess whether it is a build, test, lint or security step. Arguments and output are not captured; the command still runs exactly as before. | Leaves your machineRunning, passed, failed or cancelled; a rough kind (build, test, lint, security, other); whether you marked it a release build; start and finish times, so a duration can be worked out. Not the command, not its name, not its output, not the exit code. | Visitors seeA machine running, passing or failing. A finished build is never shown as "deployed to production". |
| Codebase size | We read, on your machineOn your computer, git counts the lines of source code in the committed main branch of each project you listed. It does not touch your working files, and it does not send or keep the files. | Leaves your machineA size tier and a line count rounded to two significant digits ("about 84,000 lines"). | Visitors seeHow big the project roughly is. |
| Project names | We read, on your machineNothing about your project names unless you switch on "Show real project names". Then the name you set for the project, or failing that your repository's folder name made readable (my-cool_game becomes "My Cool Game"). |
Leaves your machineA short project label chosen at set-up and a generic display name such as "R4E1 Project". Your real name only while the switch is on; names with unusual characters are not sent and stay generic. | Visitors seeThe generic name, or your real name if you chose to show it. Switching it off brings the generic names back within seconds. |
Why the agent opens your AI tools' log files at all: those local files are the only place the tools record that a session is happening. The agent looks only for the markers in the table and drops everything else immediately, in memory. It does not copy, store or send any text from them.
What we never read, and what never leaves
Never read
- Your prompts or the AI's replies
- Your code, file contents or diffs
- Commit messages or ticket text
- Terminal output or command arguments
- Environment variables, API keys, passwords
- Your clipboard, browser, screen or other apps
Read on your machine, never sent
- The folders your sessions work in (used only to match them to your projects)
- Your repositories' git remote address (the same purpose, credentials stripped)
- Exact token counts and exact line counts
- Names of log files and of the programs you wrap
- Your computer's name and your user name
- Sessions in folders you did not list. The agent notices they exist, but they match no project, so they stay on your machine and are not published at all.
The agent also keeps a private journal on your own computer, readable only by you through the local ops room. It contains more detail than we ever send (for example working folders and wrapped command names), so it is stored in a folder only your user account can read and is deleted if you choose to purge data on uninstall.
Your controls
The delay
About 90 seconds by default: nothing is published until it has waited that long. The delay is a courtesy, not the filter: what is allowed to leave is decided first, by the fixed list above.
Pause and the kill switch
Run botwarren pause (and botwarren resume), press Emergency stop in your local ops room, or use Pause publishing on your account page on the website. While paused, no activity is sent. The agent still checks in so your page says "paused" rather than "offline".
Be aware: the agent keeps noticing sessions on your machine while paused, and activity from the pause may be published after you resume. If you want it gone instead, use Purge public history in the ops room before resuming.
Private ship
Switching on Private takes your ship out of the public "Browse ships" list and turns website analytics off for it. It does not add a password: anyone who has your ship's address can still watch it, and ship addresses are easy to guess. It does not change what is sent. If a name or timing would matter to you, pause or do not list the project.
Real names and branch names
Both are off by default, and you turn each on or off yourself. Turning one off removes the names already shown.
The ship secret
Your ship secret is what proves a request comes from your agent. On your machine it sits in a file only your user account can read. It is sent to botwarren.com over HTTPS only to prove who you are, and the server keeps a one-way scrambled (hashed) copy to check it against, not the secret itself. During early access we issue the secret when your ship is created, so we handle it once at that moment. If you ever think it leaked, pause first, then email us.
The agent on your machine
It starts with your login, needs no administrator rights, and its local ops room listens on your own computer only (never on the network) and asks for a local token. It makes outbound connections only, so nothing on the internet can reach into your computer through it.
What the cloud stores, and what visitors see
| Held by Botwarren | What it is | Who sees it |
|---|---|---|
| Held by BotwarrenYour ship's public activity | What it isExactly the fixed-shape events described above, in the order they were published. There is nothing else about your sessions or builds in the cloud. There is no automatic expiry yet: they stay until you purge them or ask us to delete them. | Who sees itVisitors to your ship's page, after the delay. If it is on your page, it is in the cloud, and the other way round. |
| Held by BotwarrenYour ship's settings | What it isShip name, project labels and names, optional ship look, and your switches: private, real names, pause, branch names. | Who sees itThe name and look are public; the switches are visible to you. |
| Held by BotwarrenYour agent's check-in | What it isWhen the agent last checked in and its version number, so the site can say online, offline or paused. | Who sees itOnline, offline or paused is public. The version and last-seen time are shown to you. |
| Held by BotwarrenYour ship secret | What it isOnly a one-way scrambled copy, used to verify requests. | Who sees itNobody; it cannot be turned back into the secret. |
| Held by BotwarrenOwner login records | What it isIf you log in with GitHub, GitLab or Codeberg: your username and the provider's numeric id, which ships you own, and scrambled copies of your session and one-time login codes. The provider's access token is used once to read your username and then thrown away. | Who sees itYou, and Botwarren operators when helping you. |
| Held by BotwarrenGifts visitors leave | What it isA logged-in visitor walking around a ship can leave a small gift: one item from a fixed list, an optional note picked from a fixed list of friendly phrases (never text they type), the spot where they stood, the giver's account and the time. A visitor's little spacesuit character itself lives only in their own browser: its position is never sent anywhere. Limits apply (3 gifts per person per ship per day, 20 per person per day). Unopened gifts expire after 30 days and dismissed ones are forgotten after a week. | Who sees itOnly the ship's owner, with the giver's username. Never on the public page, the stream overlays, Discord or in analytics (analytics only learns that a gift was left, with nothing about who, where or what). |
Our hosting provider also processes technical data such as your IP address to deliver pages and protect them from abuse, as described in the privacy page.
Logging in, the waitlist and analytics
Logging in
botwarren login asks the website for a sign-in link, proving it is you with your ship secret (never shown). The link works once and expires after 10 minutes. Signing in with GitHub, GitLab or Codeberg reads only your username and numeric id. We set one strictly necessary cookie to keep you logged in for up to 30 days; logging out removes it.
The waitlist
If you join, we store your email, the optional name, the tools you ticked and when you agreed. That is all. It sits in a separate private database, is never published or sold, and is used only to email you about early access. Details and retention are on the privacy page.
Analytics
We count visits with PostHog (EU servers) in cookieless mode, with visitor IP addresses discarded: nothing is stored on your device and nobody is identified. If your browser sends Do Not Track or Global Privacy Control, the analytics code is not loaded at all. It never runs on the stream overlays, the ops pages or private ships, and it never receives your email, anything you type, or anything an agent is doing. Full list: the privacy page.
The optional repository connection
Separate from everything above, and off unless you turn it on (it is rolling out gradually, so it may not be available to you yet). You can connect GitHub, GitLab or Codeberg repositories so your ship shows repository activity without running anything locally.
- By default it reads counts and statuses only for the repositories you pick: how many commits landed, whether a change request was opened or merged, whether a build or deployment passed. Not commit messages, file names, code, or the people involved.
- Branch names stay hidden unless you switch on Show branch names. A branch name can reveal a project or customer, so think before enabling it.
- Tokens are stored encrypted (for GitHub we keep only an installation number and make short-lived tokens on demand).
- Disconnecting deletes the stored credentials, the list of selected repositories and anything waiting to be published, and revokes access where the provider lets us. Counts already published stay on your ship's history until purged.
- The providers' permission systems are coarser than what we use: the permission we request would technically allow reading code. We only ask for the lists above and never fetch file contents.
More detail: the privacy page.
Check it yourself
You should not have to take this page on trust. Here is how to see it for yourself.
- Ask the agent. Run
botwarren status. It tells you whether the agent is running, whether publishing is on or paused, the delay, how many sessions it has noticed, and how many items are waiting to be published. - Look at the queue. Run
botwarren opsto find your private local ops room (it opens on your own computer only). Its publication queue shows the exact payload of each item that is waiting, with a countdown, before it is published. It also shows anything the filter held back, and an audit log of your pause and purge actions. The delay gives you time to press stop. - Compare with your ship's page. Everything the cloud holds about your activity is what visitors see on your ship's page. If something is not there, we do not have it.
- Watch the network. Use any network monitor (Little Snitch, Resource Monitor, Wireshark, or your firewall's log). The agent should talk only to your ship's address on botwarren.com, over HTTPS, plus your own computer. It has no other destinations.
- Pause it. Run
botwarren pause, work for a minute, and watch your ship go "paused". Runbotwarren resumeto carry on. - Read the log. The agent writes a small log file in its own data folder. It says when things start, stop or fail, and never contains content or secrets.
What is not there yet: a permanent history of every payload already sent. Today the queue shows what is about to go and your ship's page shows what has arrived.
Uninstalling
Run the uninstall script that came with the installer (PowerShell on Windows, a shell script on macOS and Linux). It stops and removes the agent and the botwarren command, then asks whether to also delete your local data, config and ship secret; the purge option deletes everything without asking. Before you uninstall, use Purge public history in the ops room if you want your published activity wiped too: the wipe reaches the website the next time the agent checks in.
Deleting things, and asking what we hold
- Published activity: Purge public history in your local ops room wipes it from your ship's page. Things people have already seen or saved cannot be recalled, so pause early.
- Repository connection: Disconnect in your account settings.
- Gifts: the ship's owner can Dismiss any gift or Block this visitor from the station or the account page. Deleting a ship or an account removes the gifts that go with it.
- Waitlist entry, ship, owner login records: email [email protected] and we will delete them. There is no self-service account deletion yet.
- What we hold about you: your account page on this site shows your ships, their settings and what your public ship shows. For anything beyond that (such as a copy of your waitlist entry), email us at the same address.
Questions people ask
Can Botwarren see my code?
No. The agent never reads your code to send it, and nothing in what it sends can hold code. The one place it counts anything from your code is the codebase size: git counts lines in your committed main branch on your own computer, and only a rounded total leaves. We also cannot reach into your machine: the agent only calls out to us.
Can visitors see my file names?
No. File names and paths are not read into anything that is published, and the published format has no place for them. Visitors see crew members, step kinds, build results and rounded numbers. They see your project's real name only if you switched that on, and branch names only if you connected a repository and switched those on.
What if I work on a client project?
Only projects whose folders you list in the agent's config are ever published; sessions anywhere else are never published. So for client work: do not list it, or pause while you are on it. Even with generic names, a listed project still shows that someone is working on it and roughly when. If your contract does not allow that, leave it out. Keep Show real project names off (it is off by default).
Does it use my AI subscription?
No. The ship agent never calls an AI model, never uses your API keys or your Claude or Codex subscription, and never starts your AI tools. It only notices that they are running. There is an experimental feature that writes a one-line summary of a session for Botwarren's own private operations room, but it is not part of the ship agent, is not available to ship owners, and its output is never published.
Can I see what you have about me?
Yes. Your ship's page shows all the activity we hold, and your account page shows your ships, their settings and last check-in. Email [email protected] for anything else, and for a copy of your waitlist entry.
What if something here is wrong or changes?
Tell us at [email protected]. If what Botwarren reads or sends ever changes, this page changes first and the date below moves.
Botwarren is operated by TurboKast Ltd. Contact: [email protected]. Last updated 14 October 2026 (ship agent 0.3).