# FAQ

> Short answers about release status, code mode, approvals, secrets, supported agents, open source and pricing.

Canonical page: https://capabilities.sh/docs/faq
Updated: 2026-11-06

## Can I install it today?

Not yet. The local hub is milestone M1 and is being built now; [Status](https://capabilities.sh/status.md) shows what has landed. M1 runs from a checkout build, and an `npx` install comes in a later plan.

## How is this different from adding MCP servers to each agent?

You set each server up once, in one place, with one set of credentials and one policy, and every agent sees all of it. The model does not load every tool definition up front. It searches, reads only the signatures it needs, and writes code that chains calls, so a multi-step task can run as one `execute`.

## Why code instead of tool calls?

Hundreds of tool definitions cost context before the model does anything, and chaining calls one turn at a time costs round trips. Code mode keeps the fixed surface to three tools and lets one run filter, join and loop over results in the sandbox. Claims about how much better it is will come from the project's eval suite, which compares code mode with direct tools on Claude models. Two targets it checks: task success no worse than direct tools by more than two points, and at least 40% fewer input tokens on multi-step tasks.

## Can the model approve its own write?

No. A decision comes only from a person, through the client's own prompt, the approval page the hub opens, the `capabilities hub approve` command, or the hosted dashboard. No MCP tool or argument can record one. See [Security and approvals](https://capabilities.sh/docs/security#approvals).

## Does the model ever see my API keys?

No. Credentials stay in your OS keychain, are resolved only at the moment of an upstream request, and are scrubbed from everything that flows back. The sandbox that runs the model's code holds no secrets and has no network.

## What happens when a tool changes upstream?

It asks again. The hub pins the contract you approved, a digest of the tool's description, schemas and annotations. When a refresh finds a different contract, the next call asks and says why.

## Which agents work with it?

Any MCP client. `capabilities hub connect` writes the entry for Claude Code, Codex, Cursor and Claude Desktop, and prints exact instructions for Antigravity CLI, Hermes and pi. Cloud agents such as claude.ai and ChatGPT reach your hub through the hosted hub, planned for M3. The [setup snippets](https://capabilities.sh/agents#connect-an-agent) show the entry each agent needs.

## Does it run skills?

In M1 the importer counts your skills and says a later release imports them. M2 adds skills to the hub: searchable, readable over MCP, and installed natively into each harness you connect.

## Is it open source?

The local hub, its engine and the CLI will be published under the MIT license in a public repository at the local alpha. The hosted hub's Cloudflare app is proprietary at launch.

## What will it cost?

The local hub is free. The hosted hub will be the paid product, and its price is not decided; it will be set with data from the alpha.

## Which operating systems?

macOS and Linux first. The CLI's tests run on both. The sandbox on Windows is not yet proven.

## Where does my data live?

On your machine, in `~/.capabilities/hub/` (directory mode 700, files 600), with secret values in your OS keychain. Runs, journals and their results are kept for 7 days by default.

## Who makes it?

[DeepAura](https://deepaura.ai).