Sign-in & sync
Harriet Desktop is signed in or it doesn't run: the app requires a Harriet account before the workspace opens. This page covers the browser sign-in flow, how the app keeps itself current while open, and exactly what Sign out (this device) removes.
Sign in with Harriet
On first launch the app blocks the main window with a Harriet Account screen. Its one primary action is Sign in with Harriet; a small Change Harriet server control (which opens Settings → Harriet account) exists for organizations that point the app at a different server.
- Select Sign in with Harriet. The app opens your browser to a Harriet approval page.
- Approve the device in the browser. You approve while signed in to Harriet — the same account you use for My AI. If you aren't signed in yet, sign in first.
- Return to the app. The browser hands you straight back to Harriet Desktop. There are no codes to type or tokens to paste.
Signing in enrolls the computer as a device and immediately applies your configuration: assigned skills, connectors, model access, and your organization's workspace rules. Admins see the machine in Devices like any other enrolled device.
How sync works
While the app is open it polls Harriet for your desired configuration on a 5-minute timer, and also re-checks when the window regains focus, when the machine comes back online, and when the device session changes. There is no sync button to remember: assign a skill to the operations team at 9:00 and their open apps have it by 9:05.
Sync is one-directional in the way you'd hope — configuration flows from Harriet to the device. If something looks stale anyway, Device not syncing is the checklist.
Sign out (this device)
Sign out (this device) is a full device wipe, not just a logout, because a shared or departing machine must not keep working credentials:
- The device is marked for wipe in Harriet, Harriet-managed configuration is removed from the machine (with backups where applicable), and the device checks in as wiped so its API key is revoked.
- The app clears its own session state, chat history views, and the saved workspace list.
- Your project folders are never deleted. The app even remembers your last local workspace folder, and your next Harriet sign-in remounts it as a fresh workspace.
After sign-out the device stops receiving skills, connectors, and model access until someone signs in again. Use it when handing a laptop back to IT or stepping away from a shared machine — not to "refresh" a sync problem.
When the background agent still matters
Because Harriet Desktop syncs its own configuration while open, most people never need anything else. The background agent remains the right tool for headless and MDM rollouts, where IT provisions the machine before anyone opens the app. The two don't fight: when Harriet Desktop manages its own configuration, the agent detects that and leaves those files alone.