The Automations Wall
A big screen shows today’s Upcoming, Running now and Completed automations. Step up to the tablet to take a closer look at any run.
How to run AI agents on a Mac mini
You can run AI agents on an Apple-silicon Mac mini using ShiftHands. The Mac mini runs your project agents and their tools, while you check progress, answer messages and review flagged commands from a browser, including your phone. The Mac must stay on with ShiftHands open while agents work.
What you need to run AI agents on a Mac mini
Any Mac mini with Apple silicon works, including an older M1 model. No screen is needed once it’s set up.
A Mac mini with Apple silicon
M1 or newer, with 8 GB of RAM or more. Intel Mac minis aren’t supported yet.
macOS 13 or later
Ventura or any newer version of macOS.
The ShiftHands Mac app
Free to download. It runs the agents and must stay open; it can sit in the menu bar. Download ShiftHands for Mac.
An AI account or API key
A Claude account via Claude Code, a ChatGPT account via Codex, or an API key for DeepSeek, GLM, Kimi or Qwen.
An internet connection
Agents reach your AI provider, and you reach your agents from other devices, over the internet.
Ego Lite, for browser work only
A free, separate agent browser from Citro Labs, with its own terms. You don’t need it for chat, projects, automations or approvals.
Set up your Mac mini as an AI agent workspace
Setup takes a few minutes. Do it on the Mac mini itself, or over Screen Sharing from another Mac.
1. Download ShiftHands
Get the Apple-silicon app from the download page, open ShiftHands-arm64.dmg and drag ShiftHands into Applications.
2. Create your account or sign in
Open ShiftHands and create your free account. If you already use ShiftHands on another Mac, sign in by entering the 6-digit code from that Mac.
3. Connect a model
Connect Claude or ChatGPT, or add an API key. Sign-ins stay on the Mac where you make them, so connect them on the Mac mini.
4. Create a project and an agent
Agents live inside projects. Each agent keeps its own chat, history and model, which you pick from the chips under the message box.
5. Give the agent a task
Type what you want done. The agent works on the Mac mini, and its chat shows each step as it happens.
6. Make the Mac mini your host
If you have several Macs, open Settings → Your Macs on the Mac mini and choose Make this the host. Agents that are working finish their current step first.
Turning on Screen Sharing (System Settings → General → Sharing) lets you reach the Mac mini from your laptop later.
See it working
See your Mac mini agents working
Click through the real app: project chats, live agent status, automations that report back, and a browser you can take over. On a Mac mini, all of this runs on the Mac while you watch from anywhere.
Recorded in the ShiftHands demo workspace.
Virtual Environment
Your AI team, in a 3D office.
Every ShiftHands plan, Free included, comes with the Virtual Environment: a 3D office in the app where your agents work at their desks, grouped by project. Walk over, pull up a chair, and watch your crew get it done.
Your boss desk
Sit down to see every project and every agent at a glance, and chat with anyone without leaving your chair.
Watch your agents work
Every agent has a desk in its project area. Agents running an automation head to the Automations room. Walk up to any agent and chat.
- Free and Pro
- No extra AI usage for the 3D view
- Mac app and web, including phone browsers
Rendered in the ShiftHands demo workspace with made-up names. Open the Virtual Environment from the sidebar or from Chief of Staff in the app. Agents still run on your Mac and use your connected AI accounts.
Availability
Keep agents running on your Mac mini
A Mac mini that stays plugged in makes a good always-available host: automations run on time, even at night and while your laptop is closed. It still depends on the Mac being ready to work.
- The Mac needs to be on, awake and signed in to macOS, with ShiftHands open.
- ShiftHands keeps the Mac awake while agents are working. If the Mac does sleep, your agents pause.
- Scheduled work that was missed while the Mac slept runs when it wakes.
- Anything you send while the Mac is off waits until it’s back.
- Power cuts, lost internet, a quit app or your AI provider’s usage limits can all stop work until they’re fixed.
- In System Settings, check the Energy options on your Mac mini to prevent automatic sleep and to start up after a power failure.
Typing away on your task. The chat shows each step as it happens.
Waiting on an approval or a quick hand in the browser.
Resting until the next message or scheduled automation.
Phone supervision
Supervise your Mac mini agents from your phone
Open ShiftHands in your phone’s browser to see what the Mac mini is doing. There’s nothing to install. ShiftHands is not a native phone app, and the work still runs on the Mac.
- Every agent shows Working, Needs you or Idle.
- Read results, chat with any agent and follow live steps.
- Answer flagged commands with Allow once or Deny.
- When an agent needs you, you get a notification, and one reminder after 15 minutes.
- Your other Macs work the same way: sign in on up to 10, and one of them runs your agents.
Scheduled work
Schedule work and review agent results
Tell an agent to do something on a schedule, and the Mac mini runs it on time. The automations view shows what is coming up, what is running and what has finished.
Upcoming3
- Uptime checkSite MonitorRunning
- Support queue sweepSupport Inbox12:45 PM
- Ad spend pacing checkAds Manager1:15 PM
Completed4
- Expense receipts syncBookkeeper · 11:32 AMDone
- Outreach follow-upsOutreach Assistant · 10:07 AMNeeds review
- Backup checkSite Monitor · 9:31 AMDone
- Weekly SEO reportSEO Assistant · 8:39 AMDone
Examples from the ShiftHands demo workspace.
Want to set up recurring work instead of starting each task manually? Our guide to scheduling AI agent tasks shows how to configure daily and weekly automations, review results and handle approvals.
- Upcoming, running and completed automations in one list.
- Each finished run posts a result card in the agent’s chat, marked Done or Needs review.
- Running automations have Watch live when they use a browser.
- The Free plan includes 2 daily automations. Flexible schedules, such as every hour, are part of Pro.
Prefer to see everything in one place? Read about the ShiftHands AI agent dashboard.
Approvals and browser
Approvals and browser control
Some agent commands are flagged for your decision. ShiftHands shows each one as a plain-English request you can answer from anywhere.
Approval behaviour depends on each agent’s settings. Not every file change or send is gated, so check the settings for agents that can send or publish.
- One line on what the command does and why the agent is asking.
- A Low, Medium or High risk level, with the real command always shown.
- Allow once or Deny. Typing “yes” in chat never counts as approval.
- Watch an agent’s browser live, take control to sign in or type, then Return to agent.
- Watch it liveA live view of the agent’s browser beside the chat, with the site it’s on. Running automations have Watch live too.
- One tab per browserWhen helpers browse too, each browser gets its own tab, so you can switch between them.
- Take controlType into the page, use the address bar, sign in. The agent waits.
- Return to agentOne tap hands control back and the task carries on. When the agent is done with the browser, you see a short summary.
Browser control uses Ego Lite, a free, separate agent browser from Citro Labs with its own terms. It is macOS only for now. Get Ego Lite.
Agent teams
Run multiple agents and projects on one Mac mini
One Mac mini can run several agents across your projects. Hand one agent a big job and it can split the work across a team of helpers.
- Each agent has its own chat, history and model, so research, inbox and code agents stay separate.
- Named teammates work in parallel, and the Helpers panel shows each one’s progress, Stop and result.
- Free includes 1 project, 3 agents and teams of up to 2 subagents.
- Pro has no plan-level caps on projects, agents or automations; fair-use caps still apply.
- On any plan, your AI provider’s limits and the Mac mini’s memory and processing capacity set the practical ceiling.
Example of a larger agent team in the ShiftHands demo workspace. Free supports subagent teams of up to 2; larger teams require Pro and remain subject to AI-provider limits and your Mac’s capacity.
Mac mini AI agents vs fully local AI models
Running an AI agent on a Mac mini is not the same as running an AI model on it. With ShiftHands, the Mac mini runs the agent software, its tools, browser work and schedules. The thinking still comes from the model you connect.
When you connect a Claude account, a ChatGPT account or an API key, those model requests go to that provider and are handled under its terms. Local agent execution does not automatically mean private, offline inference.
If you want a fully local stack, where the model itself runs on your hardware with no internet, that is a different setup with different hardware needs. This guide covers using a Mac mini as the agent host.
Is a Mac mini a good AI agent host?
For many people, yes. It’s small, quiet and easy to leave plugged in. It isn’t the only option, though: any Apple-silicon Mac can run ShiftHands, including the laptop you already have.
A Mac mini makes sense if
- You want automations to run at night and while your laptop is closed.
- You want a dedicated computer for agents, separate from the Mac you work on.
- You want to own the hardware and supervise it from your phone.
- You already have a spare Apple-silicon Mac mini.
Skip the Mac mini if
- You’re just trying agents out: start on the Mac you have.
- You don’t want to look after hardware, power or internet uptime.
- You need agents running with no computer of yours switched on.
- You use Windows or an Intel Mac and can’t wait for the waitlist.
Frequently asked questions
Which Mac mini do I need?
Any Mac mini with Apple silicon (M1 or newer), macOS 13 or later and 8 GB of RAM or more. Intel Mac minis aren’t supported yet. See where ShiftHands agents run.
Does the Mac mini need an internet connection?
Yes. Agents send requests to your AI provider over the internet, and you reach the Mac mini from your phone or other devices through ShiftHands.
Can I check on my agents from my phone?
Yes. Open ShiftHands in your phone’s browser to see status, read results, chat and approve flagged commands. It is not a native phone app, and the agents still run on the Mac mini.
Will my agents keep working all the time?
Only while the Mac mini is on, awake and signed in, with ShiftHands open. ShiftHands keeps it awake while agents work. If it sleeps or goes offline, work pauses; missed scheduled work runs when it wakes.
Does a Mac mini AI agent run the model locally?
No. The Mac mini runs the agents and their tools, while model requests go to the Claude account, ChatGPT account or API key you connect, under that provider’s terms.
Is there a free plan?
Yes. Free costs $0 and includes 25 agent messages a day, 1 project, 3 agents and 2 daily automations. Pro is $49.99 a month or $499 a year. See ShiftHands pricing.
Do agents ask before doing risky things?
Commands an agent flags ask you to Allow once or Deny. Approval behaviour depends on each agent’s settings, so not every file change or send is gated.
Can I use ShiftHands from Windows?
As a viewer, yes: the web app works in any browser to monitor and chat. The agents themselves need an Apple-silicon Mac. A Windows app is on the way.
Turn your Mac mini into an agent workspace
Download the Mac app, sign in with an AI account you already have, and start on the Free plan.
Check the hardware first: where ShiftHands agents run.
Screens come from the ShiftHands demo workspace with made-up names. Product names belong to their owners. Requirements, features and prices were checked on October 20, 2026 and can change.