# Watch Sai work

The live view the Sai MCP server shows for every task, inside your coding agent or in a browser.

From `@simular-ai/sai-mcp` 0.2.0, every task started with `sai_task_start` comes with a live view:

- the computer's screen, streamed while the task runs. It is view-only: nothing you do in the view reaches the computer.
- Sai's steps as it works.
- permission requests, which you can answer with **Approve**, **Approve for this task** or **Deny**.
- the result, and the last frame of the screen once the task ends.

## Where it shows

| Your agent                   | What you get                                                                                                                                                                           |
| ---------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Claude desktop and claude.ai | The view appears in the conversation under the task, as an [MCP App](https://modelcontextprotocol.io/). **Open in a window** pops it out so it stays visible while you chat.           |
| Codex app                    | The view appears in the conversation, but Codex keeps it offline, so the screen can't stream there. Open the `watch_url` link the agent posts; Codex opens it in its built-in browser. |
| Claude Code, Codex CLI       | No inline view. Open the `watch_url` link in your browser.                                                                                                                             |
| ChatGPT, Cursor, VS Code     | These render MCP Apps, so the view should appear inline. Not yet tested.                                                                                                               |

You can also follow any task in the [Playground](https://platform.simular.ai/playground).

## The `watch_url` link

`sai_task_start` returns a `watch_url`, and the agent is told to give it to you as a link. It opens the same view as a page served by the MCP server on your own computer, at `http://127.0.0.1:<port>`.

- Your API key stays in the MCP server; the page never sees it, and you don't sign in.
- The link carries a random token for this server process. Treat it like a temporary password: anyone on your computer with the link can follow the task and answer its approvals. It stops working when the MCP server exits.
- Set `SAI_LOCAL_VIEW=0` to turn the page off. `watch_url` is then left out.

## One viewer at a time

A computer's screen streams to one viewer at a time. If you open the task somewhere else (another app, the Playground), the first view stops and shows **Watch here** to take the screen back.

On a free account, the screen can drop for a moment between Sai's steps while the computer is handed back and forth. The view reconnects on its own.

## For API users

The view uses [`POST /v1/agents/machines/:machineId/live`](/documentation/api-reference/machines#live-screen), which you can call directly to build your own viewer.