FAQ

Is Picasso free?

Yes. Picasso is funded by a labelled sponsor line, and it has a free model (picasso provider use picasso-free). If you bring your own API key, your provider bills you directly for that usage.

Where do ads appear?

Ads can appear in dashboard display slots, a terminal sponsor line, and managed-mode sponsored model interstitials. Ads are always labeled. Sponsored content is never injected into model output.

Do ads influence model routing?

No. Provider routing and subagent dispatch cannot read sponsor content. Integrity tests enforce that ad references do not appear in the agent loop, tool dispatch, provider routing, or subagent orchestration paths.

Which models can I use?

Picasso ships 25 built-in provider routes, among them DeepSeek (the default), Anthropic, OpenAI, Google Gemini, xAI, Z.AI, Moonshot/Kimi, MiniMax, Qwen, OpenRouter, Groq, Mistral, Azure AI Foundry, Amazon Bedrock and Google Vertex, plus local models through Ollama or vLLM and any OpenAI- or Anthropic-compatible gateway you add (picasso provider add). There is also a free model (picasso provider use picasso-free). picasso models lists every model with its context window, output limit and reasoning levels, and picasso models connections sets the order Picasso falls back through when one fails.

Can I bring my own keys?

Yes. Use BYO-key mode:

picasso provider set anthropic --key-stdin
picasso provider use anthropic

In Picasso for Mac, Settings › Providers opens the provider's API-key page for you. Provider charges go to your provider account.

Can I use my Claude or ChatGPT subscription?

Not yet. Subscription sign-in is planned after launch (17); today you use an API key, the free model or a local model.

Does Picasso work offline?

The local TUI, sessions, replay, memory store, and local-model routes can work without Picasso cloud. Managed providers, cloud sync, dashboard collaboration, telemetry upload, and hosted ads require network access.

What does Picasso remember?

Picasso stores durable project facts, decisions, user preferences, and selected session insights. Memory is namespaced by account and project, and cross-account retrieval is blocked.

What telemetry is collected?

Telemetry is opt-in. It records session shape, loop events, tool counts, provider metadata, and crash metadata. It does not collect prompts, file contents, tool arguments, environment variables, provider credentials, or memory content.

How are free-tier coding sessions used?

Telemetry (above) is opt-in and separate. The native free tier is paid for with data: once you accept the Terms, new coding sessions on the free tier are captured automatically. There is no research opt-in, project switch or per-session approval to find, and no cash reward. Capture is not release. Every session is evaluated, and most are not saleable: rights, privacy preparation and quality checks can exclude one, and only a few can become an executable task. Statutory privacy requests (access, delete, correct, opt-out, do-not-sell-share) stay available from picasso data privacy-request and the Data use and privacy pane. Capture stays off until the legal gate passes; see trajectory data policy.

How do I disable animation?

PICASSO_REDUCED_MOTION=1 picasso

or:

picasso --no-animation

Reduced motion turns spinners into static marks and stops the caret and pulse; it is also a setting (Settings › Appearance › motion in /settings). --accessible (or PICASSO_A11Y=1) also drops box art for a linear transcript. In Picasso for Mac, the Studio backdrop already holds a still frame after a minute without input, in Low Power Mode and while Picasso isn't the active app; Reduce Transparency switches it to Dots.

Can threads keep running when I close Picasso?

Yes. In Picasso for Mac turn on Settings › General › "Keep threads running when Picasso quits"; from the CLI run picasso service install. A small runner (a LaunchAgent) keeps running turns and schedules going and restarts only at a quiet moment. picasso service status shows it, picasso service uninstall removes it.

What does Picasso put on my computer?

picasso about --footprint (or /about, or the About footer in Settings) lists the app bundle, processes, engine folders, the runner, ~/.picasso, Keychain entries and the endpoints Picasso talks to, and how to remove each. The full list is in what Picasso puts on your Mac.

Can I bring in my Claude Code, Codex or OpenCode history?

Yes: picasso import [claude|codex|opencode|all] (add --dry-run to preview), /import in the TUI, or Settings › Import in the Mac app. Imported sessions are read-only threads; see history import.

How do I stay up to date?

picasso update checks for a newer Picasso and picasso update --install installs it. The engine updates itself in the background with integrity checks and automatic rollback; the Mac app installs its own updates silently.