# Where Astro runs (https://www.getfounderhq.com/docs/astro/where-astro-runs)

Astro's work runs in one of two places: on a machine of yours through
[Companion](/companion), or on FounderHQ's servers. Which one depends on
the kind of AI provider you connected.

## The rule

| Your provider | Where the work runs |
| --- | --- |
| A subscription (Claude, ChatGPT, Google Antigravity) | On your Companion |
| An API key | On your Companion when one is online. Otherwise on FounderHQ's servers, at once. |

A subscription is tied to you as a person, so it runs on your own machine.
An API key is built to be used from a server.

## When you are chatting and no Companion is online

With an API key, nothing changes. The reply runs on FounderHQ's servers.

With a subscription, Astro shows a card: **No companion apps are online**.
You have two choices.

- Open Companion on your computer, then send the message again. This is
  the recommended way.
- **Run on server.** The reply runs on FounderHQ's servers with your
  subscription, for this chat.

Read the warning on the card before you choose the server. Your provider
sees the request come from an unusual place, and repeated use that way may
get your account flagged or banned by the provider. Companion avoids this.

If Companion goes offline in the middle of a reply, the reply waits:
**Waiting for an available companion…**

## Work that runs while you are away

Some work runs with nobody watching: a scheduled article in Publish, a
step in a sequence, your writing voice in Compose.

| Step | What happens |
| --- | --- |
| First | The work waits for a Companion, for up to 12 hours |
| After 12 hours | It runs on FounderHQ's servers with an API key, if you connected one |
| With no API key | It keeps waiting for a Companion |
| After 7 days | It fails |

A subscription never runs on FounderHQ's servers while you are away. So if
you use a subscription only, keep Companion running on a machine that
stays on. A [server](/companion/run-on-a-server-with-docker) works well
for this.

With API keys only, this work never waits.

## Which machine, when you have several

The Companion picker under the text box chooses. **Auto** picks an online
machine for you. A green dot means a machine is online.

Your own provider and your own machine are used first. If your
organization shares AI, a teammate's are used when you have none. See
[Share AI with your team](/account/ai-providers#share-ai-with-your-team).

## Check where a reply ran

Hover a finished reply. **Reply origin** shows the AI provider that
answered, and **Ran on**: the name of the machine, or FounderHQ's cloud.