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AI Pilot overview

AI Pilot is the assistant built into kaiport. It works in your terminals, file transfers and editor with the model you choose and asks before it acts.

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AI Pilot is the assistant built into kaiport. You describe a task in plain language, and AI Pilot works on it inside the session you have open: it runs commands in your terminal, reads their output, works with files and explains what it found. It uses the AI model you choose, and by default it asks before it runs or changes anything.

Where AI Pilot works

WhereWhat AI Pilot does there
Terminal tabs: SSH connectionsRuns commands in your terminal, reads the screen, reads and writes files, answers questions about the system
Storage tabs: FTP, S3, WebDAV and Azure in the transfer viewExplores and searches folders on the storage and on your computer, creates folder reports, reorganizes and transfers files, diagnoses failed connections
The editor windowExplains the open file, changes it on instruction or generates new content

In terminal and storage tabs, AI Pilot opens as a panel on the right side of the window: press ⌘JCtrlJ or click the AI Pilot button on the right edge of the window. The editor window has its own AI Pilot button.

Several places hand a prepared request to AI Pilot: Explain selection (AI) and Fix this error (AI) in the terminal's context menu, Ask the AI about this file in the file lists, and Folder report with the AI and AI diagnosis in the transfer view.

How it works

In a terminal tab, AI Pilot works in the same terminal you use. It types each command into your shell, so you watch every step as it happens and can step in at any time. kaiport keeps its own model of the terminal screen in the background. This lets AI Pilot see when a command has finished, read its output and notice when a program waits for input. With shell integration it also gets the exact exit code of each command.

For files, AI Pilot doesn't need cat or ls: it reads, writes, lists and searches files over SFTP. That handles large files and special characters reliably and keeps your terminal tidy. At the start of a session, kaiport also collects basic facts about the system – operating system, user, sudo rights, installed tools – without typing anything into your terminal, so AI Pilot doesn't have to look them up first.

Every step appears in the panel as a card with the command or file operation, its status and, when you expand it, the output. When a decision is yours to make, AI Pilot asks you a question with suggested answers. It ends a task with a short summary.

AI Pilot works in the terminal you see and reports each step in the panel
The terminal window with the AI Pilot panel next to the terminal after a finished taskThe terminal window with the AI Pilot panel next to the terminal after a finished task

AI Pilot works in the terminal you see and reports each step in the panel

Bring your own model

AI Pilot has no built-in model. You connect it to a provider in Settings → AI Pilot:

  • Anthropic (Claude) through Anthropic's official SDK.
  • Any OpenAI-compatible API, for example OpenAI, OpenRouter, Groq, Mistral, DeepSeek or Together.
  • Local models through Ollama, LM Studio or another OpenAI-compatible server on your computer.

Model usage is not part of kaiport Pro. Your provider bills it on your own account, and local models cost nothing per request. See Set up AI Pilot.

You stay in control

  • Approvals – by default, every command and every change waits as a card with Run and Deny until you decide. Reading files and the screen doesn't need approval.
  • Autopilot – switch it on for a chat, or as the default in the settings, and commands run without asking.
  • Dangerous commands always ask – recursive deletes, formatting disks, reboots, removing packages and similar commands wait for your approval even in Autopilot. In storage tabs, deleting and overwriting always ask.
  • Denied and allowed commands – per connection, you can refuse commands by pattern or allow only certain ones.
  • Step limit – a request ends after a maximum number of steps (30 by default).
  • Audit log – kaiport records every command and file operation locally, with your decision and the paths it touched.

Details: Approvals and safety.

Privacy in brief

AI Pilot sends your messages and what it needs for the task – command output, file excerpts, facts about the system – directly from your computer to the provider you configured. Nothing goes through kaiport's servers. You can stop file contents from being sent, limit how much of a file is sent, or use a local model so that your requests never leave your computer. Context, tokens and privacy lists exactly what is sent and what stays local.

What AI Pilot never does

  • It never asks for passwords in the chat. When sudo or another program wants a password, AI Pilot asks you to type it into the terminal yourself and continues by reading the screen.
  • It never sees the passwords, keys and tokens stored with your connections.
  • It never saves a file in the editor window for you. The assistant puts its result into the editor; saving stays your step.

Next steps