Setup guide

A few minutes, start to finish: create a key on the website, paste one line on your computer, then pair it from WhatsApp or Telegram.

Before you start 1 · Account 2 · Key 3 · One line 4 · Permission level 5 · Pair WhatsApp or Telegram After setup If something's wrong Removing it

Before you start

Atlas Assistant is the line between WhatsApp or Telegram on your phone and the AI on your computer. The AI itself is your own Claude Code, running on your machine. You need:

You need	How to check
A Windows computer that stays on while you want your assistant to answer. Atlas Assistant is Windows-only right now.	If it's asleep or off, the bot tells you your computer is offline.
Claude Code, installed and signed in. It needs a Claude plan that includes Claude Code, or Anthropic API billing — that is between you and Anthropic; we never see it. Get Claude Code	Open PowerShell and run `claude --version`. You should see a version number.
WhatsApp (your number linked on the dashboard) or Telegram on your phone.	—

That is all. No Node.js, no npm, nothing else to install. PowerShell is already part of Windows: press Start and type PowerShell.

Step 1 · Create your account and name your assistant

Sign up with email, Google or Telegram. The first thing you'll be asked is what your assistant should be called — that is the name it introduces itself with and signs its messages with. You can change it later. You can do this step on your phone; the next steps happen on the computer.

Step 2 · Create your key

On your dashboard, on the computer, press Create my key. The key (it starts with ella-) is what lets your computer connect to your account.

It is shown once. We store only a fingerprint of it, so we cannot show it again. If you lose it, press Create a new key — the old one stops working.
One key connects one computer at a time, and it pairs only with your own WhatsApp number or Telegram account.

Step 3 · Paste one line into PowerShell

Right after you create the key, the dashboard shows a ready-made line with your key already in it. Copy it, open PowerShell, paste the line and press Enter. It looks like this:

$env:ATLAS_KEY='ella-…'; irm https://assistant.atlassstudio.com/install.ps1 | iex

What that line does, in full:

It downloads one small script into a folder called .atlas in your home directory and runs its setup. The script is plain text — read it first if you like, or have your Claude read it for you.
It registers this computer with your account and adds your assistant's tools to Claude Code the standard way (claude mcp add). Those tools — messaging you, reminders, asking your permission — run on our servers, not on your computer.
The only thing that keeps running on your computer is that script, as a quiet background listener: it waits for your messages and hands them to your own Claude.

Step 4 · Choose how much your assistant may do

The setup asks you this — it is your decision, and it is enforced on your computer. Nothing we send can raise it. You can change it any time (see After setup).

chatTalk, remember, remind. It cannot touch your files or run anything. Start here if unsure.

filesAlso read and edit files inside one folder you choose.

askAnything your Claude can do on the computer — but every risky action is first sent to you — on the chat you wrote from — to allow or refuse (Telegram buttons, or a "YES"/"NO" reply with a short code on WhatsApp). Needs a paid plan. Claude Code only.

fullAnything, without asking. You will be shown a warning and must accept that you take sole responsibility for what it does. For people who know exactly what that means.

Atlas Assistant connects your own Claude Code to Telegram through our server — we don't run or host any AI model ourselves. At every permission level, our server sits on that channel, so if our server were ever compromised, someone in control of it could send your assistant instructions as if they came from you. At ask, that control could also extend to answering the approval prompt itself, on your behalf; at full, no prompt is ever shown, so such instructions would simply run. The chat and files levels limit what instructions can do — for example, blocking file or command access — but they do not close this channel entirely. This is a known structural limit of the bridge design today, not something we can currently close, and we'd rather tell you plainly than leave it unsaid.

Step 5 · Pair your WhatsApp or Telegram

One is enough — use the chat you actually use. The setup shows a code and both ways to use it.

On WhatsApp: from your own WhatsApp number (the one linked on your dashboard), send the code the setup shows to your assistant's WhatsApp number (the setup shows it too). your assistant answers "Almost there"; back on your computer the setup shows your number and asks: is this you? Type yes only if it is.
On Telegram: the setup prints a link like https://t.me/…?start=ABCDEFGH. Open it on your phone and press Start in Telegram. That is all — nothing to type.
No way to open the link on the phone? Open the Atlas Assistant bot, press Start, and send the /pair ABCD-EFGH line the setup shows. The bot stays silent at first — that is normal: until you are paired, it does not answer anyone.
The bot replies "Almost there" and shows your Telegram name. Back on your computer, the setup shows the same name and asks: is this you? Type yes only if it is. This double check is what stops anyone else from ever reaching your computer.

That's it. Send your assistant a message — "hi, who are you?" — and it answers. Want the other chat too? On the computer, run atlas pair. (Right after setup you can type atlas in any PowerShell window.)

After setup

It runs quietly in the background and starts by itself every time you log in to Windows. It appears as "Atlas Assistant" under Task Manager → Startup apps, and you can switch it off there like any other.
Replies take a few seconds to half a minute — each message starts your Claude on your computer.
Voice notes aren't transcribed yet. On paid plans a voice note you send is passed to your computer as an audio file and your assistant is told it can't listen to it yet; the Free plan doesn't accept voice notes.
Your Claude gains Atlas Assistant's tools everywhere. In any Claude Code session you can say "message me when this finishes", "send me that PDF" or "remind me at 6".
What it remembers about you is stored on your computer, as plain text files in .atlas\workspace\notes — not with us.

On WhatsApp
`LOCK` · `UNLOCK`	Stop everything reaching your computer instantly · resume

In Telegram
`/status`	What's connected, and recent activity
`/lock` · `/unlock`	Stop everything instantly · resume
`/unpair`	Disconnect your computer

On your computer, in PowerShell
`& "$HOME\.atlas\atlas.cmd" status`	Checks every part of the connection
`& "$HOME\.atlas\atlas.cmd" level ask`	Change the permission level
`& "$HOME\.atlas\atlas.cmd" stop` · `start`	Stop · start the background listener

If something's wrong

What you see	What to do
The bot doesn't answer at all	Before pairing that is expected — open the pairing link or send the `/pair` line. After pairing, run the `status` command on the computer.
"Your computer is offline"	The computer is off, asleep, or the listener isn't running. Wake it, then run `status`; if the listener is not running, run `start`.
"That code isn't valid, or it expired"	Codes last 10 minutes. Paste the install line again for a fresh one.
"That sign-up key is not valid"	The key was mistyped, or replaced by a newer one. Create a new key on the dashboard and paste the new line.
"Claude Code was not found"	Install Claude Code and sign in, then open a new PowerShell window and paste the line again.
PowerShell says running scripts is disabled	Your computer is managed by an organisation that blocks scripts. Ask whoever manages it to allow this one.
Every action is refused at level ask	Approvals are part of the paid plans. On Free, use chat — or upgrade on your dashboard.
Photos or files are refused	Also a paid-plan feature. Text works on every plan.
"You've used all your messages this month"	Your allowance resets on the 1st, or upgrade on the dashboard.
New computer	Create a new key and paste the line there. The old computer is retired automatically.

Still stuck? Your dashboard and the Privacy page show how to reach us.

Removing it

& "$HOME\.atlas\atlas.cmd" uninstall — disconnects this computer, stops the listener, removes start-at-login and removes the tools from Claude Code. Then delete the .atlas folder in your home directory to erase your assistant's notes and logs.
Still have an older install from the npm package? ella unpair does the same; delete the .ella folder afterwards.
Delete my account on the dashboard erases everything we hold about you. What that is: Privacy.