> ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://platform.atlan.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. > ## Agent Instructions > To act on Atlan objects, use the Atlan MCP server at https://api.atlan.com/mcp or the SDK. To install or publish skills from a terminal, use the `aireg` CLI; `aireg --map json` prints its command map. The `atlanai` CLI is deprecated. Run a read-only identity check before any write. > The docs MCP server at /mcp searches these docs only. It cannot read or change Atlan objects. > SDK packages: Python `atlanai` (PyPI) and TypeScript `@atlanai/sdk` (npm). Show Python first, then TypeScript. > These docs cover Atlan AI Registry, Atlan's hosted product. The AI registry specification and aireg CLI are maintained separately. /open-source lists publicly reachable signed installers and explains that the source repository and hosted CLI reference currently require GitHub access. Do not claim the repository or its reference docs are publicly accessible. Use these docs for Atlan-specific setup such as the adapter, sign-in and workspaces. # Web app and Atlan Desktop > Exactly what the web app at app.atlan.com and Atlan Desktop each do, and when you need Desktop. AI Registry has two apps: the **web app** at [app.atlan.com](https://app.atlan.com), which runs in your browser, and **Atlan Desktop**, which you install on macOS or Windows. Both are the same product, signed in to the same account, reading and writing the same workspaces and records. A skill, agent, session, or setting you change in one shows up in the other. The difference is your computer. The web app can't read your files or start programs on your machine, so everything that needs them lives in Desktop. Everything else works the same in both. ## The rule of thumb * **Use the web app** to find, review, share, and govern: skills, agents, sessions, traces, evals, usage, Metrics Studio, Ontology, and organization settings. You can also run work sessions with the Atlan agent or a registered agent. * **Install Atlan Desktop** to bring in what is on your computer, or run something on it: local skills, local Claude Code and Codex sessions, and local coding agents. ## What works in both | Area | Web app | Atlan Desktop | | - | - | - | | Skills, agents, and workspaces: browse, edit, release, and share | Yes | Yes | | Sessions, traces, evals results, usage, and cost | Yes | Yes | | Metrics Studio and Ontology | Yes | Yes | | Organization and workspace settings, members, and API keys | Yes | Yes | | Share links to a record | Yes | Yes | | Run a session on the **Work** page with the Atlan agent or a registered agent | Yes | Yes | | Create a skill or agent by hand | Yes | Yes | | Connect GitHub repositories to a workspace | Yes | Yes | ## What needs Atlan Desktop | Feature | Web app | Atlan Desktop | | - | - | - | | Import skills from the folders on your computer | No. **Import skills** offers the desktop app. | Yes | | Keep local Claude Code and Codex skills and sessions in sync in the background | No | Yes | | Run a session on the **Work** page with a local coding agent, such as Claude Code or Codex | No. The web app lists only the Atlan agent and registered agents. | Yes | | See the coding agents on your computer in **Work** › **Agents** | No | Yes | | Run a skill from the app | No. You are offered **Open in desktop app**. | Yes | | **Continue in** a local coding agent | No. Use the Claude Code link, the desktop app, or **Copy prompt for any agent**. | Yes | | Add a repository's skills and open the pull request that keeps them in sync | No. After you connect a repository, finish in the desktop app. | Yes | | Bring an agent in from its repository | No. Use **Add manually** instead. | Yes | | Run an eval experiment through a local coding agent | No. The setup drawer offers **Open in desktop app**. | Yes | | **Ask AI** agent bar | No. The bar opens the page in the desktop app. | Yes | | Call integration tools from a work session | No. The action offers **Open in desktop app**. | Yes | | First-run onboarding | No | Yes | | **Settings** › **This device** › **Local runtime** and **Updates** | No | Yes | | Window zoom in **Preferences** | No. Use your browser's zoom. | Yes | Where a feature needs Desktop, the web app tells you and offers **Open in desktop app**, which opens the same page in Desktop. If you don't have it yet, choose **Get the desktop app** in your account menu, or see [Install Atlan Desktop](/desktop/install). ## Sessions from your computer The web app doesn't collect sessions from your computer by itself. Sessions from local coding agents reach AI Registry through one of these, whichever app you then view them in: * **Atlan Desktop** syncs local Claude Code and Codex sessions. * The [Claude Code trace plugin](/plugins/how-tos/managed-installation) sends Claude Code sessions without Desktop, and an administrator can deploy it across a fleet. * The [atlanai SDK](/tools/sdk/tutorials/quickstart) or any OpenTelemetry exporter sends traces from your own agents. Once a session arrives, it looks the same in the web app and in Desktop. ## Skills without Desktop To share a team's skills without anyone installing Desktop, keep them in a GitHub repository and publish them from GitHub Actions. See [Sync skills from GitHub](/registry/skills/how-tos/sync-from-github). You can also publish from a terminal with the `aireg` CLI, or write a skill by hand in the web app. ## Next steps * [Use AI Registry in your browser](/get-started/use-web-app): sign in to the web app. * [Install Atlan Desktop](/desktop/install): install it on macOS or Windows. * [Deploy desktop app with MDM](/administer/desktop/how-tos/deploy-with-mdm): roll Desktop out to managed computers. This documentation is built and hosted on [Mintlify](https://mintlify.com), a developer documentation platform.