AI Workspace

Overview

AI Workspace is a FlashDesk workspace for using local AI tools against a remote device. The AI tool runs on the operator device, while commands for the remote device are executed through SSH when needed.

Important: AI Workspace must be enabled on the remote device. FlashDesk performs SSH key exchange automatically when AI Workspace starts, so users do not need to create or register SSH keys manually.

Basic usage

1

Enable AI Workspace on the remote device

On the remote device, enable AI Workspace and SSH connection permission in FlashDesk settings.

2

Open AI Workspace from the operator device

Select the destination device and open AI Workspace. FlashDesk creates a local workspace folder, generates SSH helper files, and exchanges a temporary SSH key with the remote device automatically.

3

Choose how to work

Choose SSH command work for direct one-off tasks, or choose project editing when you want to create a Local Mirror and edit files locally.

4

Open an AI tool

Open Codex or Claude Code from the AI Workspace window. FlashDesk writes the instruction file for the selected tool into the workspace.

5

Run commands or edit files

For SSH command work, ask the AI tool to run remote commands through the generated helper. For project editing, edit Local Mirror files and then return to FlashDesk to review and apply the diff.

What you can do

Open Codex, Claude Code, VS Code, or the workspace folder from FlashDesk.
Run commands on the remote device through SSH.
Create a Local Mirror of a selected remote project and edit it locally.
Review Local Mirror changes before applying them back to the remote device.
Leave Custom instructions per remote device that get merged into the AI tool instruction files automatically.

How it works

Item	Description
`AI Workspace`	A local working directory created for a FlashDesk connection.
`.flashdesk-workspace/ssh_config`	SSH configuration and helper scripts generated by FlashDesk for the selected remote device. AI tools should use the helper commands instead of editing these files directly.
`.flashdesk-workspace/identity`	Temporary SSH identity generated by FlashDesk for the current AI Workspace. FlashDesk registers it on the remote device automatically and removes stale keys when possible.
`.flashdesk-workspace/identity.fd`	Strict-ACL copy of the temporary identity used by FlashDesk's own SSH calls. Required because Windows OpenSSH rejects key files whose permissions are too permissive.
`AGENTS.md` / `CLAUDE.md`	Instruction files generated when the corresponding AI tool is opened. FlashDesk also tailors their content to the detected Host OS (Windows vs POSIX) and regenerates them when Custom instructions are updated.
Local Mirror	A local copy of a selected remote project. The user can review changes before applying them back to the remote device.

Workspace modes

SSH command work

Use this mode for direct, one-off work on the remote device, such as checking logs, listing files, restarting a service, or making a small confirmed change.

Project editing with Local Mirror

Use this mode when you want to edit a remote project locally. FlashDesk clones the selected remote file or folder into Local Mirror. After editing, review the diff in FlashDesk and apply only the selected changes back to the remote device.

Custom instructions

Custom instructions let you leave standing notes that the AI tool should follow in this workspace — coding conventions, the package manager to use, branches to avoid touching, approval rules, anything you would normally repeat at the start of every session.

Open from the Custom instructions button next to Open folder in the AI Workspace window.
Saved per remote device, so each project can have its own standing notes.
Merged into AGENTS.md / CLAUDE.md under a Custom instructions (always follow) section, so Codex and Claude Code pick them up automatically. Existing instruction files are rewritten whenever you save.

Operational notes

AI Workspace is off by default and must be allowed on the remote device.
The remote device must also allow SSH connections.
Ask the user before using SSH to create, overwrite, move, or delete files on the remote device.
When using Local Mirror, apply changes to the remote device only after the user confirms the diff in FlashDesk.
Large files can make Local Mirror creation slower. FlashDesk may ask whether to include or skip large files.

Troubleshooting

Permission denied

If the helper returns Permission denied, close and reopen AI Workspace so FlashDesk can refresh the temporary key exchange. Also confirm that AI Workspace and SSH connections are allowed on the remote device.

Windows text encoding

For Windows Hosts, the generated AGENTS.md / CLAUDE.md already instructs the AI tool to use PowerShell with UTF-8 output, so most encoding issues are handled automatically. If you run helper commands by hand from macOS or Linux and see garbled Japanese, run them through PowerShell instead of cmd.exe:

./.flashdesk-workspace/fdssh.sh "powershell -NoProfile -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -Command \"[Console]::OutputEncoding=[System.Text.Encoding]::UTF8; Get-ChildItem\""

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