FAQ

Grouped by topic. Technical debugging and error codes are in Troubleshooting.

Official support

For anything this page does not answer, email workbuddy@tencent.com. Include the error code, a screenshot, your system version and the time it happened and it moves much faster.

Installation and sign-in

It will not install or launch

Check the system version first: Windows 10 or later (7 / 8 / 8.1 unsupported, Windows 11 ARM64 not yet supported), macOS 12 (Monterey) or later. Systems below the bar cannot launch it.

On Mac, also pick the right chip build: ARM64 for M-series, X64 for Intel. When the site cannot identify your device it defaults to X64, which runs on M-series through Rosetta and is the broader-compatibility choice.

Clicking sign in does nothing

Three common causes — see Download and install and Troubleshooting: no default browser, insufficient permission on the account directory, or security software blocking it.

Workspaces vanished after an update

A known Windows behaviour. The files are usually still there:

• Windows: C:\Users\<username>\workbuddy
• macOS: /Users/<username>/WorkBuddy

Open the date-named or custom-named folders through WorkBuddy and the history normally comes back.

Long-term advice: keep a copy of important output in a directory you manage, not only in the default workspace.

"A user project directory was detected in the install folder"

Updating or reinstalling clears and rewrites the install directory. The fix is in Download and install.

The underlying rule: do not put a workspace inside the install directory.

Files and workspaces

It cannot read images / PDF / Excel / Word

Two causes: the current model does not support that file type, or the relevant plugin or Skill is not installed.

What to do:

1. Switch to a model that takes image or document input
2. Break the requirement into steps so it can install what it needs and then process
3. Install document-handling plugins and Skills (the office document suite)

The generated file will not open

Usually because the output file type was not specified. Say Word, Excel, PDF or Markdown explicitly when you brief the task.

Files went missing after tidying the desktop

A known Windows situation: a desktop-tidying instruction produces a PowerShell script, and after execution the desktop is tidy but some files appear to be missing.

What to do: check the target directory and the recycle bin; keep the generated script and result screenshots for investigation.

The more fundamental advice: do not have it tidy the desktop. The desktop mixes system files, shortcuts and files currently in use. Pull what you want tidied into its own folder first.

I cannot drag a work folder in

A known issue with no confirmed fix. Note your system version, how you dragged and the error, and submit it.

Workaround: use the "select workspace" file picker instead of dragging.

The Assistant's conversation history disappeared

In the assistant workspace, only the task with the most recent conversation is shown in the Assistant panel — the rest appear only in the workspace list.

The Assistant is for remote control. When creating a task at your desk, do not choose the assistant as the workspace.

Features

Are custom models supported?

Yes. Settings → Models, configured through the GUI with no config file editing. Three routes: by provider, local deployment (Ollama), or a custom URL. See MCP and plugins.

Why can I not change the Assistant's default folder?

The Assistant is built for remote tasks and its working directory is fixed. This is a design constraint.

Is cloud or server installation supported?

Server-side capability is still being developed. Connection failures after installing on Windows Server, and failed SSH connections to cloud machines, have both been reported. Official support depends on future versions.

For private deployment, look at the enterprise private-cloud edition.

Does full access apply only to the current task?

No. It is a global switch: turning it on switches every task in this client, including ones created later, and turning it off returns them all. See Permission modes and the sandbox.

Does memory update in real time?

No. The day's conversations are processed each evening. A preference stated today may not apply today. If you need it now, put it in the prompt or edit memory by hand under Settings → Memory.

Are the web and desktop Skill libraries shared?

Personal libraries are not. Project-level Skills are managed centrally in the cloud and are identical on both. Anything for a team, or needed on both surfaces, belongs at project level.

Performance and errors

Garbled output, nonsense, or long silences

Usually a model anomaly, an overloaded task, or an unstable network. What to do:

1. Switch model and test first
2. Break complex tasks into smaller steps
3. Note whether an error code, timeout or network fluctuation accompanied it

Slow, tasks taking a long time

1. Check the network first
2. Reduce oversized compound tasks
3. Switch model if needed, or split into several independent tasks running in parallel

A task is stuck

1. Click the stop control near the send button
2. Switch to a different model
3. Re-run the task

Uploading a desktop file from a mobile instruction fails

A known Windows limitation — device permissions, path access and platform capability constrain it.

Workarounds: specify the file path explicitly on the machine side; or have it tidy the files into a directory and send them via a cloud drive, Tencent Docs or email.

Bots and the Assistant

Bound successfully but no response

In order: confirm the connection is still online → switch model and test → disconnect and reconnect on WeChat → note the time and platform for investigation.

HarmonyOS WeChat scan fails

HarmonyOS 6 has a current WeChat scanning incompatibility; HarmonyOS 4 works. Workaround: complete the first scan on an Android phone and continue on HarmonyOS afterwards.

WeCom says the webhook domain ownership check failed

WeCom validates domain ownership on webhook addresses. Check the address is complete and matches requirements; if it still fails, keep the error screenshot and submit it.

The QQ bot disconnects or does not answer

Switch model and test first. If it persists, note the error code, time and network environment before investigating further.

Feishu says it cannot check the webhook link

This can appear after entering the same webhook address repeatedly. Recreate or re-enter the configuration rather than repeating the same address.

How do I connect the mini program?

Hover the mini-program icon on the left and scan the QR code to authorise.

Account and credits

How do I request a refund?

Confirm you meet the conditions first (see Credits & plans), then:

1. Sign in to the Tencent Cloud site, go to submit a ticket, and find Tencent Cloud CodeBuddy
2. Fill in the reason and description and submit
3. Support processes it within 3 working days
4. On approval the refund is issued and returns by the original route within 5–10 working days
5. Check the status on the order management page

Credits missing or consumption looks wrong

Check the balance and detail under personal home → usage management on the official site. If the numbers genuinely do not add up, email a screenshot to workbuddy@tencent.com.

How do I claim compensation credits?

Sign in on the official site → avatar → personal home → usage management.

How do I get an invoice?

Personal: official site personal home → "Billing and invoices" → "View invoices" → the Tencent Cloud console invoice management.

Enterprise: enterprise admin console → "Order management" → "Invoice management" → the Tencent Cloud console. Sign in with the enterprise's bound Tencent Cloud UIN.

How do I delete my account?

Sign in on the official site → avatar → personal home → account management → delete account.

It still shows the free tier after upgrading

A known front-end display issue, still being fixed. If the purchase definitely went through, keep the order and version details and wait for the fix.

Data security

WorkBuddy runs a three-layer defence-in-depth architecture.

Technical layer: sandboxing and permission control

• Bash command sandbox — AI operations are strictly isolated from the real system
• Filesystem isolation — access only to pre-authorised workspace directories, not sensitive system files
• Sandbox escape prevention — writes to configuration files are blocked
• Secure by default — read-only at start; editing files and running commands need explicit approval
• Layered permission system — allow / ask / deny rules

Management layer: enterprise controls

• SSO — unified authentication with automatic org-structure sync
• Credit quota control — differentiated allowances by department or role
• IP allowlist — restrict sign-in to specific IP ranges
• Fine-grained tool permissions — control the AI's access to files, commands and the network

Compliance layer: data protection and audit

• Skill security audit — reviewed with the security team, risk graded
• skill-scanner local checks — proactive defence before installation
• Data executes locally, is not uploaded — processing happens in your local environment
• The server handles fragments only — discarded after use, not stored, not used for model training

Communication security

• HTTPS end to end, TLS 1.2 / 1.3
• Communication over the messaging platform's own WebSocket channels — reusing existing secure channels in WeCom, QQ, DingTalk and Feishu, requiring no extra ports opened in a corporate firewall, and not depending on frp / ngrok / Tailscale-style tunnelling
• A secure communication gateway with gateway token authentication and connection authorisation, alongside SSO and role permissions

The VPC private edition

The enterprise private edition provides physical isolation: backend services, databases and vector databases all deployed in a dedicated VPC, physically separated from other tenants; inter-service communication stays on the private network, reachable from a corporate office network over a private link.

What this architecture does and does not solve

Solves: data not leaving the machine, over-privileged access, malicious Skills, account control, transport security.

Does not solve: mistakes caused by the model misunderstanding. A sandbox blocks "the directory it should not touch"; it cannot block "the wrong thing done in the right directory".

Which is why backups and preview-then-confirm are habits no security architecture replaces.

Where should beginners start?

The high-frequency starting scenarios the official docs suggest:

• Driving WeChat — posting to Moments, gathering group chat statistics
• Writing and publishing social content
• Collecting information from specified pages into a target file

The recommended approach: start with a single scenario with a clear result, get one complete run working, then expand to harder things.

That is exactly how this book's Playbooks are ordered.