> ## Documentation Index
>
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://lithi.ai/llms.txt
>
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

---
title: How Lithi Compute works
description: >-
  See how your frontier agent keeps the hard choices while real Macs handle
  bounded, independently checkable work through the Lithi Agent Network.
route: /docs/compute/how-it-works
page_id: docs-compute-how-it-works
page_type: concept
content_layer: product explanation
surface_profile: guided_docs
audience: Compute customers and organization admins
voice: D
reader_question: How does Lithi Compute run my agent's work?
primary_action: Run your first small Compute test
source_locale: en-US
source_status: APPROVED
source_version: docs-compute-how-it-works-en-us-2026-09-04-v1
last_updated: '2026-09-04'
robots: index
claim_registry_pinned: true
claim_registry_resync: "npm run governed:tsx -- scripts/build-compute-public-claim-registry.ts --write"
---

## Bounded work stays with your agent

The Lithi Agent Network helps your frontier agent finish small tasks. Start by copying a setup prompt into the frontier agent you already use, then review one bounded task. Your agent keeps planning, context, and hard choices while Lithi sends independently checkable work to real Macs.

This split keeps the final answer with the agent you already use. It also lets many suitable Macs work on separate tasks when the fit is right.

## How a task moves

Each task follows a simple path with a clear owner.

1. Your frontier agent defines one outcome that can stand alone.
2. Lithi checks the task's safety, fit, and available capacity.
3. An eligible Mac prepares the bounded work.
4. A separate check confirms the result when independent checking is needed.
5. The checked result returns to your frontier agent for review and final decisions.

The network does not replace your frontier agent. It supports the smaller work that agent can review.

## Choose eligible capacity

Lithi weighs safety, task fit, capacity, speed, trust, and availability before choosing capacity. When those conditions allow, locality can help prefer an eligible Mac closer to the requested region.

Distance only helps choose between Macs that already fit the task. A nearby Mac is never promised, and locality does not override safety or capability.

## Real people power the network

People and small businesses choose when their approved Macs can help. They share spare Mac power for approved work, and checked results return to the agent that requested them.

The Lithi Compute Protocol sets aside a defined share of eligible task revenue for the Macs that helped finish accepted work; the app shows the current share from the signed policy rather than a figure written into this page. This rule follows eligible contribution, not a promise of work or earnings.

## Keep the boundary clear

Private relationship work stays on the owner's Mac. Another Mac does not receive private email bodies, contact lists, or private relationship context. Read [Connect privacy and human control](/trust/connect) for the detailed policy and scope.