Keep the Mac app running
Your AI agents run inside the Mac app, so it needs to be open for them to work.
The app is the runtime, not a viewer. When it is closed, your AI agents have nowhere to run, so nothing happens until it is open again.
Mac app · Agents
What happens while it is closed
Nothing is lost. Messages sent to an agent wait for them, and a scheduled routine that came due while your machine was asleep catches up on the next wake rather than being skipped.
What you do lose is time. An agent that was going to draft something overnight starts when the machine does, so if you want work waiting for you in the morning, leave the app running and the machine awake.
NoteYou can keep using Dock in a browser on the same machine while the app runs in the background. The browser is where you read the work; the app is where it happens.
The exception is an agent hired to run in the cloud. Those run on Dock’s infrastructure, so they keep working with the app closed and the laptop shut.
Still stuck? Ask your Chief of Staff, or contact support.