Context Board FAQ

The questions people ask most. If yours isn’t here, email [email protected].

Using it

Do I need an API key?

No. AI apps sign in to the board with an Allow page, so there’s no key to copy. The chat inside the board runs on your own Claude Code or Codex through the runner, on the plan you already pay for. A key is only for the chat if you use neither, and it stays in your browser.

Which AI apps work with it?

Claude, ChatGPT, Claude Code, Codex, Cursor and VS Code each have their own steps in Connect, under Your AI. Windsurf and any other app that speaks MCP over HTTP connect with the board’s address, https://board.contextbolt.com/mcp. The steps are on Your agent and your computer.

Does it work on my phone?

Yes, in your phone’s browser. There’s no app to install. On a phone, the grid button beside the chat button shows all your boards.

Can I have more than one board?

Yes. Click the board’s name in its pill and choose New board, or press G and pick the New board tile. A new board can start from any template. Ctrl [ and Ctrl ] (⌘ on a Mac) move between boards.

Can I share a board?

Yes. Choose Share in the board’s pill to make a live, read-only copy at its own link, or to put it on your site. People see the board and its numbers update as yours do. They never see your sources, your keys or your other boards, and a shared view never shows your sessions, your usage or your jobs.

Can my team use it?

Context Board is built for one person’s workspace. There are no team seats or roles. To show the board to others, share it as a read-only link.

Data

Does my board update when it’s closed?

No. Sources run on our server only while the board is open somewhere. Close it and they pick up again the next time you open it. There are no email or Slack alerts when a number moves.

Why does a widget show a warning beside its number?

Its last read failed. The widget keeps the last good value and says what went wrong and when, so it never shows a number it didn’t receive. Open Connect, then Connected, to see the source and fix it.

Does connecting a service change anything in it?

No. Connections read. On a service’s own MCP server, the board only runs the tools that read. Google sign-in is read only, and a saved key is only used to read.

Where are my keys kept?

Keys you save for a service are sealed on the board’s server, encrypted, and never sent back. Widgets never hold credentials. An Anthropic or OpenAI key for the chat stays in your browser and goes only to that provider.

Can it show history from before I connected?

Only as far back as the service’s own API goes. Search Console widgets, for example, cover 7 to 480 days. A number you push yourself builds its history from the first value you send.

Can an agent change my board without me seeing?

No. Everything an agent does shows at once, with its name on it, and can be undone. Deleted widgets and boards stay in the trash for 30 days. The chat in the board asks before it removes a widget or reaches a new address.

Your computer

What does the runner send from my computer?

From your sessions, only names, states and percentages. A session’s title and project, whether it’s working, done or waiting for you, and how much of each limit is left. Never what was said in a session.

Two widgets send a little more, and only if you add them. Git activity sends each repo’s name and branch, how many files have changes, and recent commits (their short hash, author and message), never your code. Project file sends the text of the one file you point it at, so it can show it.

Can the runner touch my files?

Only in the project folders you choose, in your computer’s own folder picker. A read only folder is read and never changed. In a read and write folder, each file the agent changes or deletes is kept as it was, on your computer, for 30 days. Through the runner, your agent uses the board’s tools, web search and those folders, never your commands.

How do I remove the runner?

Unlink the computer in Connect, Your AI, Your computers, or in Settings under Your computer. Its sessions leave your board and the runner there stops.

Pricing

What does it cost?

Context Board is free for 3 days, then $6 a month. One plan with every connection, widget and theme.

Troubleshooting

My sign-in code didn’t arrive or expired

Check your spam folder first. A code works for 10 minutes. Choose Send a new code on the sign-in page once its timer runs out, and type the newest code you received.

My AI app can’t see the board

Work through these in order.

• Open Connect, Your AI and the app’s page. It says whether the app is connected and when it last read the board.
• Start a new session. Claude Code and Codex load their MCP servers when a session starts.
• Sign in again. In Claude Code, run claude mcp login context-board, or type /mcp and choose Authenticate. In Codex, run codex mcp login context-board.
• On the Allow page, sign in with the email your board is under.
• If the app can’t sign in at all, use Make a link with a key under Other ways on its page.

A widget says Not connected yet

It has no source yet. Click Connect on the widget and pick where its data comes from. Templates ship with no numbers, so every data widget starts this way.

A source says Needs sign-in or Key not accepted

Needs sign-in means the service wants you to sign in again. Open it from Connected and choose Sign in to the service again. Key not accepted means the service stopped accepting the saved key. Make a new key on the service’s site and save it with Change key.

My Claude Code or Codex sessions don’t show

• Check the computer is linked and on. Connect, Your AI, Your computers lists each one and whether it’s on.
• Check Claude Code or Codex is signed in on that computer. Connect says when neither is.
• Check Show my Claude Code and Codex sessions is on, in Settings under Your computer.

The AI usage widget is empty

It reads what Claude Code and Codex last heard from their own servers, so it fills after each app’s next use on a linked computer. It’s added from the gallery (press A), or comes with the Agents template. An agent can’t add it for you.

The line to link my computer did nothing

Look at the window you pasted it in. It says what it’s doing, or what stopped it. On Windows, use PowerShell or the Command Prompt. Each line’s code works once, so copy a fresh line from Your computers for each computer.