Teaching a habit

You teach a habit by doing the task once. Plainwork watches the apps you use and turns your clicks and typing into repeatable steps.

Steps

1. On the home screen, click + Teach Habit.
2. Click Start Recording, then switch to the app (or apps) you want to automate.
3. Do the task exactly how you'd want it repeated. Your clicks appear in the list as you go.
4. Come back to Plainwork, type a short description of what you just did, and click Stop & Build.
5. Plainwork repeats the task itself to learn it, then shows the finished habit for review. While it's learning, the screen shows what it's doing.

Permissions

Teaching needs macOS Accessibility so Plainwork can see what you interact with. To also capture typing, grant Input Monitoring — teaching uses it to record your keystrokes, and habit detection uses it to notice typing activity. Without it, clicks are still recorded but typing isn't. With Screen Recording granted, teaching can also photograph the demonstrated app's window for steps the app doesn't label — at most five per demonstration, sent with your demonstration to the AI that builds the habit, and never stored. Plainwork links you to the right Settings pane if any of these is off.

The background browser beta has separate built-in tests in Settings. They do not record a demonstration or request Chrome's Keychain permission. Teaching a task in Chrome still follows the recording flow above; it does not automatically become a background browser habit.

Choosing a schedule

After the habit is built, pick when it runs:

• Only when I run it. Nothing happens automatically: You press run to start it.
• Every day / weekday at a time you set.
• Weekly on a day you choose.
• Every few hours, or an advanced custom schedule.

Click Save habit and it appears in your habits list. For a scheduled habit, saving also allows that exact version to run automatically on this Mac. That permission stays on this device; another Mac asks before its first automatic run.

If the habit's steps, schedule, file access, app scripting access, or approval policy changes, Plainwork asks again. Choose Run once or Always run this version. Irreversible actions still need approval each time.

Tips

• Apps with clear, labelled buttons and lists teach most reliably.
• The recording dock floats at the bottom of your screen while you demonstrate. If it covers something you need, drag it out of the way (moving it isn't recorded as a step). It disappears once Plainwork starts learning.
• While Plainwork is learning, it repeats the task in your apps, so windows may open, move, or get clicked. That's expected! Sit tight and don't touch anything until the review screen appears.
• For anything irreversible (like sending or deleting), Plainwork asks you to approve it each time the habit runs, so it's safe to include.