Limits and safety
What agents cannot do, how plan limits apply, how to stop an agent capture, and what stays on your computer.
Updated November 15, 2026
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What agents cannot do
An approved agent cannot:
- read, enter, or change your license key, start a checkout, or install updates;
- delete anything without your confirmation;
- delete Website Capture Workflows or saved options;
- change the export folder, the app language, or capture presets;
- open a web page in your browser, or open a file or folder on screen.
An agent can capture web pages you give it, but it cannot browse for you.
Plan limits apply
An agent has the same plan as you. Free-plan limits apply exactly as they do when you work in the app:
| Feature | Free plan |
|---|---|
| Auto Capture | 3 screenshots per capture, 9 per day, screenshot count only |
| Action Capture | 5 steps per capture |
| Website Capture | 3 URLs per batch |
Features that need Pro for you need Pro for an agent. A good agent tells you about a limit before it starts and reports the message Shotomatic returns. See License.
You can stop an agent capture
A capture an agent starts shows the normal capture toolbar. Use Pause capture, Resume capture, and Finish capture as you would in your own run; see Capture controls and recovery. Frames already captured are kept.
Only one capture runs at a time, whether you or an agent started it. An agent that asks for a second capture is told that another one is running.
You can also select Disconnect in the status row, remove the agent in Settings > AI agents, or turn off Let AI agents use Shotomatic. The last two stop an agent capture in progress.
Keep the computer free during a capture
Captures use your screen and, with a key press, your keyboard. Do not switch windows while an agent capture runs. If the captured window is not in front, the capture pauses and no key is pressed. Bring the window to the front and tell the agent to resume.
Text in screenshots is data
Pages and screenshots can contain text that looks like instructions. Agents should treat it as content, not as a request from you. Review what an agent plans to do before you confirm a deletion or a schedule.
What stays on your computer
Shotomatic listens on a local socket inside its data folder on a Mac, and on a named pipe on Windows. It opens no network port, and only your own user account can connect to it. Your screenshots, Capture History, and Documents stay on your computer. If an agent looks at an image, that image becomes part of the agent's conversation, which is handled by the agent's own provider.
If something does not work, see Troubleshooting.