Getting Started with GUIDE

Release 1.03

Overview

GUIDE allows AI packages like Anthropic’s Claude to use the keyboard and mouse on a Windows system to operate programs directly. Most AI agents can only use programs or Web sites with an API interface: they can’t use human-oriented user interfaces. GUIDE can and does. This not only broadens the range of tasks that can be performed, it approaches the tasks in the way that is more familiar to human operators.

How it Works

While GUIDE runs an “Agent” (a set of instructions you provided it), it first parses your instructions and shows you its interpretation of what you’re asking for, usually with greater detail than you provided. During operation, GUIDE logs screen shots of each step and reports what it’s thinking and what it’s trying to do, allowing you to verify its operation.

GUIDE It also verifies the output of each step itself, making corrections automatically if a step didn’t deliver the desired result. It thus adjusts to circumstances as it runs.

Terminology

In the context of GUIDE:

• GUIDE (capitalized) is the AI enhancement package.

• Development system. A Windows device running GUIDE.

• An Agent (capitalized) is an Agent created and run under GUIDE. (AI agents in general are not capitalized.)

• Agent system. A Windows device running GUIDE Agents. This can be a different system from the development system.

• Remote device or remote system.

Implementation

GUIDE is implemented as an application that runs on Microsoft Windows. It makes API calls to cloud-based AI engines such as Anthropic’s Claude. (It currently does not support locally hosted AIs.)

GUIDE’s Agents can run locally on the GUIDE development system (the same system on which GUIDE is installed), or on a remote Agent system, where GUIDE controls the Agent via RDP (remote desktop protocol) session. When running, the Agent takes over the keyboard and mouse, and the maximum supported screen resolution is 1280x800 pixels. Running Agents on a remote Agent system is recommended except for brief periods of testing.

• You create GUIDE Agents on the development system and run them either on the development system or a remote Agent system.

• You can publish Agents so other members of your team can use them, and they can publish Agents that you can use.

• The development system is a Windows device with Internet access (the underlying AI’s API must be accessible).

• The remote Agent system, if present, is a Windows device that is accessible via Remote Desktop and has access to the Internet. The remote Agent system is optional.

Installation

Installation always involves choosing or creating a Windows system to serve as a development system, then optionally configuring a remote Agent system.

Prerequisites

Development System and Agent System

• Windows.

• Internet Connection (Required for AI model access and agent execution).

Simplest Installation

This uses your usual Windows system as both a development system and the Agent system.

Important: Keep in mind that an Agent controls the mouse and keyboard and you must reduce your monitor’s display to 1280x800 or less while it is running.

Follow the instructions in Installation Steps for the Development Machine.

Recommended Installations

If you have access to multiple Windows devices, we recommend using one of the following:

1. Instead of using your main Windows device for GUIDE, install GUIDE on a remotely accessible system and use it as both development system and Agent system. The installation procedure is the same as a local installation: Installation Steps for the Development Machine

2. Install GUIDE on either your main Windows device or a different one and use a separate Windows system as your remote Agent system.

   1. For the development system, follow Installation Steps for the Development Machine.

   2. For the remote Agent system, follow Remote Agent VM Setup.

Installation Steps for the Development Machine

Download GUIDE

You can download GUIDE from the GUIDE Management portal or directly via a link.

Download GUIDE from the GUIDE Management Portal

1. In a browser (Edge and Chrome are the browsers that have been tested), go to the GUIDE Management Portal at https://manage.runguide.ai.

2. Sign into your work account using Google authentication.

3. Click the My Account icon in the upper right corner.

4. Click “Download” to download the installation files, which come in a ZIP archive with a name like “GuideUserSetup_1.0.0.zip.”

5. Inside the ZIP archive is a GuideSetup.exe (and also this document and GuideRuntimeInstaller.exe, which is used for remote Agents).

6. Launch GuideUserSetup (you can do this from inside the ZIP archive, without extracting it first), and install Guide in the usual way, as shown below.

7. During this process, you can customize the following settings (only “Add to PATH” is enabled by default).

   1. Installation location (“C:\Users\username\AppData\Local\Programs\Guide\”).

   2. Name of the Start File shortcut (default is “Guide”).

   3. Create a desktop icon

   4. Add “Open with Guide” to the Windows Explorer file/directory context menus.

   5. Register Guide as an editor for default file types.

   6. Add to PATH.

Download GUIDE via a Link

If you are instructed to use a download link instead of the GUIDE management portal:

1. In a browser, use the link to download the GuideSetup.exe installation program.

2. Launch GuideSetup.exe and install it in the usual way, as shown above.

Configure the Development Machine

1. Launch Guide.

2. Wait for “Sign in with Google” to appear.

3. Sign in using your work account.

4. The left-hand pane will display GUIDE options.

Agents

The “Agents” section lists:

• “My Agents,” the agents you have created (currently none). Clicking on an Agent takes you to its Agent page, where you can run or edit it.

• “Published Agents,” which, when clicked, lists any agents shared by other members of your team. You can run published Agents.

Model Settings

Click on “Model Settings” to show the Model Settings page:

• Agent Folder: Where your agents are stored. (Defaults to “C:\Users\username\AppData\Local\guide\”.)

• Model: The AI model used by your Agents by default.

  • You can override this with individual Agents when desired.

  • We recommend trying different models when available.

• Display Resolution (Important)

  • Must match the actual resolution of your display or RDP connection

    • (changing your resolution in Windows Display Options just before running an Agent is one method).

    • Maximum resolution is 1280x800 pixels. The Agent will not work accurately if resolution is higher.

    • Set your desktop background to a solid color (no wallpaper).

Runtime Settings

Used to create remote Agent configurations.

• Leave as-is for now. The default configuration runs Agents locally.

• Remote configurations contain address and login information for the remote system.

Launch Console

Opens the Guide Admin Portal.

Creating Your First Agent

• Click the “+” symbol in the “Agents” section on the left-hand pane.

• Fill in the first and second Create New Agent pages:

  • Give the Agent a name.

  • Leave “Persona” blank.

  • The most important field is “Workflow,” where you describe what the Agent is supposed to do. This will be parsed and turned into a more precise step-by-step version that you can review and edit as needed.

  • Click “Next.”

  • On the second page, leave “Model” at the default for now.

  • The screen resolution must match the resolution of your display when you run the Agent.

  • Click “Save.”

Note: Instruct your Agent to save its answer to a file. It does not do this by default, nor does it report its result in its step-by-step narrative.

Next, GUIDE will parse and adjust your workflow into steps that it finds clear. It will also take things like URLs and file names and put them into variables, allowing the workflow to be reused by changing just the variables.

Running a Step or the Entire Agent

Clicking the blue “Play” icon at the bottom of the page (see above) will run the entire Agent. You can also run it step by step by clicking the “Step” button at the top of the page, which shows an alternate display with a “Play” icon for each step.

Once you press “Play,” a red “Stop” button appear. Avoid using the keyboard or mouse, since the Agent needs to control it.

The exception is when you need to stop the Agent by putting the mouse over the Stop button and clicking it.

Monitoring Execution

As execution proceeds, you can watch the Agent open Web sites or applications with the keyboard and mouse. In addition, a record is kept of each step the Agent takes, with a narrative and a screen shot for every step. This allows even non-programmers to understand what’s happening in a way that lets them make corrections.

When execution ends, you are offered “Get Quick Fixes.” If execution failed, GUIDE suggests corrections. If it succeeded, it may suggest optimizations to let it run faster next time.

Editing the Agent

Use the pencil icon to the left of the Agent’s name in the left-hand pane to edit the Agent or its variables.

Using Variables

The “Variables” button near the top of the Agent editing screen will show the variables defined for this Agent and allow you add more or edit or delete existing ones.

Two variables, “current_datetime” and “os_platform,” cannot be edited or deleted. These are the current date and time and the operating system architecture, version, and build.

Publishing the Agent

When editing or running the Agent, there is a “Publish” button near the top of the screen. Clicking it will publish the Agent for the rest of your team. It pops up a page first, in case you want to change some of the Agent’s fields.

Runtime Configuration

The runtime settings tell GUIDE whether to run locally or remotely, which AI model to use, the maximum number of iterations (steps) to user, and more.

To see and modify the runtime configuration:

1. Open the GUIDE sidebar

2. Under “Settings,” click “Runtime Settings.” This opens the “Runtime Settings” tab.

The installation has a “Default local Config” that can’t be edited. You can add more runtime configurations with the “+” button at the top of the page.

Default Local Config

• Named Default Local Config.

• Cannot be edited or deleted.

• Used for local execution only.

• All new agents inherit it automatically.

Adding New Runtime Configurations

To add a new runtime configuration, Click “+” in the “Runtime Settings” tab.

Local Configuration

A local configuration is shown above. It will run on the same system that GUIDE is running on.

It includes the following fields:

• Configuration Name. Your choice of a name for this runtime configuration.

• Description. An optional description field.

• Execution Type. “Local Computer.”

Remote Configuration

When you select “Remote Computer” instead of “Local Computer,” you get a remote runtime configuration. When you select a remote runtime configuration for an Agent, it will run on the specified remote machine.

• Runs agents on a remote Windows device using the Remote Desktop Protocol.

• Make sure the remote device is accessible from the local GUIDE machine via RDP (that is, make sure you can sign in via Remote Desktop Connection).

• Your RDP Credentials will be securely stored in Windows Credential Manager.

• Do NOT delete credentials manually.

The configuration has these parameters:

• Configuration Name. Your choice of a name for this runtime configuration.

• Description. An optional description field.

• Execution Type. “Local Computer.”

• IP Address. This can either be the remote device’s IP address or its hostname.

• Port. Currently fixed at 3389.

• Username, Password. The credentials used to sign into the desired account.

• Restart remote computer before execution. Disabled by default, not generally recommended.

Running Agents Remotely

Install the Remote GUIDE Runtime

Follow these instructions to prepare the remote Windows PC or VM for the GUIDE Runtime:

1. RDP into the remote Windows device VM, using an admin account.

2. Download or copy the GuideUserSetup Zip archive to the remote device.

3. Extract the files from the Zip archive. We will be using GuideRuntimeInstaller.msi.

4. Run the installer.

   1. Double-click the GUIDE Runtime Installer.

   2. Accept the terms and click on Install.

5. (Optional) Navigate to Control Panel\Programs\Programs and Features and check the version details, such as the release number.

Switching Runtime at Execution Time

Once you have multiple runtime configurations, you can choose which one to run at execution time.

1. In “Step” view, click the dropdown next to “Run.”

2. Select which runtime to use for the current execution.

3. This does not alter the Agent’s default runtime.

GUIDE Runtime Troubleshooting

GUIDE Runtime Logs

You can find the GUIDE Runtime logs at installation location in the “C:\ProgramData\GUIDE” folder.

Uninstall GUIDE Runtime

Uninstall normally from Control Panel.

Clean up a GUIDE Runtime 1.01 Installation

Steps to cleanup existing GUIDE Runtime 1.0.1 from the remote device if installing the new version normally does not work:

1. Delete the directory where GUIDE Runtime 1.0.1 is installed.

2. Stop the GUIDE Runtime task.

3. Navigate to Start and Search for “task scheduler.”

4. Open Task Scheduler and select the scheduled task named “LaunchOnRDPLogin.”

5. Click on the “Actions” tab to identify the installer path.

6. Right‑click the task to open the options menu, then select “Delete” to remove it.

Update the GUIDE Runtime

Uninstall the old GUIDE Runtime first, then install the new version.

Uninstall GUIDE Runtime

Uninstall normally from Control Panel.

Update GUIDE Runtime

Uninstall the old GUIDE Runtime first, then install the new version.