Tug connects to accounts on your computer. Questions go from your computer to the provider you choose. Each provider can see what you send it.
Choose a connection
The Mac helper has command line and browser connections. The Windows and Linux Team preview targets 0.2.91. A preview connection is not a promise that it works in the version you have installed.
On a small screen, scroll the table sideways to read each column.
| Provider | How you sign in | What stays on your computer | Availability |
|---|---|---|---|
| Claude | Tug runs Claude Code auth login, which opens the provider login. For an added account on Mac, you can instead paste a token made by Claude Code setup. The preview also opens claude.ai in a separate browser profile for each account. | Claude Code owns its login in its account home. A pasted setup token is saved in the Mac login Keychain and supplied only to that account. Browser sessions stay in their own local profile. | Command line connection in the Mac helper. Browser connection in the 0.2.91 Team preview. |
| ChatGPT | Tug runs Codex login, which handles the provider login. On Mac, Tug can run its device code flow: you open the provider page and approve the code. The preview also opens chatgpt.com in a separate browser profile. | Codex owns its login in its account home, which may include its auth.json file. Tug keeps an account reference. Browser sessions stay in their own local profile. | Command line connection in the Mac helper. Browser connection in the 0.2.91 Team preview. On Windows, sign in to the official command line tool yourself. |
| Grok | Tug runs Grok login with its OAuth option, with a device code option on Mac. A grok.com connection opens the provider site in its own browser profile. Grok Bot is a separate desktop app that uses a Cursor account. | The command line tool owns its login in its account home. The grok.com session stays in its browser profile. Grok Bot keeps its own login; Tug reads its sign in status. | Mac connections depend on the installed tool or app. Automatic sending for grok.com is held. Grok Bot is not a grok.com login. |
| Gemini | The 0.2.91 preview opens gemini.google.com. You sign in to Google yourself in a separate browser profile. | The session stays in that account's local browser profile. Tug retains an account identity hash to check who is signed in before sending. | Team preview only. It still needs a real signed in connection test on each operating system. |
Where Tug keeps things
Account labels, connection settings, identity checks, task history and retained replies are kept in Tug's local app data folder. Added account homes and browser profiles live under accounts, grouped by tool and account. For added command line accounts, Tug sets CODEX_HOME, CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR or GROK_HOME to that account's own home. Existing command line logins can be used by reference and stay in the tool's own home.
On Mac the app data folder is under Library/Application Support in your home folder. Windows uses the user's application data folder and Linux uses the user's local data folder. The exact folder can differ for a test build. Browser cookies are kept by the local browser profile, not in Tug's API key store.
On Mac, saved API keys and pasted Claude setup tokens use the login Keychain under the service xyz.huggingbay.orchestrator. Windows and Linux Team do not offer this paid key storage path yet.
What reaches our servers
Provider passwords, session cookies, command line login tokens and saved provider API keys are not sent to Hugging Bay servers by these account connections. The sign in browser and provider tools communicate directly with their provider. Tug does not copy your personal browser profile.
Account connections do not proxy your questions or provider replies through Hugging Bay. Catalog searches, downloads, update checks and optional app measurement are separate network features. See our privacy policy for those features. Share a comparison only when you want others to read it.
When a connection stops working
A provider can change its page, ask you to sign in again or block a connection. Tug pauses that account for your attention. You can choose another connected account or a local model. Local chat needs no provider account after the model is downloaded.
Mac also has separate Anthropic, OpenAI and OpenRouter API key connections. API use has its own billing and is not included in a chat subscription. A qualified direct API fallback for every provider on every operating system is still a launch requirement.
Provider terms
Using your subscription here does not establish permission under a provider's terms. A reviewed reading of each provider's terms is still pending. We will not describe these connections as approved by the providers.