# Machines

A Machine is a computer that runs your software in Thinair.



A **Machine** is a computer that runs software for you. It has its own files,
processes, and tools. When you open a Terminal or start a Machine Agent, you choose
the Machine where it will run.

## Where a Machine runs [#where-a-machine-runs]

A Machine can be your physical Mac, a Linux virtual machine running locally
on your Mac, or a computer running in the cloud.

Your physical Mac already exists as a Machine. Local virtual Machines and
Cloud Machines need to be launched before you can use them. There is no
Default Machine: you select the computer for each task.

## Machines and your workspace [#machines-and-your-workspace]

Machine Applications run on a Machine. You see and interact with them through Frames
in your Workspace or Workbench. A Terminal Frame, for example, shows a shell
running on the Machine you selected.

Thinair Native is the installed app you use to work with those Machines.
Native itself is not a Machine.

## Starting with a reusable setup [#starting-with-a-reusable-setup]

A **Machine Definition** describes how to prepare a Machine, including its
software and configuration. The definition is the recipe; the Machine is
the computer that runs it.

See [Get Started](/get-started) to begin using Thinair.