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GROK BOT / fix-grok-bot-listmachines-empty-after-idle

Fix Grok Bot when ListMachines is empty but Settings still lists the Mac

fix-grok-bot-listmachines-empty-after-idle

Bring the Grok Bot window forward so the Mac leaves the away state and the helper can register again. Chat stays up. Settings → Computer still shows each Mac as Always allow. Agents then call ListMachines and get {"machines": []}. Local Shell fails with “No registered machines were available when this turn started” or a stale machineId error. Cursor staff (Colin, Aug 30, 2026, thread 169848) traced this to the helper on the Mac shutting itself down after the Bot’s cloud environment went idle. The Mac was fine; the helper wrongly decided the desktop app was gone.

What staff said would heal it

On 0.29.0, Colin wrote that a fix was already merged for the next Grok Bot release, that the drop usually heals within a minute, and that retrying the task shortly after the failure typically works. If a machine stays missing, quit and reopen the Grok Bot desktop app.

The machine set is captured at the start of a turn. After the list flickers back, send a new message. A retry inside the failed turn still sees the empty snapshot.

What still flaps on latest

A Sep 3, 2026 follow-up (thread 170488) reported the same empty ListMachines after updating past 0.29.0. Restarting Grok Bot, signing out and back in, and waiting did not restore the link. Focusing Grok Bot on the Mac, or waking that session over Screen Sharing, brought both machines back as connected: true for tens of seconds to a few minutes, then the list went empty again.

Cursor staff (deanrie) said on the forum (Oct 9, 2026) why the Mac then shows as away. To save resources, Grok Bot starts treating the Mac as “away” when the Grok Bot window hasn't been in the foreground for about 10 minutes, or when the screen is locked, even if you're actively working in other apps. While the Mac is in the “away” state and the computer goes to sleep, the app stops the local helper. Right now, the helper doesn't automatically start again when the bot wakes up for a scheduled job, so the Mac shows as disconnected until you bring the Grok Bot window back to the foreground.

The workaround they gave: bring the Grok Bot window to the foreground, even for a second, and the Mac should reconnect in about a minute. If you can, click into it a couple of minutes before your hourly jobs run. There's no separate setting to turn this behavior off yet. Staff called it a known issue they are tracking. On Oct 13, 2026, staff said they couldn't confirm that 0.70.2 or any specific release fixes it; it's still tracked, and the workaround is unchanged. A VPN (the report named ProtonVPN) is not the cause. That thread is macOS 0.68.1; do not assume the same timing on Windows.

  1. Open or focus the Grok Bot window on the Mac you want agents to use, a couple of minutes before scheduled jobs if you can. If you are remoting in, wake the GUI session.
  2. Confirm Settings → Computer still lists that machine with Execution on this computer set.
  3. Send a new chat message and have the agent call ListMachines on that turn.
  4. If the row is back, run the local command immediately. The registration can drop again within a minute.

Leftover helper processes

A helper that never dies after an update is a different failure, with a kill-and-relaunch path: Fix Grok Bot when chat works but local Shell is dead. Other local-exec jobs live on the Grok Bot hub under Local execution, VPNs and security software. Cloud reachability is a different screen: Fix Grok Bot “Can’t reach your computer”.

A Windows PC that shows offline while it is still awake is also a different issue (away-park when the Grok Bot window loses focus, the screen locks, or the PC sleeps). Staff said there is no setting to turn that off, and they could not confirm that 0.70.2 fixed it: When a Windows PC shows offline while it is still awake.

Pitfalls

  • Settings can keep the Always-allow row while agents see zero machines. Trust ListMachines for the live link.
  • The work Mac you are chatting from can vanish from the live list even while you are using the app.
  • Cloud “Can’t reach your computer” is the hosted VM. See Fix Grok Bot “Can’t reach your computer”.
  • There is no setting to disable the away timer. Staff said that on Oct 9, 2026.
  • The Oct 9 away explanation is from a macOS 0.68.1 thread. Do not treat it as a Windows spec.