Frequently asked questions
The questions we get most often. If yours isn't here, drop us a line at contact@rool.dev.
Getting started
What is a Rool Machine?
A Rool Machine is your own private computer in the cloud: a highly optimised Linux virtual machine running an operating system we built specifically to be operated by AI. Your files, notes, chats, and memories are all stored privately inside it, and the AI agent itself runs inside the VM, isolated from every other Machine. It's a real computer and an AI fused into one thing: private, available anywhere, and fully yours, with full export and API access.
Where do my files and memories actually live?
Inside your Rool Machine. Each Machine is a private Linux VM, and everything you create is stored inside it: files, notes, chats, Objects, and memories. The agent that works with you runs inside the same VM, so your work is isolated at the machine level, not just by an access rule. What's inside your Machine stays yours.
Is Rool really free?
Yes. The Standard plan is free forever, with no credit card and no trial clock. You get private Rool Machines, AI credits that refill every hour, full Object Memory, and the same core AI features as Plus and Pro. Upgrade when you outgrow it, or stay on the free plan indefinitely. Our pricing page shows what each plan includes.
Do I need to know how to code to use Rool?
No. Your Rool Machine starts as a familiar chat. The rest, like Objects, is optional and discovered as you go. Everyone just chats with an AI that remembers them.
Is there an iOS or Android app?
The iOS app is available on the App Store, and the Android app is available on Google Play. Rool is also a Progressive Web App: you can install it directly from your mobile browser at rool.app and it lands on your home screen like any other app, with the same account, Rool Machine, and memory.
Memory & data
What does "persistent memory" actually mean?
Most AI chat tools forget everything between sessions, or compress old conversations into a small "memory" summary. Rool is different. Every chat, file, and idea becomes an Object that lives in your Rool Machine permanently. Your AI builds on real, structured data, not a fuzzy summary, and gets more useful over time as your knowledge graph grows.
Can I invite other people into my Rool Machine?
Yes. A Rool Machine can be shared with collaborators. Everyone you invite works inside the same Machine, with the same files, memory, and AI.
Can I have more than one Rool Machine?
Yes. You can run several Rool Machines side by side, for example one for a side project and one for everyday life. How many depends on your plan, and the Team plan has no limit. Each Machine has its own memory and its own mind, so they stay separate from one another.
Can I export my data?
Yes. Your Rool Machine is yours. Download your files at any time, ask the AI to package them in whatever form you need, or access everything programmatically through our API. As a European company, we take data portability seriously. Leave whenever you want, no lock-in.
Plans & credits
Which plan is for me?
Standard, Plus, and Pro are personal plans: one person, their own Machines, prices that include VAT. Standard is free, and Plus and Pro add faster credit refills, more storage, Connectors / MCP and a custom subdomain. The Team plan is for businesses and other organisations: shared Machines that one account pays for, prices in US dollars with tax added when you top up, admin controls, and a Data Processing Agreement. If you're working for a company, or handling other people's data, use the Team plan.
Can I cancel anytime?
Yes. No contracts, no minimum terms, no cancellation fees. If you cancel a paid plan you drop back to the Standard free plan and keep all your data.
What are AI credits?
Credits are how we meter AI usage on the personal plans, and they're designed to match compute consumption 1:1: what you spend tracks what the AI actually does for you. Your balance refills every hour, up to your plan's cap, so a short break tops you back up. Higher plans refill faster and cap higher. The pricing page has each plan's numbers. Teams don't use credits; they pay per use from a prepaid balance.
How many credits does a prompt use?
It varies, because credits track the compute your request actually consumes. A typical prompt in reasoning mode averages around 10 credits, a simple factual question can be as low as 1, and heavy repetitive work or media generation costs more.
What happens when I run out of credits?
You can keep using Rool, read your Rool Machine, edit Objects, browse. AI features pause until enough credits refill, you buy more, or you upgrade. Nothing is deleted or lost.
Can I buy extra credits?
Yes. From your account you can buy 5,000 credits as a one-time purchase, with no subscription, on any personal plan including the free one. They're added to your balance right away. The pricing page shows the price in your currency.
What is a voucher?
A voucher holds AI credits. The Rool team sometimes grants vouchers with additional credits. Redeeming a voucher adds its credits to your balance, on any personal plan including the free one.
How do I redeem a voucher?
Every voucher comes with a link and a code. Open the link, or enter the code in the voucher area in the app's sidebar. The credits land in your balance right away.
Can I give a voucher to a friend?
Yes. A voucher isn't tied to your account until it's redeemed, so you can pass it on to anyone, whether they're on Rool or not. Send them the voucher's link and they can sign up and redeem it in one go, starting their account with the extra credits. Or send them the code, which they enter in the voucher area in the sidebar.
Storage
How much storage do I get?
Storage is per Machine, and your plan sets how much each Machine gets. The pricing page lists it for every plan. On the Team plan a machine's disk comes with the size you choose for it.
What counts toward my storage?
Everything that lives inside the Machine: your files, Objects, chats, and memories. There's no separate quota to think about. If it's stored in your Machine, it's part of your Machine's storage.
What happens when a Machine is full?
Your Machine will tell you as it starts running low on space. If it fills up completely, new uploads and writes pause until you free some space or upgrade. Nothing is ever deleted. Everything already in the Machine stays readable, and you can always export.
Can I buy extra storage?
Not separately. Storage is part of your plan, and if you need more space, a higher plan raises every Machine's storage.
What happens to my storage if I downgrade?
Nothing is deleted. If a Machine holds more than its new limit allows, it becomes read-only until it's back under the limit. You can still read everything, export it, or free up space. Re-upgrading brings it back to normal.
AI models
Which AI models does Rool use?
Every plan uses Rool 1.5 by default and can switch to Rool 1, which costs less to use. Both are built on a changing selection of models we run on infrastructure we manage in the EU.
Where do the AI models actually run?
Mostly on infrastructure we operate ourselves. The majority of requests are served by models we host and run ourselves, on GPU servers in the EU. Some requests go to third-party model APIs, under contractual constraints that prevent the provider from retaining your data or training on it. The privacy policy names every provider and what it receives.
Can I turn third-party providers off?
Yes. Each optional provider has a switch under Settings, Data and Privacy. The switch belongs to the account, so it covers every Machine that account owns. Turning a provider off removes the feature it powers. Everything else then runs on the models we host ourselves. In a Machine owned by a team, the team's settings apply to everyone working in it.
Do I need my own API keys?
No. AI is built into every Rool Machine, even on the free plan. There are no provider accounts to set up and nothing to configure.
Can I pick which model to use?
Yes, on every plan: Rool 1.5 is the default, and Rool 1 uses fewer credits.
Team plan
The Team plan is Rool for businesses and other organisations. Personal plans are for individuals; if you work for a company or handle other people's data, this is the plan for you. See the Team plan.
What is the Team plan?
The Team plan is how a business works together in Rool. Your team shares Rool Machines that one account pays for, and admins look after the balance, the members, and the settings. See the Team plan.
Who should use the Team plan?
Any business or other organisation, including a one-person one. Standard, Plus, and Pro are personal plans, for an individual's own use, and the terms say so. The Team plan is the one built for work: it carries our Data Processing Agreement, prices are in US dollars with tax added, and admins decide which providers the team's Machines use. There's no subscription fee, so there's no reason to run a business on a personal plan.
I'm a freelancer. Which plan should I use?
The Team plan. If you handle clients' data, data protection law treats you as a business, and the Team plan is the one built for that: it carries our Data Processing Agreement and gives you control over which providers your Machines use. A team of one pays only for the Machines it runs and the AI it uses. Your personal account stays yours alongside it.
How does Team pricing work?
There's no subscription and no per-seat fee. The plan itself is free and includes no allowance: your team pays for the machines it runs and the AI it uses, at the prices on our pricing page.
What does a machine cost?
You choose a size when you create each machine, and each size has a monthly rent. Rent is counted by the second for as long as the machine exists, so a machine you delete halfway through the month costs half. Our pricing page lists every size and its rent.
How is AI charged?
Per use, in US dollars. Models are priced per million tokens of input, cached input, and output, and tools like image generation, web search, and reading web pages have a price per use. Each request is charged for what it actually used. The current prices are on our pricing page.
Which models can a team use?
Members pick the model: Rool 1.5, the default on every Rool plan, or Rool 1, which costs less per token.
How do we pay?
A team has a prepaid balance in US dollars. Admins top it up by card, with tax added, and can turn on auto-recharge to charge the card a set amount whenever the balance drops below a set threshold. To add a machine, the balance has to cover a month of rent for all the team's machines, the new one included.
What happens if the balance runs out?
AI stops when the balance reaches zero. Machines keep starting for up to seven days of rent after that, so everyone can still reach their files. Past that they stay off until a top-up covers what's owed.
How many people can be on a team?
As many as you need. Each person is an admin or a member. Admins manage the balance, the plan, the settings, and who's on the team, and only admins see the balance. Admins create the team's machines, and members work in the ones they're added to.
Can admins see everyone's work?
Only by joining. An admin can add themselves to any of the team's machines, but membership is the only way into a machine's contents, and an admin who joins shows up in its member list. Nobody gets quiet access.
Can a team control which AI providers its machines use?
Yes. Each optional provider has a switch in the team's settings under Settings, Data and Privacy, and it applies to every machine the team owns, for everyone who works in them, including collaborators from outside the team. Admins decide. Turning a provider off removes the feature it powers; Rool 1.5, for instance, needs TensorX. The privacy policy lists each provider and what it receives.
Do you offer a Data Processing Agreement?
Yes, for Team accounts. It's part of our terms of service, so it applies to your team from the moment the account exists, with nothing to sign. Read the DPA. It names the providers we use as subprocessors, taken from our public subprocessor register, and commits us to 14 days' notice before a new one handles your data and 72 hours' notice of a security incident. Personal plans don't carry it: they're for individuals, not for processing data on an organisation's behalf.
Who pays when someone outside the team works on a team machine?
They do, and they follow the team's rules. The team pays for the AI its own members use on its machines. A collaborator from outside the team pays from their own account, and their requests in a team machine use the team's provider settings, not their own.
Can I move my own machines into a team?
Yes. Starting or joining a team doesn't change your personal account: it and its machines stay yours. If you're an admin of both, you can move a machine into the team.
Do team machines get custom hostnames and connectors?
Yes. Every team machine is paid for, so each one can have a custom hostname and use connectors (MCP).
Privacy & company
Is my data used to train AI models?
No. We do not use your files, conversations, or anything else in your Machine to train AI models, ours or anyone else's, on any plan. Our third-party providers are contractually barred from training on it too. The full details are in our Privacy Policy.
Where is my data stored?
In Finland, inside the European Union. If any processing happens outside the EU/EEA, we use Standard Contractual Clauses or equivalent safeguards.
Does Rool use cookies or third-party trackers?
No. The site uses no cookies and no third-party tracking pixels. Our analytics is Matomo, run cookieless and hosted in the EU. That's why you don't see a consent banner.
Is Rool GDPR-compliant?
Yes. We're a Dublin-based company operating under Irish and EU data protection law. You have the right to access, correct, export, delete, and restrict processing of your data. To exercise any of these rights, email contact@rool.dev. Our privacy policy explains what we collect and why, the subprocessor register lists every provider we use and the agreement in place with each, and Team accounts get a Data Processing Agreement.
Is Rool environmentally responsible?
We host on one of Europe's lowest-carbon electricity grids, a Finnish/Nordic mix of nuclear, hydro, and wind that runs largely carbon-free around the clock.
Who builds Rool?
Rool is built by Lightpost One Ltd, a European team spread across Ireland, Denmark and the UK. Meet the team.
How do I get support?
Email contact@rool.dev or join the conversation on Discord. Pro subscribers get priority support directly from the team.