Grok Bot computer recovery: Retry, Update, Recover, Reset, and what each one keeps

Episode 02 introduced the hosted computer every Bot on your account shares. This tutorial is the day it stops answering. The order of fixes matters more than the fixes, because the last one can lose work and the first three cannot. Episode 14 is where a Bot’s memory lives. This one is where its files live.

Disclosure: aitamer.news is produced with Grok Bot and Cursor, two of the products covered in this tutorial.

Chats are not on the computer

Start with the fact that removes most of the panic. The Cursor computer help page, read 24 October 2026, says files, logins, installed apps, and the browser live on the computer. Chats are stored separately, so a computer problem does not delete conversation history by itself. Deleting files inside the computer, even with rm -rf, does not delete chats.

Grok Bot also keeps a durable copy of synced computer data, and reopening the computer restores from it, so synced files usually come back. Two things are not covered. Files that exist only on your Mac or Windows machine need your own backups. Project folders such as node_modules or a Python virtual environment are not saved, so reinstall them after a computer update, Recover, or Reset.

The four controls, and what each keeps

The help page lays out three actions in a table, and the work page adds the first rung.

• Retry waits out a reconnect. While the computer says Reconnecting or Couldn’t Reach Grok Bot’s Computer, Bots, files, and logins are safe.
• Update moves the computer to the latest version. Some updates only refresh Grok Bot’s software and keep everything, installed apps included. Others replace the whole computer, keeping Bots, files, and logins but removing installed apps and packages. The text under Update Bot’s Computer in Settings, Computer says which kind is waiting. Update saves first, and does not run if it cannot.
• Recover saves what it can, then builds a new computer on the latest version from your saved data. Running work is interrupted.
• Reset builds a new computer on the latest version from your last saved data. Running work is interrupted.

Recover and Reset both remove installed apps and packages. Both can lose very recent changes if the computer cannot be reached to save them first. If Bots recently disappeared, or saving failed, the help page says to contact support before using either one.

Where the buttons are

The pages disagree on one detail. The Cursor help page says computer controls are in Settings, Computer, under Bot’s computer, and that Recover can also appear on the reconnect screen. The SpaceXSI computer page says Recover computer is offered only from the error state, not in Settings, and its confirmation dialog calls it Recover Grok Bot’s Computer. Follow the screen. On iPhone and Android, the SpaceXSI troubleshooting page puts Reset Computer under Settings, Bot, Bot Computer.

The app and the computer update separately. Settings, Updates, Check for Updates, then Restart to Update, updates the desktop app. Updating the desktop app does not reset the cloud computer.

The order to follow

The help page and the how-to page give the same ladder:

1. Wait, then choose Retry if the computer says Reconnecting or Couldn’t Reach Grok Bot’s Computer. Do not Reset during this.
2. Fully quit Grok Bot and reopen it. On a Mac, choose Quit from the menu bar. Closing the window is not enough.
3. Update the computer from Settings, Computer if an update is offered.
4. Recover if it still cannot reconnect, or if an update looks stuck and Recover computer is shown. On a slow update, Keep waiting is the safe default.
5. Reset only after those steps.

Do not start a second Update or Reset while one is running. Repeated resets can interrupt a restore that is still finishing.

Reconnecting and Recover usually take a few minutes, and Continue in Background lets you leave them. An Update can also take a few minutes while it downloads a large image. If it says Update still running, keep waiting. If Recover or Reset fails, use Retry Recovery or Retry Reset once, then stop and contact support.

When Update will not run

If the computer’s files are not backed up yet, Update says they are not ready and nothing changes. Wait a moment and try again. Do not Reset to force it. If Settings says An agent couldn’t pause in time, so the computer was not updated, let that Bot finish, then choose Update again.

A Bot cannot finish a turn while the computer is reconnecting. Fix the computer first, then send the message again. If the computer is connected and the same prompt still fails, that is a support case, with the error title and a screenshot of the computer status.

Missing chats are not a Reset problem

When chats or Bots look gone, the help page is blunt: often they are not. Check before you Reset.

1. Fully quit and reopen the app.
2. Open the same account on another device, including the iPhone app. Bots and conversations are shared across devices on that account.
3. Open Hidden Bots on desktop, or Show Hidden Bots on the phone. Hiding removes a Bot from the list only.
4. Confirm you are in the same Cursor account.

Do not use Recover or Reset to look for chats. Chats are not on the computer, and both actions can lose recent files.

A disk warning is not data loss either. Computer is low on disk space means Disk Saver, a Bot in the sidebar, is auditing usage and will propose cleanup. Choose Go to Disk Saver to review it. Nothing is deleted without confirmation, and declining leaves the files in place.

When to stop and ask support

Contact support instead of another Reset when Bots or chats still look missing on every device, Update keeps saying files are not ready, Recover or Reset fails after one retry, or the computer is still empty after Recover. Include your Cursor account email, the Grok Bot version, which action you already tried, the Bot name, and a screenshot of the computer status. If the computer is empty after Recover, stop making changes inside it first.

A pass you can do today

1. Open Settings, Computer and read the text under Update Bot’s Computer. Note whether a software update or a computer update is waiting.
2. Move anything you cannot lose into a project folder in /workspace, or attach it to the conversation.
3. Write down what you installed by hand. A computer update, Recover, or Reset removes it.
4. Keep files that exist only on your laptop in your own backup.
5. Tape the ladder somewhere: Retry, quit and reopen, Update, Recover, Reset.

The computer can be rebuilt, and the chats were never on it. If a secret looks wiped after an Update, the how-to page says a saved value is not shown again. On a Team Bot, a name still listed under Secrets is still stored. Episode 12 has the masked card.