Tako DocsBefore You Start
On this page
Tako runs structures, scripts, and atomistic calculations in your browser. You do not need to install a desktop application or connect to a compute cluster, but the browser is also where your workspace, model cache, and calculation memory live. Read this page once before starting a long workflow.
Browser and hardware
Use a current desktop browser with WebAssembly and Web Worker support. Keep the Tako tab open while a calculation is running: closing the tab stops its workers, and a very large structure, trajectory, or model can exceed the memory available to the tab.
Small molecules and tutorial crystals are designed to run on an ordinary laptop. Cost grows with atom count, calculation type, number of optimization or dynamics steps, and—especially for phonons or reaction paths—the number of displaced structures or images. Start with the smallest scientifically defensible system and a short test run before increasing the workload.
If a calculation makes the interface or browser unstable, reduce the structure, supercell, image count, state count, trajectory length, or requested output set. Choosing a Method explains the larger cost differences between GFN2 and machine-learned potentials.
Downloads and offline use
Calculation engines and model weights download on first use. GFN2 needs the tb WebAssembly engine; machine-learned potentials need a shared runtime plus the selected model weights. The first calculation can therefore spend longer downloading than calculating.
Open File > Model Manager to see whether an asset is bundled, downloaded, partial, or missing. “Missing” means it will be fetched on demand, not that the model is unavailable. Large model families can require hundreds of megabytes, so pre-download the intended model before a workshop, flight, or unreliable connection.
Downloaded assets are cached in the current browser profile. Once the required engine and model are cached, ordinary calculations can run offline. A different browser, profile, private window, or cleared site-data store starts with a separate empty cache.
Storage, privacy, and backup
Structures, calculation folders, scripts, and artifacts stay in the browser during normal calculations; Tako does not upload them to a calculation server. The optional Agent sends its conversation and selected context through your connected Codex account, while the scripts and atomistic engines it invokes still execute locally. See How Tako Runs Calculations and the Use the Agent for the exact boundaries.
Browser storage is convenient, not a durable archive. Clearing site data, resetting the workspace, changing profiles, or losing the browser profile can remove local work and cached models. Before a long run or handoff:
- Choose File > Export Workspace ZIP.
- Save the ZIP outside the browser profile.
- Confirm that it contains the structures, scripts, calculation folders, and reports you need.
Use Share and Export Work for live links, workspace archives, and individual exports.
What can leave the browser
Coordinates and workspace contents leave the device only when you deliberately use a networked feature: a live share link, an externally hosted model endpoint, or an agent/model integration such as the connected Codex account behind the Agent. Review the destination and scope before enabling any of these. A read-only share link exposes the shared workspace to anyone who receives the link.
| Before doing this | Check |
|---|---|
| Import confidential coordinates | Browser profile and device policy are appropriate |
| Use an agent or external endpoint | Provider, retention policy, and transmitted context |
| Create a live share | Workspace contents and link audience |
| Clear browser data | Important work has been exported and verified |
A safe first run
Start with the Five-Minute Ethanol Calculation. It verifies the complete loop—load a structure, download a small engine if necessary, run a real calculation, and inspect an artifact—without committing to a long workflow.