# Modules: tools for what you do

> Developer tools, AI assistants, creative apps, games and a richer terminal, each added in one step from Settings > Modules and removed in one step.

Source: https://wolos.org/manual/modules

## What it is

A module is a bundle of tools for one kind of work, kept together as one unit: add it with one click, remove it with one click, and everything it brought goes with it. WolOS has seven:

| Module | What it brings | Download |
|---|---|---|
| **Developer Tools** | Git, a code editor, containers, every programming language one project at a time, and Crystal with Cryswol ([Set up for development](/manual/developer-module)) | about 350 MB |
| **AI Assistants** | A coding assistant in the terminal that can act on WolOS only through approval sheets | about 300 MB |
| **Local AI** | Open AI models that run on this computer, using your graphics card when it can | up to 3.5 GB |
| **Sessions** | Terminal windows reopen where they were ([Sessions](/manual/sessions)) | about 20 MB |
| **Creative Apps** | Blender, GIMP, Krita, Inkscape, OBS Studio, darktable, Kdenlive, Ardour and Audacity ([Creative apps in one step](/manual/creative-module)) | about 1.3 GB |
| **Gaming** | Tools for Windows games that do not come from Steam ([Steam and your game library](/manual/steam)) | about 260 MB |
| **Console** | A themed prompt and handy terminal tools, the same keys and colours in every shell | about 180 MB |

None of them is switched on for you.

## Why WolOS does it this way

Most people never write code or edit video, and a base system that carried every tool would be huge for them. So WolOS stays small and quick to install, and a person who needs a tool set gets it in one approval instead of a day of setting up. Removing a module takes away what it added, so trying one costs nothing.

## How

### While you install WolOS

1. **On the page "Apps for What You Do", turn on the modules you want.** The installer offers five of them: Developer Tools, AI Assistants, Local AI, Creative Apps and Gaming. The size to download is under the list.

   ![The installer page Apps for What You Do: Developer Tools and Creative Apps switched on, AI Assistants, Local AI and Gaming off, and the download size under the list.](/img/manual/installer-modules-ticked-1280-annotated.png)
2. **Finish the install.** The modules download while WolOS installs. Without internet, WolOS remembers what you ticked and adds it at the first start with a network.

### Later, in Settings

1. **Open System Settings > Modules.** Press **Super+,** and choose **Modules**.
   You see **Installed** modules above and **Available** ones below, each with its size.

   ![System Settings > Modules: 1 the Installed list, 2 the Install button of a module that is available, 3 Finish Setup on a module that still has a step to run, 4 the three-dot button that opens Remove.](/img/manual/settings-modules-wide-annotated.png)
2. **Click Install** next to a module.
   You see a password sheet: adding tools for every account needs an administrator. Type your password and click **Allow**.
3. **Watch the row move to Installed.** It reads **Ready** when it is done. If it reads **Finish Setup** instead, click the button: this runs the part that belongs to your own account, and takes a few seconds.
4. **To remove a module,** click the three dots next to it and choose Remove. What it added goes with it. Your own files are not touched.

## A worked example

Alice wants to edit a video her friend sent. She opens System Settings > Modules, clicks **Install** next to Creative Apps, types her password and clicks **Allow**. A few minutes later the row says **Ready**. She presses **Super+Space**, types "kdenlive" and opens the editor. When the project is finished she removes the module, and the 1.3 GB comes back.

## If something goes wrong

| What you see | What to do |
|---|---|
| "Installs when this computer next starts online." | You ticked it in the installer but there was no network. It installs by itself when the network comes up, on Wi-Fi too. |
| A module under **Could Not Be Added** | It could not be downloaded after several tries. Check that you are online, then click **Retry**. |
| "No modules are available", or a message that the list could not be read | Try again in a minute. The Store's Create page still installs single apps. |
| **Finish Setup** stays | Click it again while you are online; the page says in one sentence what stopped. |
| Local AI is slow | It uses your graphics card when one fits; in a virtual machine or on a computer without a supported card it uses the processor, which is slower. |
| An AI assistant asks you to approve a change | That is the rule: it can look at things freely, but every change goes through an approval sheet that you answer ([Privacy and permissions](/manual/privacy)). |