# How Nock works

Nock keeps the conversation in the notch while different parts of the system do the work. These four layers explain where a request goes and which parts you can configure.

```text
You speak or type
       ↓
Voice (speech recognition and spoken replies)
       ↓
Brain (model selected for the conversation)
       ↓
Hands (local V3Code Terminal, workers, and task board)
       ↘
        Delegates (connected coding agents, when chosen)
```

## Voice

Hold the dictation shortcut to put words into the focused text field, or hold the agent shortcut to ask Nock for help. Hosted speech recognition and spoken replies can use xAI through Nock's account relay; the selected recognizer may instead use Apple's speech service, including on-device recognition when that capability is supported. Voice settings, permission state, and the active recognizer determine the path for a given request. [Voice settings](/nock/voice-settings) and [Privacy](/nock/privacy) explain the choices.

## Brain

The model handling a conversation interprets your request and decides whether to answer or use tools. The current included DeepSeek route passes through V3Code's account relay to DeepSeek's API. The exact model can vary with configuration and account access; Settings → Providers shows the model choices available in your build. Choosing another provider changes where model context is sent. See [Models and providers](/nock/providers).

## Hands

For local project work, Nock can use its bundled V3Code Terminal engine. It searches and indexes a project, uses code intelligence where available, edits files, and runs commands. Longer work can involve background workers and appears on the Tasks board while you continue talking. Check the project's scope, progress, diff, and result: a completed task is a report of what ran, not a guarantee that every change is correct. See [Coding agents](/nock/coding-agents), [Background tasks](/nock/background-tasks), and [Coding permissions](/nock/coding-permissions).

## Delegates

Nock can hand a bounded task to a supported agent you already use, such as Claude Code, Codex, or Grok Bot, when that integration is connected and available. Those agents have their own installation, sign-in, permissions, and provider data handling. A Nock named agent is a separate local persona, not the same thing as an external coding agent. See [Coding agents](/nock/coding-agents), [Grok Bot](/nock/grok-bot), and [Named agents](/nock/named-agents).

For a first run, start with a question that does not change files. Then choose a project, ask for a small review, and inspect the task result before giving an edit request. [Quickstart](/nock/quickstart) walks through the first steps.