---
title: "Launch, Run, and Turn Off Eliza"
sidebarTitle: "Apps and Control"
description: "Understand Eliza's desktop, dashboard, mobile, and CLI surfaces."
---

Eliza has multiple surfaces. The runtime does the work; the app is the surface you use to talk to it.

## Common surfaces

| Surface | Use it for | Launch |
|---------|------------|--------|
| Desktop app | day-to-day local use | open the installed app |
| Browser dashboard | browser-based control | open the dashboard URL or desktop shell |
| Mobile app | remote check-ins | open the iOS or Android app |
| CLI runtime | servers, terminals, headless use | `eliza start` |

## Desktop app

- Open it from your app launcher
- Chat and dashboard live in the same app
- Quit it normally from the app menu or window controls

## CLI runtime

```bash
eliza start       # start the API server
```

Stop the CLI runtime with `Ctrl-C` in the terminal, or quit the desktop app normally. See the [CLI overview](/cli/overview) for the full command list.

## Browser dashboard

If the runtime is local, the desktop app usually embeds the dashboard. If you installed the CLI, you can also open the dashboard from a terminal:

```bash
eliza dashboard
```

## Remote and cloud instances

Closing the local app does not necessarily stop a remote or cloud backend. It only disconnects your client from it.

## Turn off one part without stopping everything

- disable a connector to stop Discord or Telegram traffic
- turn voice off for silent chat
- disconnect from a remote instance without deleting it

## Next

[Connect Remotely](/user/connect-remotely)