8. How it works inside
8.1 Portable and isolated: what it means
Why the kit does not install, does not ask for administrator rights and does not touch the PC that hosts it. And the exceptions.
In short
- Atollo does not install itself, does not write to the registry and does not ask for administrator rights.
- The kit's programs start in an environment built from scratch, which points only to kit folders.
- So they do not see the PC's programs and the PC does not see them: no conflicts, no traces.
- A few exceptions are declared: the system's temporary folder and, for a few seconds, the keychain.
The idea, with an example
A colleague's PC already has Node.js 18 installed, with its global packages and its npm settings. If you open a kit console and type node --version, the kit's Node 24 answers, not the PC's 18: the kit console does not even know the other one exists. And when you install a global package, it ends up in the kit folder, not in your colleague's profile.
This happens because every program started by the kit receives an environment built from scratch: the kit takes only a handful of system variables from the PC (computer name, Windows folders, language…) and sets all the others so that they point inside data.
What is redirected
| Group | Main variables | Where they point |
|---|---|---|
| User folder | HOME, USERPROFILE, APPDATA, LOCALAPPDATA | data\home |
| Temporary files | TEMP, TMP (TMPDIR su macOS e Linux) | data\tmp\system or the system's temporary folder, depending on Settings |
| Agents | CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR, CODEX_HOME, PI_CODING_AGENT_DIR | data\home\.claude, data\home\.codex, data\home\.pi\agent |
| GitHub CLI | GH_CONFIG_DIR | data\gh |
| Package caches | NPM_CONFIG_CACHE, PIP_CACHE_DIR, UV_CACHE_DIR, COMPOSER_CACHE_DIR, GOCACHE, NUGET_PACKAGES | data\cache\… |
| Global packages | NPM_CONFIG_PREFIX, PYTHONUSERBASE, COMPOSER_HOME, GOPATH, GRADLE_USER_HOME, CARGO_HOME | data\npm-global, data\python-user, data\composer, data\go, data\gradle… |
| Languages | JAVA_HOME, DOTNET_ROOT, PHPRC, RUSTUP_HOME… | The folders of the kit's programs, at the versions in use |
| Certificates | SSL_CERT_FILE, REQUESTS_CA_BUNDLE, PIP_CERT, CURL_CA_BUNDLE, GIT_SSL_CAINFO, CARGO_HTTP_CAINFO, NODE_EXTRA_CA_CERTS | Only with a PEM file in Settings › Network: data\app\ca-bundle.pem (the system's certificates plus those of the file); Node.js gets the PEM file |
| No telemetry and no automatic updates | DOTNET_CLI_TELEMETRY_OPTOUT, POWERSHELL_TELEMETRY_OPTOUT, GOTELEMETRY=off, DISABLE_UPDATES | Off: the tools send no data and do not update themselves |
| PATH | PATH | First the kit folders, then only the system folders (System32 on Windows, /usr/bin and similar on macOS and Linux) |
To see the complete environment open a console in the kit folder and use the command .\Atollo.exe env | Out-Host (keys and passwords are masked with ***).
What stays on the PC
The kit does not write to the Windows registry, does not change the system PATH, and creates no services or scheduled tasks. The exceptions, declared:
- The system's temporary folder, in Atollo\<kit id>: the downloads' work area, files handed over manually, programs' temporary files. It is cleaned on closing and at the following starts.
- While Antigravity is open, its sign-in is in the system keychain (on Windows only for the session); on closing it goes back into the kit.
- An empty folder that PowerShell always creates in %LOCALAPPDATA%\Microsoft\PowerShell.
- If you run gh auth login manually in a console, GitHub CLI may save the sign-in in the Windows Credential Manager: sign in from Settings instead.
- On macOS: the window's data in ~/Library/WebKit and, if you do not use the token, the Claude Code sign-in in the Keychain.
Under the hood
- The environment starts empty and copies about 40 system variables from the PC (ComSpec, SystemRoot, PROCESSOR_ARCHITECTURE, LANG, DISPLAY…) plus the proxy variables; the kit sets about a hundred. Atollo env on Windows prints about 130 lines.
- Every child program starts with the environment emptied and then filled with the kit's: nothing leaks in from the PC.
- The app's process too redirects its own user folder and temporary files, before starting anything.
- Variables containing KEY, TOKEN, SECRET or PASSWORD are masked in the env command and in the log.