Skip to main content

Local file access

The desktop application can work with files on your computer. This lets you use local documents in a chat or in a long-running task.

Set up a folder​

During onboarding, you choose one default folder. The desktop app uses this folder when you do not choose another working folder for the chat on the home screen.

On the home screen, you can also choose a folder for a new chat:

  1. Choose New chat at the top of the sidebar, or click + next to a folder in the sidebar
  2. Under “What would you like to work on?”, click the folder button
  3. Choose a project, your default folder (marked “default”), or another approved folder, or approve a new folder with Add folder…
  4. The chosen folder takes priority over the default folder for that chat and stays selected for your next new chat
Multiple folders

You can add multiple folders. The onboarding folder and folders added later belong to the same local list of approved folders. They are therefore not managed in two places.

On the right side of the top bar, you see the name of the chat’s active working folder, for example “Documents”. Hover over the name to see the full path. Check this path before giving a file command.

What can the AI do with local files?​

Within a chosen folder, the AI can among other things:

  • read and summarize one or more documents;
  • create files and modify existing files;
  • combine information from multiple documents;
  • search for files by name or content;
  • edit text files in a targeted way and create new text files.

In your prompt, clearly specify which files may be used, what may be changed, and where new files should be saved.

The folder you choose on the home screen is both your current working folder and an explicitly approved folder. If you choose nothing there, the desktop app uses the default folder from onboarding. One working folder is active per chat. The AI works only in that active working folder and, in a project chat, also in the other project folders. Outside approved folders, the AI cannot open or modify local files.

If you ask the AI to delete a file or subfolder, the desktop app moves the item to the system trash. This works on Windows and macOS. The approved main folder itself cannot be moved to the trash through the AI.

The list of approved folders and the default folder are stored only on this computer, in the same local database as task checkpoints. They are not synchronized with your account.

Projects​

With Projects, you bundle folders on your computer that belong together, for example “Lesson materials” and “Tests”.

  1. In the side menu, choose Projects and then New project.
  2. Give the project a name.
  3. Add folders with Choose folder or Previously chosen folder.
  4. Mark one folder as Main folder.
  5. Under Project instructions, write what the assistant should know in every chat in this project, for example the level of your class.

With New chat in project, you start a chat that works in the main folder and may also read and modify the other project folders. Move existing chats via History > Move to project. Projects are stored on this computer.

Pinning and archiving​

In History, pin important chats; they will then appear at the top. Archived chats disappear from the list. Use Archived to view them and restore them.

File types​

The desktop application can work with commonly used text files, documents, spreadsheets, presentations, images, and PDF files. Which actions are possible depends on the file and the selected AI model.

For simple notes, these formats are useful:

Plain text (.txt)​

Simple text files without formatting.

My notes for today:
- Meeting at 14:00
- Project deadline Friday
- Develop idea for presentation

Useful for:

  • Quick notes
  • Simple lists
  • Temporary notes

Markdown (.md)​

Text files with light formatting that are readable everywhere.

# Meeting notes

## Topics
- **Budget** discussion
- Q2 planning
- New team members

## Action items
1. Finish report
2. Send email to client
3. Prepare presentation

Useful for:

  • Structured documents
  • Documentation
  • Notes with headings and formatting
  • README files for projects

Usage examples​

Taking notes​

"Create a new file notes-meeting.md with the following points we discussed..."

The AI creates the file in your chosen folder with neat formatting.

Managing lists​

"Add 'go grocery shopping' to my todo.txt file"

The AI can read and extend existing lists.

Analyzing documents​

"Read all markdown files in the docs folder and make a summary"

The AI reads multiple files and combines the information.

Organizing files​

"Find all .txt files in this folder and move them to a subfolder 'archive'"

The AI can search files, create folders, and move files. When moving files, the chat shows the current and new location for each file; files are moved only after your confirmation, even if you trust commands or work offline. The destination folder must already exist, and an existing file is never overwritten.

Safe working​

  • Choose your folders carefully - Only give access to folders needed for your task.
  • Work with a copy first - Test extensive tasks before letting original files be changed.
  • Check the result - Always review created and modified files yourself.
  • Pay attention to the selected model - Content from a file may be sent to the selected AI model to execute your task.

Viewing files​

On the right side of the top bar, choose Files to see the contents of this chat’s working folder. Click a folder to expand it and a file to view it without leaving the app. This works with images, PDFs, Word documents, PowerPoint presentations, Excel and CSV files, Markdown, code, and text. Show hidden files with Show hidden files.

The preview opens in the same panel next to the chat, so you can keep chatting. At the top of the panel are Back to files (the arrow), the file name, Open in default app, Show in Finder or Show in File Explorer, and Close.

In File changes and in the assistant’s activities, there is a View button for files the assistant created or changed. With Open in default app you open the file in, for example, Word or Excel. With Show in Finder (macOS) or Show in File Explorer (Windows) you can see where it is stored.

  • You can only view files in folders you have granted access to, up to 25 MB.
  • For large spreadsheets, you see the first 1000 rows and 100 columns; formulas are not recalculated.
  • Scripts and programs are never opened from the app for security reasons.

Creating and targeted editing documents​

If the assistant creates or edits a Word document, PowerPoint presentation, Excel file, or PDF, the Files panel opens automatically with a preview of that document. After every change by the assistant, the preview reloads and stays on the same slide or page. That way, you can watch while the assistant works.

If you ask for a targeted change, the assistant edits exactly that text in Word and PowerPoint files in the document itself. Formatting, images, and styles are preserved. The previous version goes to the trash so you can restore it. For example:

"Change the title of the slide Condensation to 'From water vapor to clouds'"

For adding or removing slides or sections, the assistant creates a new version of the document. PDFs cannot be edited in a targeted way.

For a new PowerPoint presentation, the assistant creates a title slide and one slide per heading. After that, it mentions the slides it created; if the number differs from what you asked for, it adjusts the presentation.

Colors, layout, and formatting​

You can specify how the document should look in your prompt. The assistant applies this even without a template:

"Create a Word document 'Newsletter October' for parents of grade 7, with a cover page, a table of contents, and the school colors dark blue and orange."

"Create a PowerPoint about the water cycle with a dark theme in blue and green."

  • Name colors by name (dark blue, orange, green) or with a color code. The first color appears in titles and table headers, the second in accent lines, bullet points, and page numbers. You can also mention a font.
  • A Word document can get a cover page, with a box for the logo or a logo from your working folder, and a real table of contents. Word updates the page numbers in the table of contents when you open the file.
  • Slides get a layout that fits the content: an image next to the text, larger text for a few short points, steps as numbered cards, two columns, one large statement, or an interstitial slide. You can also ask for this, for example: "place the four steps side by side".
  • If the assistant creates a document again in the same task, it replaces its own previous version. That version goes to the trash, so no outdated copy remains beside it.

If you want to use your own template, put it in the working folder and mention it in your prompt. The assistant will then build the document with that template’s layouts and visual style.

How the assistant checks the formatting​

After creating the file, the assistant looks at the pages or slides as a reader would see them, and improves anything that is not placed correctly, such as text that does not fit in a box. If LibreOffice is installed on your computer, the app uses it for the most faithful rendering. Without LibreOffice, the app uses a built-in viewer for Word, PowerPoint, and Excel files; fonts and charts may differ slightly from Office. In the Desktop status panel in settings, you can see which rendering the app uses.

Adding images​

The assistant can also place images in Word and PowerPoint documents in your working folder: an image it generates or an image it finds with the image search feature. For example:

"Generate a cheerful illustration of the water cycle and place it on the Evaporation slide in Water cycle.pptx"

"Find a photo of hailstones and place it on the Precipitation slide"

  • The image is first saved as a file (PNG or JPEG) in your working folder; large images are reduced in size. Then the assistant inserts the image into the document.
  • In PowerPoint, the image is placed on the chosen slide in the right half, next to the text. The text is narrowed and moved down where needed so nothing overlaps.
  • In Word, the image is centered directly after the paragraph you mention, otherwise at the end. You can choose small, medium, or large.
  • The assistant can also include images from your working folder in new documents.
  • As with other targeted changes, the previous version goes to the trash. The preview next to the chat shows the result.

Images from the internet may be copyrighted, such as stock photos with a watermark. Check the rights before sharing or publishing the document. The assistant downloads only HTTPS images from the internet, never from the local network.

Excel files​

The assistant can also create an Excel file (.xlsx) in your working folder and modify it later. For example:

"Create an Excel file with the grades for grade 7 for math: 8 students with three tests and a column with the average (as a formula)."

"Fill in the grades and add a row at the bottom called Class average with the average per test as a formula."

  • In a new Excel file, the header row gets the brand color and stays visible when you scroll. Column widths fit the content, formulas are included with their result, and averages show at most two decimal places.
  • When modifying a file, the assistant changes the cells itself. Existing formatting, other worksheets, and charts stay as they are; new cells inherit the formatting of their neighbors.
  • The previous version goes to the trash. Excel recalculates all formulas when you open the file.
  • The preview next to the chat shows the values, including formula results.

The assistant also creates charts and formatting without extra software: bar, line, and pie charts that you can adjust normally in Excel, number formats (for example euro or one decimal place), bold text, colors, column widths, and fixed rows or columns.

"Create analysis.xlsx with a table of the averages per subject and a bar chart."

Calculations with a spreadsheet​

If you ask something from a spreadsheet, such as an average, total, or count, the assistant lets the app calculate it exactly instead of doing it itself. This works with .xlsx, .xls, .ods, and .csv, even with a small local model.

"Review grade list.xlsx. What is the average per subject for grade 7 and grade 8? Which students have two or more failing grades?"

PDF files​

The assistant can also create a PDF, for example a worksheet. A PDF gets the same clean layout as a Word document: a title with an accent line, headings and table headers in the brand color, and formulas. For example:

"Create a PDF with a worksheet 'Practice fractions' for grade 6"

"Change exercise 3 and update the answer in the table."

A PDF cannot be edited in a targeted way. If you ask for a change, the assistant creates the PDF again with the correction. The previous version goes to the trash.

Templates, analyses, and charts with Python​

For a template, a pivot table, conditional formatting, an extensive analysis, or a chart in a Word document, the assistant uses the Python built into the app. It includes libraries for Word, PowerPoint, and Excel, for analyses (pandas), and for charts (matplotlib). You do not need to install anything for this.

  • The script works without internet and can only write in your working folder. On macOS it runs in the sandbox, without needing your permission. On Windows, the app asks for permission every time.
  • The script cannot start other programs (on macOS). Your administrator can enable or disable this Python separately, even if local commands are turned off. Without a sandbox (Windows), it is only available if local commands are enabled.

File changes​

The File changes panel shows by default what the agent changed in the last turn. Under Scope, choose Entire chat, an earlier turn, or Individual edits. For each file, you see the total change.

Reverting​

With Revert file or Revert all, you restore files to how they were. With the arrow next to a block, you revert only that block.

  • Files that you have edited yourself in the meantime are never overwritten.
  • New files from the agent remain, unless you choose to move them to the trash.
  • Every revert can be undone again with Undo.

After reverting, you immediately see what is left. Partially reverted files are shown as Partially reverted, fully reverted ones as Reverted; you cannot revert them again.

Giving feedback​

Click a line number to write feedback; Shift+click selects multiple lines. With Send feedback, all feedback is sent to the agent in one message. If the agent is still running, it will adjust its work immediately.

Keyboard shortcuts in this panel: j and k for the next or previous file, n and p for the next or previous block.

Individual edits​

If you choose Individual edits under Scope, you see each edit separately.

The last 100 text edits in this chat. Examples remain on this device. Changes through other tools are not included here.

  • Added · − Removed. This is a recording of the edit, not necessarily the current file content.

No preview available: the action is not complete, the file is too large, or it contains no supported text.

Choose File changes on the right side of the top bar and select a file to view the edit. With Restore previous content, you restore an existing text file. This is only possible if the content has not changed since that edit. The restore appears as a new change. Newly created files are not removed with this.

View HTML: View the recorded version in a separate window. External and separate local files are not loaded.

The changes overview groups edits by folder and shows, per edit, the number of added and removed lines when a text preview is available. These are not net totals per file. With Load older edits, you can view more than the first 100 edits. The file filter searches the loaded edits.

Local commands and tests​

Ask the agent to run a command or test in the active working folder. Check the exact command and folder in the command card and choose Run or Deny. By default, every run asks for permission again; in Run local commands safely you can read how to set this per folder. Without a sandbox, the command uses your user permissions: it can then also work outside the working folder and on the network. Output appears immediately; use Stop to end the run. The maximum run time is 300 seconds and output is limited to 64 KiB. Interactive input is not supported.

The output is sent as a tool result to the selected AI model. The command cards are available only during this app session; the model’s answer may include output. File changes made by commands are not included in recovery via File changes.

Choose Commands on the right side of the top bar. The commands and their output appear in the panel next to the chat; a new permission request opens this panel automatically.

On this page