Skip to content
Build Perch
Browse documentation

Your first workspace

Short answer: A workspace is a folder: every chat, file, and task list you work with lives inside it, and the AI’s own generated files land in a visible BuildPerch folder inside that same workspace. Set a root folder once, then create as many workspaces inside it as you want.

What is a workspace?

A workspace is a folder on disk, one level inside a root folder you choose. Everything tied to a project (its chats, its files, its task lists) stays inside that workspace’s folder, so switching workspaces switches your entire working set at once: the Files, Chats, and Lists panels all update together. Build Perch supports as many workspaces as you want, and you can switch between them at any time.

How do I set up my first workspace?

  1. Open the app menu (☰) → Workspaces; this opens the Manage Workspaces window.
  2. In its Root folder section, click Choose root folder and pick a folder you can browse easily, like Documents\Build Perch. (By default, Build Perch stores workspaces in a folder under your Windows user profile.) Build Perch creates a Workspaces subfolder inside whatever you choose.
  3. Click New Workspace, give it a name (any name works, as long as it doesn’t contain < > : " | ? * / \), and click Create Workspace. There’s no folder picker at this step: the workspace is created automatically inside your root’s Workspaces folder.

Build Perch creates a BuildPerch folder inside the new workspace right away, seeded with a cards folder (your task lists) and a templates folder (starter Office templates). More subfolders (images, audio, video, documents, webpages) appear as you use those features.

Where does the AI’s work get saved?

Everything the AI generates for you (Word, Excel, and PowerPoint files, PDFs, images, audio, video, webpages) lands inside your workspace’s visible BuildPerch folder, or wherever else in the workspace you tell it to save, as ordinary files. Open them in Word, Excel, PowerPoint, or any other app. A few hidden, dot-prefixed subfolders (like the search index and undo snapshots) hold internal plumbing and are off-limits to the AI’s own file tools, the same protection a folder you lock yourself gets.

Good to know

  • You’re not limited to one workspace: create as many as you want and switch between them from the same Manage Workspaces window; each keeps its own files, chats, and lists.
  • Right-click any folder in the Files panel to lock it against the AI. Locked folders show red with a 🔒, and the AI can’t read, write, or unlock them, no matter what it’s told.
  • The Manage Workspaces window also handles renaming, archiving, exporting, and relocating a workspace’s root later.