Workspace basics

Short answer: A workspace is just a folder on your disk: Build Perch keeps everything it manages inside a visible BuildPerch subfolder, and leaves the rest of the folder alone. You can create as many workspaces as you want and switch between them any time; every panel (Files, Chats, Lists, Workers) follows whichever one is active.

What is a workspace?

A workspace is a plain folder on disk. There’s no database and no hidden container. The first time you run Build Perch you pick a root folder; the app creates a Workspaces folder inside it, and every workspace you make after that lives at <root>\Workspaces\<name>. Nothing outside Workspaces\ is touched: the app only ever reads or writes inside the folders you’ve explicitly put there.

Where does the AI put its work?

Inside each workspace, Build Perch keeps a visible BuildPerch folder. Generated documents, images, audio, video, webpages, task cards, templates, and worker files live there in visible subfolders (documents, images, audio, video, webpages, cards, templates, workers) that render italicized in the Files tree so managed folders stand out from your own. A handful of folders inside BuildPerch are hidden and off-limits to the AI’s file tools entirely (chat storage, the undo-snapshot store, the local search index, cached artifacts, and agent run state), so a bad prompt can’t corrupt the app’s own bookkeeping.

How do I create or switch workspaces?

Click New Workspace to create one, or Import to bring in a .zip export or an existing folder (both live in the workspace toolbar and in the Manage Workspaces window). Switching is one click in the workspace switcher; every panel reacts immediately, since each one is scoped to whichever workspace is active.

Where should my root folder live?

Pick a folder you fully control. Build Perch flags a few choices before you commit: Windows system folders (Windows, Program Files, ProgramData), your bare user home folder, and cloud-sync folders (OneDrive, Dropbox, iCloud Drive, Google Drive, Box Sync, pCloud). Sync folders work, but edits and deletions inside them propagate to the cloud, and to anyone else on a shared folder. Network and shared drives are supported too, with the same caveat: a folder other people are actively writing to at the same time can produce file conflicts.

Good to know

Each workspace is independent: its own chat history, cards, generated files, header color, and local search index.
Renaming a workspace’s folder carries its color and settings with it automatically; nothing needs re-linking.
Workspaces can be archived (hidden from the switcher, nothing deleted) from the Manage Workspaces window.