# Work Folders

A work folder in Treasure AI Studio is a workspace that groups related chats around a shared file space, with a standing set of instructions the AI follows in every chat started inside it. Without one, you re-explain your conventions in every new chat, and the files the AI produces stay buried in the single conversation that made them. One of your work folders is your **default**, and it comes preselected as the destination for your next chat.

## Prerequisites

- Signed in to Treasure AI Studio ([Getting Started](/products/ai-studio/getting-started))


## What a Work Folder Contains

A work folder in Treasure AI Studio holds two settings and one shared file space. You set the two fields when you create the folder, and can change them later in the **Work folder settings** dialog, which you open from the folder's ⋯ menu.

| Field  | What It Does  |
|  --- | --- |
| **Name** | Identifies the work folder in the sidebar, on the work folder page, and in the destination picker. You can rename it at any time. |
| **Instruction** | Standing guidance the AI follows in every chat in this work folder — a preferred database, coding conventions, output formats. Studio saves it as a `CLAUDE.md` file inside the work folder and applies it as the agent's instructions. |


**Example:** A "CDP Ops" work folder might carry the instruction "Always validate YAML before pushing. Use the `marketing` database by default. Format SQL with CTEs."

Every chat inside a work folder reads and writes the same files, so the reports, datasets, and images produced across many conversations accumulate in one place. You can browse and organize those files without opening a chat — see [Organizing Files in a Work Folder](/products/ai-studio/files/file-upload-download#organizing-files-in-a-work-folder).

Work folder instructions apply only within their work folder. For guidance that should apply to every chat across your organization, an account administrator can set [Custom Instructions](/products/ai-studio/custom-instructions), which are appended to the system prompt of every conversation.

## Your Default Work Folder

Your **default work folder** is the folder that comes preselected as the destination for a new chat. Treasure AI Studio sets one up for you, named **General**, so you can start working without creating or choosing anything first.

On Web and Desktop, the default work folder is pinned to the top of the **Work Folders** section in the sidebar, ahead of the other folders. It carries a folder-with-checkmark icon and a **Default** badge, and hovering its name shows the hint *"Default folder — new chats are saved here"*.

Being the default changes three things about a folder:

- It is preselected as the destination for a new chat, so that is where the chat is saved unless you pick another folder before sending.
- It appears first in the sidebar and first in the destination picker.
- It cannot be deleted while it is the default. See [Changing Your Default Work Folder](#changing-your-default-work-folder).


## Where a New Chat Is Saved

On Web and Desktop, a chat you start is saved in a work folder, and which folder depends on where you started it.

| Where You Start  | Where the Chat Is Saved  |
|  --- | --- |
| **New Chat** at the top of the sidebar | Your default work folder. Change the destination from the composer before you send your first message. |
| The **+** button on a work folder row in the sidebar | That work folder. |
| **New chat** on a work folder page | That work folder. |
| **Ask AI** (✨) on a file or folder | The work folder that contains the file, with its path prefilled in the composer. |


### Choosing a Destination Before You Send

The welcome screen's composer shows a work folder chip next to the model selector, naming the folder the chat will be saved to. Click it to open the **Choose a Work Folder** picker: your default folder sits at the top, marked with the folder-with-checkmark icon, and the rest follow in name order. Scroll the list to load more folders if you have many.

Picking a folder applies to that chat only — it does not change your default. Once the chat exists its folder is fixed, which is why the in-chat composer has no destination chip; the breadcrumb shows which folder the chat belongs to.

## Changing Your Default Work Folder

You change your default work folder from the ⋯ menu on any work folder — either the folder's row in the sidebar or the ⋯ menu on the folder page — by selecting **Set as default**. The option is hidden on the folder that is already your default.

Changing the default affects new chats only. Existing chats stay in the folders they were created in; nothing moves.

Studio does not let you delete your default work folder. **Delete** stays disabled on it, with the hint *"Set another folder as default before deleting this one"* — make another folder the default first, then delete the one you no longer need.

## Chats Without a Work Folder

A chat without a work folder is one that was never attached to a folder, and Treasure AI Studio marks it **Legacy** in the sidebar's Recent Chats list. These chats open, search, and continue exactly like any other chat. What they lack is a shared file space: their files live with the chat rather than in a folder, so they do not appear in the sidebar file tree or on a work folder page.

They come from two places:

- **Chats from the earlier model.** Before a work folder became the home for every new chat on Web and Desktop, a chat could stand on its own. Those chats are still here and still usable — nothing was migrated or removed.
- **Chats started from the Mobile home screen.** On Mobile (iOS), work folders are labeled **Projects**: a chat you start from inside a project belongs to that project, but a chat started from the home screen is not attached to any folder.


You may also see one if no default work folder was set on your account at the time the chat was started.

All chats — with or without a folder — are removed when they pass your organization's [chat retention period](/products/ai-studio/security/data-retention). A work folder's files are not: they outlive the chats that created them.

## Work Folders in the Sidebar

### Web & Desktop

The **Work Folders** section of the sidebar lists your folders with a count in parentheses (for example, "Work Folders (3)"), the default pinned first and the rest in name order. Click the plus icon next to the header to open the **New work folder** dialog, which asks for a **Name** and an optional **Instruction**.

The section starts collapsed and opens itself when you move to a different folder — by opening a chat that lives there, or by opening the folder's page. Studio also briefly tints the folder's row each time you open one of its chats, so you can see at a glance which folder the conversation belongs to. If you collapse the section yourself, it stays collapsed until the active folder changes again.

Expand a work folder row to see what it contains: a **Chats** pill listing that folder's own conversations, and the folder's file tree. Clicking a directory row anywhere along the row expands or collapses it; clicking a file opens it in a [viewer](/products/ai-studio/files/file-viewers).

### Mobile (iOS)

On Mobile, work folders are labeled **Projects** and appear in a collapsible **Projects** section on the home screen, each row showing its chat count. Tap a project to view its chats. Mobile has no default work folder and no destination picker.

Technical Note
Work folders are stored server-side and sync across all your platforms. A work folder created on Web is immediately available on Desktop and Mobile.

## Frequently Asked Questions

**Can I move a chat to a different work folder?**
No. A chat's work folder is set when the chat is created and cannot be changed afterward. Studio does not move files between work folders either — to reuse a chat's output somewhere else, download the file from the work folder page and upload it into the other folder. See [Organizing Files in a Work Folder](/products/ai-studio/files/file-upload-download#organizing-files-in-a-work-folder).

**Does changing my default work folder move my existing chats?**
No. Changing the default only affects where new chats are saved. Every existing chat stays in the folder it was created in.

**Why can't I delete my default work folder?**
Because new chats need a destination. Studio disables **Delete** on the default folder rather than letting the request fail — set another folder as the default first, then delete the original.

**Do my work folders and their instructions sync across devices?**
Yes. Work folders, their instructions, and their files are stored server-side, so a folder you create on Web is available on Desktop and Mobile with the same contents.

## Troubleshooting

| Issue  | Solution  |
|  --- | --- |
| A chat was saved to an unexpected work folder | The destination is the folder named on the composer chip when you send your first message, which defaults to your default work folder. Check the chip before sending; a chat cannot be moved afterward |
| The default work folder is not at the top of the list | While a sidebar search filter is active, the default folder is not pinned — it appears among the matches in name order, still marked **Default**. Clear the search to restore the pin |
| **Set as default** is missing from a folder's ⋯ menu | That folder is already your default work folder |
| Cannot create a new work folder | Verify you have an active Treasure AI account with AI Studio access. On Mobile, work folders (Projects) are created on Web or Desktop |


## Next Steps

- [Core Concepts](/products/ai-studio/concepts) — Work folders alongside model tiers, credits, and the context window
- [Organizing Files in a Work Folder](/products/ai-studio/files/file-upload-download#organizing-files-in-a-work-folder) — Browse, upload, move, and download a folder's files
- [Chat Persistence & History](/products/ai-studio/chat/chat-history) — How Recent Chats groups conversations across all your work folders
- [Custom Instructions](/products/ai-studio/custom-instructions) — Organization-wide guidance that applies on top of work folder instructions