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Overview

The agent can work in folders that live on a computer or a NAS, the way it works in a connected drive. The files stay where they are. The agent keeps a catalogue of names, paths, sizes and dates, and, where you allow it, the text of documents, so it can find, read, organise and file them from a conversation or a workflow. Two ways to share a folder:
  • On a Mac or PC, from the desktop app. The app pairs itself with your workspace; no code is needed.
  • On a NAS or a server, with a small helper that runs in Docker. You pair it once with a code from Settings > Agent.
Sharing folders on a device comes with the same plans as connected drives: Max, Team, Business and Enterprise. See Plans and pricing.

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Share a folder from your Mac or PC

1

Install the desktop app

Version 1.2 or later. See Desktop app.
2

Choose a folder

Open the app’s Settings > Agent and click Share a folder…. Pick the folder. Under Workspace to share into, choose the workspace; a computer shares into one workspace.
3

Choose what the agent may read

Under What the agent may read, choose Read documents or Names and dates only. You can change this later for any folder under Settings > Agent in the web app.
The folder appears under Settings > Agent > Your devices in the web app within a minute, first as Cataloguing…, then with its item count once the catalogue is complete. A large folder takes a few minutes.

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Ask about a folder from Finder

On a Mac, right-click a folder in Finder and choose Quick Actions > Ask The Drive AI about this folder. The app opens the agent on that folder and shares it for the conversation. To keep the agent on it after you quit the app, share it from Settings > Agent instead.

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Share folders from a NAS

The helper runs as a container on Synology, QNAP, TrueNAS, Unraid, or any machine with Docker. It connects out to The Drive AI; nothing on the NAS is opened to the internet.
1

Get a pairing code

In the web app, open Settings > Agent, find Your devices and click Pair a device. Choose On a NAS or a server (Docker). The code pairs one device into this workspace as you, and works for ten minutes.
2

Copy the compose file

The page shows a compose file with the code filled in. Copy it into your NAS’s container manager (Container Manager on Synology, Container Station on QNAP, Portainer, or a docker-compose.yml on a server). A docker run command is offered as well.
3

Mount your shares

Each share you want the agent to see is one line under volumes, mounted under /data. The example mounts /volume1/Clients; change it to your own share and add a line per share.
4

Start the container

The device appears under Your devices as Online · NAS within a minute, with one entry per mounted share. Each share is catalogued once, then kept up to date.
The compose file looks like this:
Settings you can change in environment: The pairing is kept in the tdai-device-config volume, so you can update the container with docker pull ghcr.io/thedriveai/device-helper:latest and recreate it without pairing again. Run the container as the user who owns the shares (user: in compose) so files the agent creates belong to that user.

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Who sees a shared folder

  • A folder on a Mac or PC is seen only by your own agent. Under Your devices, the folder says Only you will see them until an admin shares them.
  • A folder on a NAS paired by an admin is shared with everyone in the workspace, and says Everyone here.
An admin can switch any folder either way under Your devices. A folder shared with everyone is listed for every member under What the agent can see.

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What the agent may read

Each folder has one of two settings, chosen when you share it and changeable under Your devices: Names and dates only suits a folder you’d rather keep on the device: client records, personal archives, a NAS full of scans.

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What the agent can do in a shared folder

The same things it does in a connected drive: find files by name or content, read a file when a task needs it, create folders, move, rename, copy and trash files, and run workflows on files that land there. Every change waits for your approval, as elsewhere. A few things are particular to a device:
  • Bytes stay on the device. The agent streams a file from the device only when it reads it or copies it elsewhere.
  • Deletions go to the device’s own trash: the Trash on a Mac, the Recycle Bin on a PC, the share’s recycle bin on a NAS. A folder with no trash the helper can use says no trash: the agent moves instead of deleting.
  • Moves and renames keep the file’s identity, so the agent’s notes and datasets about a file follow it.
  • Photos are catalogued with when and where they were taken, read on the device without sending the photo anywhere.

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When the device is off

A laptop closes, a NAS reboots. The device shows Offline · last seen 2 hours ago under Your devices, and:
  • The catalogue stays. The agent can still find and talk about the files it knows, but can’t read or change them until the device is back.
  • A task that needs the device stops and tells you so. A workflow run resumes on its own when the device reconnects; in a conversation, ask again once it’s back.
  • Changes made while the device was off are picked up when it reconnects, and a workflow watching the folder runs on files that arrived meanwhile.

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Stop sharing

  • One folder: on a Mac or PC, choose Stop sharing next to it in the app’s Settings > Agent. On a NAS, remove the share’s line from the compose file and recreate the container. The folder leaves the agent’s catalogue; nothing on the device is touched.
  • The whole device: under Your devices, disconnect it. Its folders leave the catalogue and the helper is signed out. Pairing it again brings everything back.

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Troubleshooting

  • A pairing code works for ten minutes and once. Make a new one with Pair a device.
  • On a NAS, check the container’s log. It says connected as <name> when pairing worked, and names the share it could not mount otherwise.
  • The device must reach the internet. Nothing needs to be opened inbound.
The folder isn’t available on the device right now: a disk unplugged, a network drive asleep, a share not mounted when the container started. It resumes on its own when the folder is back. If it’s gone for good, remove it under Your devices.
Changes reach the agent within a minute while the device is online. A very large folder is catalogued in the background first; the folder’s line says Cataloguing · 12,000 items so far until it’s done.
A folder is shared with everyone only when an admin paired the device, or when an admin switched it to Everyone here under Your devices.
On a NAS, Report.pdf and report.pdf can sit side by side. The agent treats them as one file today, so one of the two is not catalogued. Rename one of them.

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What’s next?

Connected drives

The same agent over Google Drive, OneDrive, SharePoint and Dropbox.

Workflow triggers

Run a workflow when a file lands in a shared folder.

Desktop app

Install the app, work offline, keep a folder uploaded.

Agent settings

Everything under Settings > Agent.