Chat with a folder of files using the AI you already have
Attach a folder in 1FileTool's AI Chat, ask Claude Code, Codex, Gemini or another installed agent to summarize or rename the files, and check every change it makes.
Your progress
Chat with a folder of documents the way you would with a colleague: "what is in here?", "summarize each one", "rename them by date". 1FileTool's AI Chat hands the folder to an AI coding agent already installed on your computer, such as Claude Code, Codex or Gemini, and shows every file the agent creates or changes so you can check it.
What you'll need
- 1FileTool 1.10.0 or later. AI Chat has no Pro gate and no per-chat charge.
- An agent CLI on this computer: Claude Code, Codex, Gemini, Grok, Antigravity, OpenCode, Hermes Agent, Cline, Amp, Qwen or Aider. No agent yet? Settings › AI Access can install a managed copy of OpenCode for you (Install OpenCode).
- A folder to work on. For a first run, copy a few documents into a new folder.
- Know where your words go. The agent reads the files on your machine, but what you ask about is answered by whatever AI service that agent uses. A cloud-backed agent sends the file contents it reads to that provider. Pair AI Chat with an agent running a local model if a folder must stay on your computer.
Protect your originals first
Replace source is ON by default: the output overwrites the original file and no backup is kept. Before following along, open Settings › General and turn Replace source off, or pick a separate output folder.
AI Chat is different from the tools: the agent edits files where they are, not in your output folder, and Replace source does not apply. Work on a copy of the folder until you trust the result.
Steps
1. Check which agents 1FileTool found
Open Settings › AI Access. The list of coding agents shows each one it detected with its version and path. Installed something new? Press Rescan.
2. Open AI Chat
In the sidebar, open AI Chat under Workspace. A new conversation opens on "Chat with your files".
3. Pick the agent and model
Leave the agent picker on Auto to let 1FileTool use a detected agent, or pick one. The model menu next to it starts on Default model, the agent's own default; pick another if the agent offers it.
4. Attach the folder
Press Choose a folder and pick your copy, or Attach files for a few documents. You can also drag files onto the thread. Attachments appear as chips you can remove before sending, and the box now reads "Ask about these files…".
5. Ask for a summary first
Start with something that changes nothing: "List each file with a one-line summary and the date it mentions." Read the answer and check one or two files yourself.
6. Ask for the change
Then ask for the edit: "Rename each file to YYYY-MM-DD plus a short title, based on its content." When the agent creates or changes files, they appear as cards in the thread with Reveal Folder and Open with 1FileTool, so you can look at the real result.
7. Keep going, or come back later
The conversation is saved in the left rail. Return to it for a follow-up, or press New chat for the next folder. Result screens across the app also have an Ask an agent button, which opens that output here.
The result
A folder you understood before you changed it, and a set of real file changes you can open and check, not a description of what the agent would have done. The thread keeps the whole exchange, so you can see what you asked and what it did.
If it didn't work
- No agents are listed: install one, then Rescan in Settings › AI Access, or use Install OpenCode there.
- The agent asks for a login: AI Chat drives the agent CLI as installed. Sign in to it once in your terminal, then try again.
- It changed more than you wanted: that is why you work on a copy. Restore from your original folder, and phrase the request narrower ("only rename, don't edit contents").
- You want repeatable, offline processing instead: a workflow recipe or the Folder Monitor runs the same tools the same way every time, with no AI involved.
Try next
Want the agent to use 1FileTool's tools from your own terminal instead? Let Claude Code compress and convert your files over MCP. Handing over a whole codebase or a long document? Pack a project folder into one file first.