ChatGPT+Local Files and NAS
ChatGPT and Local Files: Desktop App, Work and NAS
How to turn on ChatGPT Work and Codex in the desktop app, what it can and cannot do, how to fix it when it stops working, and how to organize a computer or NAS from ChatGPT with undo.
The short answer
ChatGPT works with files on your computer through its desktop app for Mac and Windows: in Work, you attach folders to a project and ChatGPT can read and change the files in them, and Codex works in a local folder too. Work on the web and phone cannot reach your computer. OpenAI does not document network drives or a NAS, and local does not mean offline: file excerpts can be sent to OpenAI. Through The Drive AI's desktop app or NAS helper, a computer or NAS is organized as one change you check first.
Set up
How to connect ChatGPT to Local Files and NAS
Install the desktop app
ChatGPT's desktop app runs on Mac and Windows, with Linux in preview. OpenAI says Chat, Work and Codex are on every plan, with limited Work access on Free.
Attach folders to a project
In Work, open a folder or add folders to a local project under Edit project, Add folder. ChatGPT can read and change files in every attached folder.
Grant only what the task needs
OpenAI advises attaching only the folders a task needs. Work runs in a sandbox on each system.
Workspace admins set the permissions
On business plans, Work Local, Work Cloud and Codex Local are separate permissions under Permissions and roles.
What it does
What ChatGPT's Local Files and NAS connector can and cannot do
It can
- Read and change files in folders you attach, in the desktop app
- Create, rename and delete files with Codex's write permission
- Work across several attached folders, with one marked primary
- Take uploads of up to 512 MB per file in a chat
It cannot
- Reach your computer from Work on the web or the phone
- See local files when the computer is offline: the task moves to a cloud container
- Keep files fully local: excerpts may be sent to OpenAI
- Use network drives or a NAS, as far as OpenAI documents
Troubleshooting
ChatGPT's Local Files and NAS connector not working?
ChatGPT on the web cannot see your files
Only the desktop app reaches local folders. Open the same project in the desktop app and attach the folder there.
A task stopped seeing local files
If the computer goes offline, the task continues in a cloud container that cannot see local files. Keep the computer awake and the app open for local work.
Local Work chats fail inside a project on Windows
Users report sync errors creating a local Work chat inside a ChatGPT project on Windows (open GitHub issue). Start the chat outside the project meanwhile.
Work Local is greyed out on a company account
An admin grants Work Local separately from Work Cloud and Codex Local under Permissions and roles.
Bigger jobs
Where it stops, and what The Drive AI adds
ChatGPT works on files one action at a time. Through The Drive AI, folders on a Mac, PC or NAS are organized as one change you check first, and moves and renames can be undone.
| Job | ChatGPT's connector | With The Drive AI |
|---|---|---|
| Organize a NAS | Not documented. | Through a helper that runs on the NAS itself, as one change with a preview. |
| Undo a reorganization | No undo. | Moves and renames reverse; files sent to the device trash are restored from it by hand. |
| Where the files go | Excerpts may be sent to OpenAI. | Files stay on the device and are streamed only when read or copied. |
| The computer and Google Drive together | Separate tools. | One folder tree, including copies between the computer and a cloud drive. |
Add The Drive AI to ChatGPT
It sits beside ChatGPT Work and Codex in the desktop app rather than replacing it. Connecting Local Files and NAS to The Drive AI comes with Max and Team; files in The Drive AI workspace work on every plan.
ChatGPT
Plugins → + → Add custom MCP server, then paste the server URL and sign in. Changing files from ChatGPT needs a Business or Enterprise workspace, where an admin publishes the server; on Pro, custom servers can only read.
Server URL
https://thedriveai.fastmcp.app/mcp
Try it
Prompts for Local Files and NAS
On my NAS, sort the loose files in the Scans share into folders by year and document type. Show me the plan before you move anything.
The NAS is reorganized as one change you check first, and moves can be undone.
On my PC, find files in Downloads I have not changed in a year and propose moving them into an Archive folder by year.
Old downloads leave the working folder as one change, without anything being deleted.
Rename the scanned PDFs in the Documents folder I shared from my Mac from what each one says: date first, then document type. Show me the new names first.
Each scan is named from its contents, and the files never leave the Mac.
FAQ
Common questions
Checked against the publishers' documentation and the connector's own tool list on 2026-10-16. Sources:
Can ChatGPT access local files?
Through the desktop app, yes: in Work you attach folders to a project and ChatGPT can read and change the files in them. ChatGPT on the web and phone cannot reach your computer.
Does ChatGPT upload my local files?
Not whole folders, but OpenAI says file excerpts, prompts and screenshots may be sent to its services. Local access does not mean offline.
Can ChatGPT access a NAS?
OpenAI does not document network drives or NAS access for Work. The Drive AI reaches a NAS through a helper that runs on it, and that NAS is then reachable from ChatGPT on Business and Enterprise through The Drive AI connector.
Is ChatGPT desktop local file access free?
OpenAI says Chat, Work and Codex in the desktop app are on every plan including Free, with limited Work access on Free.
Organize the folders that never reach the cloud.
Share a folder from the desktop app or NAS helper, then ask The Drive AI directly or from ChatGPT. Files stay on the device.