# Organize files on your PC

Let a bot sort, rename, and tidy files in one folder on your own computer, with you approving each step.

Canonical page: https://themachine.myapps.ai/docs/desktop/guides/organize-files-on-your-pc

Normally a bot works on its own computer in the cloud. In this guide you let
it work on **your** computer instead, using **This PC**, to tidy up a folder:
renaming files, sorting them into subfolders, or cleaning up a spreadsheet.

You'll start carefully: one small folder, and the bot asking before every
action. Once you trust how it works, you can loosen that.

**What you'll end up with:** a tidy folder, and a good feel for how a bot
works on your computer and how to stop it.

**Time needed:** about 15 minutes.

**What you need first:**

- Machine Desktop installed, signed in, and **running**. The bot can only
  reach your computer while Machine Desktop is open (minimized to the tray is
  fine).
- A small folder to practise on, like a folder of photos or downloads.
  Make a copy of it first if the files matter to you.

Working with files and commands in a folder works on Windows and Mac.

### Start a new thread

Right-click your bot in the sidebar and choose **New thread**. Each thread
has its own setting, so this thread can work on your computer while your
other threads stay in the cloud.

This PC works in a bot's own threads, not in group chats.

### Switch the thread to This PC

1. Above the message box, click the chip that says **Cloud**. (If the bot
is working, stop it first. You can't switch in the middle of a turn.)
2. Choose **This PC**.
3. The first time, Machine Desktop asks to connect this computer to Machine.
The message explains what the bot will be able to do. Read it, and
confirm to continue.

### Share one small folder

A window opens: **Choose a folder Machine can work in**. Pick a folder and
click **Share this folder**.

Pick the **smallest folder the job needs**. For example, choose
`Documents\Invoices 2024`, not all of `Documents`. The bot can only open and
change files in folders you've shared with this thread.

The chip now shows **This PC** and your folder name. If you cancel, the
thread stays on Cloud. Next time, the window opens next to the last folder
you chose.

### Turn on "Ask before each action"

Click the folder chip above the message box to open the folder menu. Under
**Control**, turn **Ask before each action** to **On**. Now the bot asks
before every file change, command, and click, and you approve each one.

It's **Off** by default. Keep it on while you're learning, and for any
work that matters.

In the same section, if the job is only about files, you can turn **Apps,
mouse and keyboard** to **Off** (Windows and Mac). Bots on this computer are
then limited to files and commands, and won't use your screen.

### Ask for a plan first

Before the bot moves anything, ask it to look and tell you what it would do.
For example:

> Look at the files in this folder and tell me how you'd organize them into
> subfolders. Don't move or rename anything yet.

Read its plan. If it looks right, tell it to go ahead. Some other requests
you can try:

> Rename every photo in this folder to the date it was taken, like
> 2024-06-01-001.jpg.

> Move every PDF into a subfolder called PDFs and every image into one
> called Images. Leave everything else where it is.

> Open budget.xlsx, add a column for the monthly change, and make a chart on
> a new sheet.

To point at a specific file, type `@` in the message box and choose it from
your shared folder.

### Approve or deny each step

As the bot works, a line under the chat header shows what it's doing, for
example *This PC · Invoices · Opening budget.xlsx*.

With **Ask before each action** on, you approve each step before it
happens. Read what the bot wants to do. If you don't understand it, deny it
and ask the bot to explain.

If the bot needs something outside your shared folder, like another folder,
it has to ask. Machine Desktop jumps to the front and shows a card like:

> **Assistant wants to use**
> C:\Users\you\Documents\Receipts

- **Allow** shares it with this thread. The bot carries on from where it
stopped.
- **Deny** (or press **Esc**) refuses. The bot is told no.

If several requests come in, you see them one at a time, oldest first.

### Know how to stop it

You can always stop a bot that's working on your computer:

| How | What it stops |
|---|---|
| The **Stop** button in the chat header or message box, or send the word **stop** | This thread. |
| **Ctrl+Alt+Esc** (Windows) or **⌘⇧Esc** (Mac), from any app | Everything any bot is doing on this computer. |
| **Stop** on the red *Machine controlling this screen* banner | Everything on this computer. |

After a full stop, the thread shows **Stopped on this computer**. Just send
your next message to carry on.

> **What a folder does and doesn't protect**
> The shared folder limits which **files** the bot can open and change
> directly. But a **command or program** the bot runs works with your normal
> user permissions and can reach anything you can. For important work, keep
> **Ask before each action** on, so you approve every command before it runs.

## How you can tell it's using your screen

If **Apps, mouse and keyboard** is on and the bot uses your screen, the edges
of your screen glow purple, the window it's using has a purple frame, and a
banner at the top says **Machine controlling this screen**. On Windows, the
bot's own purple pointer glides to each spot it clicks, and your mouse
pointer is handed back after each click. On a Mac, a purple ring follows
your mouse pointer. The glow fades a few seconds after the bot stops.

Screenshots the bot takes are sent to Machine so the bot can see them. Close
anything private before letting a bot use your screen.

![The folder menu with Ask before each action](/images/docs/desktop/this-pc-folder-menu.webp)

## Tips

- **Start small.** One small folder and **Ask before each action** on. Widen
  things once you're comfortable.
- **Say exactly what not to touch.** *"Don't delete anything"* or *"Leave
  files from this year where they are"*. Bots don't delete anything unless
  you clearly asked.
- **Need a different folder?** Click the folder chip, then **Change…** next
  to the folder's name.
- **A big job to run while you're away?** In the folder menu, turn on **Keep
  this PC awake**. Your computer won't go to sleep while it's connected and
  plugged in (the screen can still turn off). You can check on the thread,
  and send it more, from your phone.
- **On a Mac, using the screen needs permissions.** Files and commands work
  without them.
- **Messages waiting with "Choose a folder on This PC to start…"?** The
  thread has no folder yet. Click **Choose folder**.

![A permission request for another folder](/images/docs/desktop/this-pc-permission.webp)

## Next steps

- [What This PC is and what a bot can do there](/docs/desktop/this-pc/overview)
- [Safety and stopping](/docs/desktop/this-pc/safety-and-stop)
- [Mac permissions](/docs/desktop/this-pc/mac-permissions)
- [Fill in forms in your browser](/docs/desktop/guides/fill-forms-in-your-browser)