# Files and permissions

> The team folder, folder rules, and how the server checks every file the AI opens as the person asking.

Company knowledge lives in one team folder on the server. Folder rules decide who sees what. The AI never sees more than the person asking.

## The team folder

| Folder | Who sees it | Use it for |
|---|---|---|
| `shared/` | As the rules say, usually everyone | Company-wide documents |
| `groups/<group>/` | That group, plus anyone a rule adds | Team documents, such as Sales or Finance |
| `projects/<project>/` | As the rules say | Work with its own folder and instructions |
| `skills/` | Everyone reads; skill managers write | Team skills and team rules |
| `users/<id>/` | Only that person | Personal files and personal skills |

## How access is decided

One permission function on the server decides every access. The OS stops the AI from going around it.

- A file you cannot open is **invisible**, not "denied". Files, AI answers, search, previews, version history, trash and live updates all follow the same rule.
- A person's access comes from the **nearest rule** above the file that names them. Person rules come before group rules. With several groups, the widest access wins.
- Changes apply **at once**. The AI reads permissions again on every tool call.
- Removing access does not erase earlier answers that quoted a file.

## Change folder rules

Admins use **Admin › Folder permissions**.

1. **Pick a folder**

   **By folder** shows the team folder as a tree. Each row says who can open it and where that comes from.

   ![Admin › Folder permissions › By folder: the team folder as a tree, each folder with who can open it](../images/files/folder-permissions.webp "Folder permissions, by folder")

2. **Choose the basic access**

   Follow the folder above, only the people named, everyone reads, or everyone reads and writes.

3. **Add people and groups**

   Give each read, read and write, or no access. So "everyone reads, but not Bob" is possible.

4. **Check before saving**

   The server works out who loses or gains access, and the Save button says it. Nothing changes until you save.

**By person** shows what one person, and so their AI, can see, and why.

> **Warning:** `skills/` holds instructions that every member's AI follows. Write access there makes someone a skill manager. Before the AI saves into `skills/`, the server asks a person to confirm.

## Working with files

![The Files screen: the team folder with groups, projects, shared, skills and users](../images/files/files.webp "The Files screen")

- **Upload** files or whole folders from the Files screen.
- **History**: every change keeps a version you can open or restore.
- **Formats**: the AI reads text from PDF, Office and HWP/HWPX files, and sees photos and scanned pages as images (admins can turn that off). Linux servers run no OCR.
- **Confirmation**: when the AI would write restricted content somewhere more people can see, the server asks first.

Full details: [Security and permissions](https://github.com/trina-app/trina-ax/blob/main/docs/security-and-permissions.md) and the [permission model (Korean)](https://github.com/trina-app/trina-ax/blob/main/docs/PERMISSIONS.md).