Files

Read, write, search, and manage files on your device through conversation.

Work with files on your device

Chalie can read files and web pages, write and update files, search for files by name or content, and adjust file permissions — all through natural conversation.

Chalie reading a document from a URL and pulling out exactly the detail you asked for.

Getting started:

  • “Read the file at ~/Documents/notes.txt.”
  • “Find all Python files in my project that mention ‘database’.”
  • “Write a new file at ~/scripts/backup.sh with the contents I’m about to give you.”

Reading files and web pages

Ask Chalie to read any local file or URL:

  • “Read my SSH config at ~/.ssh/config.”
  • “Open the PDF at ~/Downloads/contract.pdf and summarise it.”
  • “Read the page at https://example.com/docs and tell me how authentication works.”

Supported formats include plain text, Markdown, PDFs, Word documents, PowerPoint files, HTML, code files, and more. For URLs, Chalie fetches and extracts the readable text.

Writing files

Ask Chalie to create or update a file at any path you specify:

  • “Create a file at ~/scripts/daily_backup.sh with these contents.”
  • “Write a JSON config file to ~/app/config.json with these settings.”
  • “Update ~/Documents/todo.txt — add ‘buy coffee’ to the end.”

When writing to an existing file, Chalie reads it first before making changes — this prevents accidental overwrites and ensures edits are applied correctly.

Finding files

Search for files by name pattern or by what’s inside them:

By name:

  • “Find all .yaml files in my home directory.”
  • “Look for any file named ‘config.py’ in my project.”
  • “List all markdown files under ~/notes/.”

By content:

  • “Find files that contain the word ‘password’ in ~/scripts/.”
  • “Search for any Python file that imports pandas.”
  • “Find the file that mentions the API endpoint ‘/v2/users’.”

Results are paginated — ask “next page” if there are more results to see.

Changing permissions

Adjust file and directory permissions in plain language or with specific modes:

  • “Make the backup script executable.”
  • “Set ~/private/ to owner-only access.”
  • “chmod 644 the file at ~/Documents/report.pdf.”

You can use intent words like “executable”, “readonly”, or “owner-only”, symbolic modes like “u+x,go-r”, or standard octal modes like “755”.

How it works

File reading and writing works with paths on the machine running Chalie. There are no size or path restrictions beyond what the operating system allows, though Chalie returns up to 20,000 characters from a single read by default. File search results are paginated at 5 per page and cached briefly for repeated queries. Sensitive system paths (such as /proc and /etc) are blocked from reading for safety.