Desktop file sync

What is desktop folder sync?

Desktop folder sync puts a Fabric folder on your computer. Anything you move into it, a working file, a download, a screenshot, a whole project folder, syncs into Fabric in the background and becomes part of your searchable library. It works the way you already work, by dragging things into a folder, with none of the friction of uploading to yet another app. This is the bridge between the files sitting on your desktop and everything else you keep in Fabric.

What you get with desktop folder sync

Most of your files never make it into a cloud app. They live on your computer, in folders you'd struggle to describe to anyone else, and they're invisible the moment you're away from that machine. Desktop folder sync closes that gap. Drop something into the Fabric folder and it's backed up to your Fabric library, readable by the AI, and waiting for you on your phone or tablet without you thinking about it.

The sync runs both ways. Edit a file in the folder on your computer and the change flows to Fabric and out to your other devices; the folder on your desktop and your Fabric library stay in step. You start something on your laptop, pick it up on your phone, and finish on your tablet, and it's the same file throughout.

Everything you add becomes searchable and connected

This is what separates a synced folder from a backup. As files land in the folder, Fabric reads and understands them, then connects them to the rest of your library. A spec you saved to the folder sits next to the notes you took in a meeting about it and the article you clipped on the same subject, because Fabric maps the relationships between everything you save.

That means you find these files the way you find everything else in Fabric: by meaning. Describe what a document was about and semantic search surfaces it, even if you've forgotten the filename or which folder you dropped it in. You can also point the AI assistant at a file or a whole folder and ask it to summarise, compare, or draft from what's there, and annotate any file directly. The organising you'd otherwise do by hand, the labelling and filing, is simply handled.

Your files, on every device

Because the folder syncs to the cloud, the files in it aren't stuck on the computer you saved them from. They're in the Fabric app on your phone, your tablet, and the web, with your latest changes already there. The work you do at your desk is in your pocket on the way home, and what you change on your phone is on your desktop when you sit back down.

How people use it

Designers keep a working folder of exports, drafts, and references on their machine and let it sync, so finished and in-progress files turn up in the same Fabric search as their moodboards and notes, and are there on the iPad when they switch to sketching.

Researchers drop downloaded papers, datasets, and figures into the folder and have them join their reading and annotations in Fabric, searchable by meaning months later. It fits a longer research workflow.

Students keep a course folder on their laptop synced to Fabric, so lecture material and notes are all findable in one place and available on their phone before a class, as part of a wider study system.

Writers and creators save drafts and gathered material to the folder and pick the thread back up on whichever device is to hand, with everything backed up as they go.

The longer you use it, the more it holds. As more of your working files flow through the folder into Fabric, the library builds a richer map of how your work connects, so what you can find and surface grows with what you put in.

Frequently asked questions

What is desktop folder sync in Fabric?

It's a folder on your computer that syncs with Fabric. Once it's set up, anything you put in the folder is backed up to your Fabric library, read and organised by the AI, and made available on your other devices. It's the simplest way to get files from your computer into Fabric without uploading them one by one.

Does it sync both ways?

Yes. Changes you make to files in the folder on your computer sync to Fabric and out to your other devices, and the folder stays in step with your Fabric library. You can work in the folder on your desktop or in the Fabric app, and both stay current.

How do I set it up?

In Fabric's desktop app, install desktop folder sync and follow the installer. It creates a Fabric folder on your computer. From then on, anything you add to that folder syncs in the background, and your files are available across the Fabric apps.

Can I search inside the files I add to the folder?

Yes. Fabric reads the contents of files you add, so you can find them by meaning with semantic search, not just by filename, alongside everything else in your library.

Are my synced files available on my phone and tablet?

Yes. The folder syncs to your Fabric library, which is on every device, so files you drop in on your computer show up in the Fabric app on your phone, tablet, and the web, with your latest changes.

Is this just a backup, or something more?

It's more than a backup. Your files are backed up, but they're also read and understood by the AI, connected to the rest of your library, searchable by meaning, and available everywhere. A backup keeps a copy; this makes your files part of a connected, searchable whole.

Does putting a file in the folder move it out of where it was?

It syncs the file in the Fabric folder to your library. To bring existing files in, you add them to the Fabric folder on your computer; files elsewhere on your machine stay where they are until you move them in.

What file types does it support?

A wide range, including documents, PDFs, images, and more, with the AI reading inside the formats it understands. The guide lists the full set of supported files.

Can the AI assistant work with files from the folder?

Yes. Once a file has synced into Fabric, the AI assistant can summarise it, compare it with other material, or draft from it, the same as anything else in your library.

Is my data secure?

Everything in Fabric is encrypted in transit and at rest, with AES-256 encryption on stored files. The details are in the privacy and security guide and Fabric's privacy commitment.

How is this different from Dropbox or Google Drive?

Those connections bring in files from a cloud account you already have. Desktop folder sync works from your own computer: a local folder that syncs into Fabric, for the working files that never made it into a cloud app. You can use it alongside the Dropbox and Google Drive connections, and Fabric searches across all of them together.

Does Fabric work with other tools alongside this?

Yes. Desktop folder sync is one of many connections. You can also bring in Google Drive, Dropbox, Notion, and Gmail, and search across them all at once.