What happens to your files when you use the AI agent

Your files stay in your folder. When you ask the agent for something, your request and the parts of your documents the agent needs are sent to our servers and our AI provider, and the answer or the edit comes back to the file on your computer. This page explains each step, what you can change in Settings, and where the formal details live in our Privacy Policy.

Where your files live

Nebula Writer works on a folder you open. Your Word, PowerPoint, Excel, LaTeX and Markdown files stay ordinary files in that folder, with their own names and formats, so you can still open them in any other app.

The app adds one hidden folder, .nebula, at the top of the project. It holds the project's details and your agent conversations.

The exception is shared folders. A shared folder keeps its documents in Nebula Cloud so other people can open them from an invite link. Files you put there are stored on our servers, not in your project folder. See shared folders.

What is sent when you ask the agent

The agent runs in the cloud. When you send a request, the app sends your request and the parts of your documents the agent needs to our servers and our AI provider. In practice that can include:

• What you typed, and any text you selected
• The open document, which is included by default
• Files and folders you mention with @, and PDFs or images you attach
• Parts of other files in the project that the agent reads or searches while it works
• The results of the agent's own tools, such as the output of a calculation

Change what goes with a request

Open Settings, then Data & Privacy. The Active Document setting has two options:

Either way you can still attach documents, folders, PDFs and images to any request. If you work with a sensitive file open while asking about something else, Only when attached keeps it out of requests you did not mean it for.

Training and analytics

Our Privacy Policy says we do not use your document content to train our own AI models, and that we configure AI services not to use it for training where those controls are available. Third-party processing and retention are also governed by those services' own terms. The Privacy Policy has the full wording.

Product analytics are always on. The Data & Privacy settings page describes them: usage, app details, performance and error diagnostics, with content fields, file paths, document identifiers and message text removed before they are sent.

What happens when the agent edits a file

The agent writes its changes into the file while it works. Before it does, Nebula Writer saves a restore point of the file. So if another app opens the file before you decide, it sees the agent's version.

When the agent finishes, a review bar appears. Every change waits for your decision. Keep edit keeps it. Discard edit puts the file back exactly as it was, from that restore point.

A Word, Excel or PowerPoint edit is kept or discarded as one decision. In Markdown, LaTeX and plain text you can accept or reject each change on its own. The review guide shows what to check in each format.

A prompt that asks for findings only changes nothing:

Read @reports/q3-board-pack.docx and list the claims that have no figure or
source next to them. Do not edit any files.

You should see a list in the agent pane and no review bar, because no file changed.

Restore points and History

Restore points are stored on your computer. Open History to see a file's Restore points, compare one with the current file, or restore it. Before a large edit, choose Save a restore point to make one yourself.

Older automatic restore points may be removed over time to make room for new ones, so they are a safety net for recent work and not a long-term archive. Keep your own backups or use version control for anything you cannot lose.

If you kept a change and want it back out, File changes in the agent pane header lists the files the agent changed, with Revert for each. The review and history guide has the details.

When the agent deletes a file

The agent can delete a file only as part of a request, and the deletion waits for review like any other change. The review bar shows Review file deletion with Restore file and Keep deleted. The file itself goes to your system Trash, so you can also recover it from there.

Delete the draft copies in @drafts/ whose names end in "-old". List each
file before you delete it. Leave everything else in the folder alone.

You should see the agent list the files first. If it deletes more than one, the review bar reads Review agent action, and Discard all brings every file back.

Calculations run on your computer

When a request needs a calculation or a chart, the agent writes a short Python script and runs it on your computer, with the project folder as its working folder. Python and common data libraries come with the app. The script's code and what it prints are part of the conversation, so they go back to the agent like any other tool result. See data and charts.

Web and academic search

Web search and academic paper search are Pro features. When the agent uses them, its search queries go to the search services that answer them. If you do not want a topic searched, say so in the request.

Conversations

Conversations are saved inside the project, in the .nebula folder, so you can come back to them. To delete them, open Settings, then Data & Privacy, and choose Clear Conversation History. This clears every saved conversation in the current project and cannot be undone. Restore points are kept.

To ask for a copy of your account data, choose Request Account Data Export on the same page. It opens an email to us.

Related

• Keep or discard: how to check every AI edit
• What the agent can do in each format
• Plans and sign-in and Settings

The editor is free forever with a monthly AI allowance. Pro is $25 a month for more AI. See pricing or download Nebula Writer.