Where does it live?
The Local Folder and Local Site live on your computer. You choose where the Local Folder is stored and when it is copied or moved.
Build a Local App around the way you actually work.
You do not need to know how to code to build a useful Local App around your own process. This guide explains the four parts that make it work: a Local Folder, Skills and Workflows, a Local Site, and an AI Agent. The Starting Template is a great way to begin because your AI Agent uses it to walk you through building the first version.
What is a Local App?
A Local App is different from the app you may be picturing.
When most people hear “app,” they picture something downloaded from an app store or a subscription they log into, built by a company and hosted on that company’s servers. This is not that.
In this guide, a Local App is a Local Folder that holds your App Information and Agent Instructions, plus an AI Agent that reads the Local Folder and does the work with you.
It is local, which means its files live on your own computer rather than on a company’s servers. There is no separate app account to create and no code to write. You describe what you need in plain language, and the AI Agent builds and maintains the files.
One running example
An independent bookkeeper spends every month chasing missing client documents. She builds a small Local App that tracks what has arrived, what is missing, and who needs a follow-up.
| A traditional app | A Local App |
|---|---|
| Built by a software company | Built around your process |
| You adapt to how it works | It adapts to how you work |
| Your data lives on their servers | Your App Information lives in your Local Folder |
| Changes require a feature request | Changes are a conversation |
| You rent access | You own the Local Folder |
| Ends if the company shuts down | Continues while you keep the Local Folder |
What makes a Local App powerful
The power comes from combining files you own with an AI Agent that can maintain the App Information and build the experience around it. Ask it to create a new page or Workflow, change how something works, or add a feature for the way your business operates. Instead of waiting for a software company to decide what to build, you can keep shaping the Local App until it works exactly the way you want.
Can other people use it?
Yes. Save the Local Folder on a shared drive and people with access can view the Local Site and update the Local App from their own computers. Let one person or AI Agent finish a change before another starts editing the same files, and use a shared drive with version history so conflicting changes can be recovered.
What if my computer dies?
The Local App can be restored if you have a backup. Copy the whole Local Folder regularly to another drive or a backup service.
Why build your own
Your most useful Local App may be the one no software company would think to make.
Generic products are designed for an average customer. You already know the exceptions, handoffs, repeated explanations, and missing information that make your own work harder. A small custom Local App can focus on that exact problem.
Solve the problem your tools miss
Build around the unusual step, recurring delay, or disconnected information that off-the-shelf software leaves unresolved.
Remove friction from repeated work
Turn a task you explain or rebuild every time into a clear process your Local App can help you follow consistently.
Keep your knowledge in the system
Capture the rules, judgment, preferences, and context in Agent Instructions, Skills, and Workflows.
Own what you create
Keep the App Information and Agent Instructions together so you can inspect them, move them, and continue improving them.
Start with one meaningful bottleneck
You do not need to recreate every tool you use. Choose one job that costs time, creates mistakes, or depends too much on memory. Build the smallest Local App that makes that job easier, then grow it only when the next need becomes clear.
The four parts
Each part has one clear job.
Read these parts in order because each explains a layer the next part uses. When you are ready to build, download the Starting Template. It guides your AI Agent through creating all four parts together, and you can return to each section when you need to understand or improve what it built.
Local Folder
It keeps the App Information, Agent Instructions, Local Site, and backups together. For the bookkeeper, that includes client document lists and their current status.
Learn about the Local FolderSkills & Workflows
A Skill tells the AI Agent how to complete one task. A Workflow connects Skills into a complete sequence. For the bookkeeper, they record a received document and guide each follow-up.
Learn about Skills & WorkflowsLocal Site
It gives you an easy-to-read view of the App Information. The bookkeeper can see which month-end documents are missing and who needs a follow-up.
Learn about the Local SiteAI Agent
It is the software you talk to, and it reads the Agent Instructions before updating files. The bookkeeper asks it to record documents, update their status, and prepare follow-ups.
Learn about the AI AgentWhat you need before you start
Set up one computer, one Local Folder, and one AI Agent.
- A Mac or Windows computer you can use comfortably. A Chromebook or supported Linux computer can also work with a compatible Claude setup.
- Reliable internet access while the AI Agent is working.
- A folder location the AI Agent can read and edit and that you can back up, such as Documents, a shared network drive, or a file storage service such as Dropbox.
- One compatible desktop AI Agent that can read and edit the Local Folder.
- The free Starting Template, which gives your AI Agent the guided build process.
- Roughly 30 to 60 minutes for initial setup.
- No coding experience required.
Use the Starting Template in this order
- Download and open the Starting Template. Inside the ZIP file, find build_your_own.md.
- Create an empty folder for the Local App. Give the whole app one place you can copy and back up.
- Open the folder in your AI Agent. Include build_your_own.md in the first chat and type “Build App.”
- Answer the guided questions. Explain what you want in ordinary language. The AI Agent will propose the Local Folder, Agent Instructions, Skills, Workflows, and Local Site.
- Review before it builds. Correct the summary, approve it when it matches what you want, then check the first Local Site and dated backup.
How the parts work together
The Local App is a loop, not a pile of files.
You make a request
AI Agent follows Agent Instructions
Local Folder and Local Site are updated
You review the Local Site
You request an adjustment
The loop repeats
The Local Site shows what guides the AI Agent.
The data folder keeps the App Information. The Local Site presents it in a friendly way, letting you review the facts, preferences, references, and Agent Instructions the AI Agent relies on. You stay in control because you can correct the App Information, change a Skill or Workflow, and keep improving the Local App around your needs.
What makes this approach useful
You keep ownership.
- The App Information is saved in files you can inspect.
- The Agent Instructions live with the Local App instead of only in old chats.
- The Local Site can open directly on your computer.
- A different capable AI Agent can understand the same Local Folder later.
- You can copy, back up, move, or archive the entire Local App as one Local Folder.
Guide glossary
Eight terms stay consistent through the guide.
Local App
The complete tool you build around your own process: a Local Folder containing App Information, Agent Instructions, Skills, Workflows, and a Local Site, maintained with an AI Agent.
Local Folder
The main folder containing the whole Local App. It can live on your computer, a shared network drive, or a file storage service the AI Agent can access.
Agent Instructions
The plain-language project rules the AI Agent reads automatically, stored in AGENTS.md for OpenAI Codex or CLAUDE.md for Claude Code.
App Information
The dependable facts and records kept in the data folder. The Local Site presents this information but is not its only home.
Local Site
The readable pages inside the site folder, beginning with site/index.html, that open in a standard web browser.
AI Agent
The desktop software you talk to that can read the Local Folder, follow the Agent Instructions, and update files with your approval.
Skill
A plain-language document that explains one focused task, including its inputs, steps, approval stops, checks, and report.
Workflow
A plain-language document that connects Skills into one complete sequence with decisions, approval stops, and a clear finish.