Purpose and homes
Explain what the Local App does and where App Information, Agent Instructions, Local Site pages, history, and backups belong.
Part 4 of 4 · The software you talk to
Turn plain-language requests into checked changes.
The AI Agent opens the Local Folder, reads the Agent Instructions, and uses the relevant Skill or Workflow. It updates the App Information, refreshes the Local Site, checks its work, and keeps the Local App current.
Get the desktop software
Budget for one paid AI subscription.
What to budget for
For regular use, budget about $20 per month for an AI Agent subscription. You pay the provider you choose, not 8bit. Heavier use can require a higher plan, so check the provider’s current price before subscribing.
Review the current OpenAI pricing or Claude pricing.
Once your AI Agent is ready, use the Starting Template.
Download the template, create an empty folder for your Local App, and open that folder as a project in your AI Agent. Include build_your_own.md in the first chat and type “Build App.” The AI Agent will guide you through deciding what to build and create the first version with you.
Set it up step by step
Install, sign in, and open the Local Folder.
- Install the desktop software. Use the official download button above, open the downloaded installer, and follow the prompts for your computer.
- Sign in. Open the desktop software and sign in to the account with your paid plan. In ChatGPT Desktop, start a Codex task. In Claude Desktop, open the Code area if it is supported on your computer.
- Point it at the empty app folder. Choose the option to open a folder or add a project, then select the folder you created for your Local App. Approve access if your computer asks.
- Confirm it opened the right folder. Ask: “Tell me the name of the folder you can access. Do not change anything.” The folder should be empty or contain only build_your_own.md before you begin.
Choose where to work
Open a folder
client-document-follow-upDocuments / 8bit Apps
Local Folder ready
What local means for privacy
The Local Folder is local. The AI conversation is not entirely local.
Your files live on your computer, and opening the Local Site does not publish them. When the AI Agent needs a file to answer or make a change, your prompt and relevant file contents are sent to the provider you chose. How that provider stores or uses the information depends on your plan and settings.
Before using real client information, review the provider’s current terms and controls: OpenAI consumer privacy or the Anthropic Privacy Center.
How a request becomes a change
The AI Agent combines your words with Agent Instructions you control.
- Understand the request. It identifies the result you want and asks about important unknowns.
- Read the Agent Instructions. It uses the project instruction file plus the relevant Skill or Workflow to learn the lasting rules and procedure.
- Read only the needed App Information. It reviews the relevant records and examples in the Local Folder, which you can also inspect through the Local Site.
- Protect and make the change. It asks before sensitive actions, backs up broad changes, and updates the App Information before the Local Site.
- Check and report. It tests the result, refreshes the Local Site, and summarizes what changed, what stayed unchanged, and what it could not verify.
Give it lasting direction
Tell the AI Agent what must remain true.
Use the instruction filename your AI Agent reads
OpenAI Codex reads AGENTS.md before it works in a project. Claude Code reads CLAUDE.md, not AGENTS.md. Ask the AI Agent which project instruction filename it reads automatically, then create the correct file. See the official Codex Agent Instructions documentation and Claude Code memory documentation.
Boundaries and completion
Name sensitive actions that require approval. Require a check, an updated Local Site, and a plain-language work summary.
Example lasting direction
“Save changes to the App Information first, update every affected Local Site page, and check that they agree. Ask before deleting, sending, publishing, purchasing, or sharing information outside this Local Folder. Tell me what changed and what stayed unchanged.”
How to work with it
Describe outcomes in plain language.
Tell the AI Agent what should become true and what must remain unchanged. Ask for an explanation when a choice affects privacy, cost, or how easy the Local App will be to move.
Good request
“Record that Cedar Works sent its payroll report today. Update the App Information and every affected Local Site page, then check that they agree. Do not prepare or send a follow-up.”
Good follow-up
“Add a work summary showing which Agent Instructions you used, which files you changed, what stayed unchanged, and how you checked the result. Do not include private reasoning.”
Recovery
When the AI Agent makes a mistake, stop and restore the smallest affected piece.
Approval stops limit sensitive actions. Backups preserve an earlier state. History and work summaries show what changed. The Local Site helps you spot a wrong status, missing record, or view that no longer agrees with the App Information.
- Stop the work. Do not approve another action until you understand the mistake.
- Ask for a read-only comparison. Have the AI Agent compare the current files with the latest backup and history, name the affected files, and make no changes.
- Restore only what is wrong. Ask it to copy the smallest affected file or record from the backup or version history.
- Check the Local Site again. Confirm the corrected App Information appears everywhere it should. Require the AI Agent to say what stayed unchanged and clearly report anything it could not verify.
How to manage it
Keep the AI Agent’s authority bounded.
- Open the exact Local Folder and keep the Agent Instructions there.
- Require current approval before deleting, sending, publishing, purchasing, or sharing.
- Ask for read-only diagnosis before authorizing a risky fix.
- Use backups, history, and work summaries so important changes can be reviewed and recovered.
Troubleshooting
When something does not go as expected
Diagnose the smallest problem before changing files. Start each fix with a read-only check. The exact requests below tell the AI Agent what to inspect while protecting the rest of the Local App.
The AI Agent cannot see the Local Folder
The desktop software probably does not have folder access or no Local Folder is open. Ask: “Tell me which folder you can access right now and list its top-level items. Do not change anything. If you cannot access a folder, explain how I can grant access safely.”
The AI Agent created files outside the Local Folder
The AI Agent probably began in a different folder or did not understand the boundary. Ask: “Find every file you created for this Local App outside the Local Folder, list its current location, and propose how to move it safely into the correct place. Do not move, replace, or delete anything until I approve the list.”
site/index.html opens but looks empty or unstyled
The page may not be reading the App Information, or a style file may be missing or linked incorrectly. Ask: “Open site/index.html, identify why its information or styles are missing, list the affected files, and propose the smallest repair. Do not change the App Information.”
The Local Site does not match the App Information
The App Information and Local Site are out of agreement, or the browser is showing an older copy. Ask: “Compare the changed App Information with every affected Local Site page, update only the pages that are out of date, and report how you checked that both now agree.” Then reload the page in your browser.
The AI Agent deleted or overwrote something you wanted
A broad change may have replaced more than the request intended. Ask: “Stop making changes. Compare the current files with the latest dated copy in backups, list exactly what was deleted or overwritten, and propose how to restore only those items. Do not restore anything until I approve the list.”
A new chat does not know what an earlier chat knew
Chat context does not automatically become a lasting project rule. Ask: “Tell me which detail is missing from the Agent Instructions, propose one short instruction that would preserve it for future chats, and show me the exact change before saving it to AGENTS.md for Codex or CLAUDE.md for Claude Code.”
Finish the guide by doing
Start Building
You now understand all four parts. The easiest way to put them together is to download the Starting Template and let your AI Agent guide the first build. Start with one bottleneck, one small result, and one complete Local Folder you can inspect.
- Download and install an AI Agent. Use the official software cards above, choose one provider, sign in, and confirm that it can open a Local Folder.
- Download and open the Starting Template. Find build_your_own.md inside the downloaded ZIP file.
- Create and name an empty folder. Put it in Documents, a shared drive, or a file storage service such as Dropbox. Use a short name for the Local App you want to build.
- Open the folder in the AI Agent. Add it as a project or working folder and confirm that the AI Agent can access it.
- Include the template and type “Build App.” Add build_your_own.md to the first chat. The AI Agent will begin asking what you want the app to do.
- Follow the guided questions. Answer in ordinary language, give examples when helpful, and correct the summary before approving the build.
- Review the result and backup. Open site/index.html, ask for one correction, confirm the dated backup, and arrange a separate backup of the entire Local Folder.
First-week checklist
- Open the correct Local Folder before each chat.
- Run the full request, update, review, and correction loop three times.
- Write down the first thing the AI Agent got wrong or left unclear.
- Fix a lasting mistake in the Agent Instructions, Skill, or Workflow instead of correcting only the current chat.
- Check that Recent Activity reads the dated work summaries in history.
- Create a dated backup after the first useful version and before every broad or risky change.