# Files, folders and your home folder

> Every app is just a folder of plain text files inside your personal home folder (`~`), organized inside a dedicated `Development` folder kept out of cloud-sync services and named in lowercase with hyphens so it works cleanly on the web.

## Analogy

Your home folder is your private workshop building, and the `Development` folder is a sturdy workbench bolted to the floor. Each project gets its own labelled tray on that workbench so parts from two projects never get mixed up.

## How it works

A file is a named piece of content on your computer (such as `SPEC.md`), and a folder is a container that holds files and other folders. All of your personal folders live inside your home-folder, written as the shorthand `~` (on Mac: Finder → **Go → Home**; on Windows: type `%USERPROFILE%` in File Explorer's address bar and press Enter).

Inside your home folder, you create one folder called `Development` (or `Desarrollo`, with no spaces or accents). Keep it out of iCloud Drive, OneDrive, Dropbox, Google Drive, and synced Desktop or Documents folders: automatic cloud syncing clashes with git and can corrupt your project's memory. GitHub will be your safe online backup instead.

Inside `Development`, give each project its own folder named in lowercase with hyphens, such as `my-first-app` or `recipe-finder`. That exact folder name becomes your repo name on GitHub and your default web address (`my-first-app.vercel.app`), where spaces and uppercase letters cause trouble.

Every project also contains a few hidden-file items whose names start with a dot: `.git` (your project's history), gitignore (what Git must never upload), and `.env.local` (your local keys). Your computer hides dot-files by default so you don't delete them by accident; press **Cmd + Shift + .** in Finder on Mac, or choose **View → Show → Hidden items** in File Explorer on Windows to see them.

## In your project

Before starting a new project, your coding-agent checks that you are inside `~/Development/<project-name>` with a lowercase-and-hyphens name. If your folder is on the Desktop or inside iCloud/OneDrive, the agent will explain why, ask permission to help you move or rename it, and have you reopen the session there.

## Copy for your agent

```text
Check my current project folder path: tell me if it's inside my home Development folder, outside cloud sync, and named in lowercase with hyphens, then list the visible and hidden files inside it.
```

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Source: [Agentic Makers](https://agenticmakers.app/en/learn/files-and-folders) · License: CC BY 4.0