Local files vs the cloud
This is the most misunderstood thing about ChatGPT Work, and it is not a rollout detail — it is two genuinely different products wearing one name, with separate permissions and separate consequences.
VERIFIED 2026-08-23 · OPENAI HELP CENTERThe split in one table
| Cloud Work | Local Work | |
|---|---|---|
| Where it runs | OpenAI infrastructure | Your computer |
| Surfaces | Web, mobile, desktop | Desktop app only |
| Reads your files | No — upload what it needs | Yes, folders you grant |
| Reads desktop apps | No | Yes, with permission |
| Chat syncs | Across all three surfaces | Stays on that machine |
| Admin permission | Work Cloud | Work Local |
Source: OpenAI Help Center, ChatGPT Work and Codex.
Why the distinction actually matters
You cannot ask web Work about a file on your desktop. It has no path to it. People lose time here — pasting a filename and waiting, or assuming a sync failure. Upload the file, or move the task to the desktop app.
Local work does not leave your machine on its own. Local files and the outputs Work produces from them remain on that computer unless you explicitly move or share them.
A local chat is not backed up by syncing. Cloud Work chats move between web, mobile and desktop freely. A chat you start locally lives on one machine — treat the artifact, not the chat, as the thing worth keeping.
Working with a local folder
- Open the ChatGPT desktop app and select Work from the toggle.
- Open a local folder or project.
- Grant access only to the files the task needs. This is the whole safety model — scope is the control, and a narrower folder is also cheaper, because less context gets read.
- Describe the outcome, with the constraints and review criteria you want applied.
- Review the output where it landed, then iterate in the same chat.
Pick the folder before you write the brief. A task pointed at a whole home directory is slower, more expensive and harder to audit than one pointed at the project it is actually about.
Where Codex sits in this
Codex also works locally — folders, repositories, terminals and developer tools — but it is a separate view with separate history, controlled by its own Codex Local permission. Changing Work Local does not change Codex Local. If your finish line is a repository that passes tests, that is a Codex job, not a Work job.
Common questions
Can ChatGPT Work read files on my computer?
Only in the desktop app. You open a local folder or project and grant access to the files the task needs. Work on web and mobile cannot directly access files on your computer.
Do files I work on locally get uploaded?
Local files and outputs remain on that computer unless you explicitly move or share them.
Can I start a task on my laptop and finish it on my phone?
If it is a cloud Work chat, yes — cloud chats sync across web, mobile and desktop. Chats you start locally stay on the computer they were started on.
Why would an admin allow one and not the other?
Work Cloud and Work Local are separate permissions with genuinely different risk profiles. Cloud sends context to OpenAI infrastructure; local grants an agent read and write access to a folder on a company machine.