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Local FS

Index files from a folder accessible to the connector

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What is this?

Local FS lets you search files from a folder that the Novaplan AI connector process can read. Novaplan manages your workspace, so confirm with Novaplan AI support that the folder is available to the connector before configuring a path. Three things to know up front:
  • The connector does not move, rename, or delete files in the source folder. Synchronization creates records in Novaplan AI and can upload file bytes to workspace storage for processing; do not treat it as a metadata-only scan.
  • There’s no login. No password, no API key, no cloud account. You just give it a folder path.
  • It’s a personal connector — you set it up under Workspace Settings → Your Connectors, and the files you index are searchable by you inside Novaplan AI. It is not shared with the rest of your team.

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Words you’ll see

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Check folder availability first

The folder must be readable from the connector process, not merely from your browser or laptop. A path such as C:\Users\... on your device is not automatically available in a managed Novaplan AI workspace. Ask Novaplan to confirm the folder’s availability and permissions before you enter its path. This guide does not describe deploying Novaplan AI.

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What you need before you start

  1. A Novaplan AI account where you can open Workspace Settings (profile menu at the bottom of the main sidebar) and see Your Connectors under the Personal section.
  2. A folder that Novaplan has confirmed the connector can read.

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Setup

Setup

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Step 1 — Open Local FS in Novaplan AI

  1. In the main app, open your user profile menu at the bottom of the left sidebar, then choose Workspace Settings.
  2. In the workspace settings sidebar, under Personal, click Your Connectors.
  3. Find the Local FS card.
  4. Click + Setup on the card.
Your Connectors catalog with Local FS and + Setup
A panel slides in from the right with two tabs: Authenticate Instance and Configure Records. You’ll fill them in order.
Local FS is a personal connector — set it up from Workspace Settings → Your Connectors, not Workspace Settings → Connectors (team scope). Open Workspace Settings from the profile menu at the bottom of the main sidebar; do not use the Personal section of the main app sidebar (that area is for actions like toolsets, not connector setup).

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Step 2 — Name the instance (Authenticate Instance tab)

The first tab is Authenticate Instance. Local FS has no login, so you’ll see a banner that says No authentication required for this connector. That’s normal — there’s nothing to paste.
Authenticate Instance tab — no credentials needed
  1. In Instance name, type a short name you’ll recognise later (for example Work notes).
  2. Click Next → at the bottom.
The instance name is just a label for you. Pick something descriptive — when you add a second folder later, this is how you’ll tell them apart.

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Step 3 — Pick the folder and how often to sync (Configure Records tab)

The panel moves you to the Configure Records tab. This is the only tab where you actually have to make choices.
Configure Records tab with Sync settings and the Local folder field
Under Sync settings there are two choices:
  • Sync Strategy
    • Scheduled — Novaplan AI rescans the folder on its own. (Recommended.)
    • Manual — only rescans when you press Sync / Full sync yourself.
  • Sync Interval — how often a scheduled sync runs. 1 Hour is a good starting point.
Under Additional settings:
  • Local folder — the path to the folder you want to index. Use Choose folder if a picker is shown, or type the path directly. Make sure it’s a path the Novaplan AI connector can see (see “Which computer?” above).
  • Include subfolders — leave this on to index everything inside the folder. Turn it off to index only the files at the top level.
  • Batch size — leave it as the default unless someone has told you otherwise.
Not sure what to pick? Scheduled, 1 Hour, Include subfolders ON, batch size as-is — that’s the right answer for most people.
Just turning the connector “on” later won’t read your files by itself. Novaplan AI still needs either a manual sync or a schedule to actually walk the folder. Step 6 covers running a sync.

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Step 4 — (Optional) Narrow down what gets synced

If your folder has lots of files you don’t care about (build outputs, photos, downloads), you can tell Novaplan AI to skip them.Scroll to Indexing & sync filters and click + Add filter.
Indexing & sync filters with + Add filter
Common filters:Each filter has an operator — usually In (“only these”) or Not In (“everything except these”).Quick examples:
  • PDFs only — File Extensions · In · pdf
  • Skip images and archives — File Extensions · Not In · jpg, png, gif, zip
  • Last year only — Modified Date · After · pick a date
When you’re done, click Save Configuration at the bottom of the panel.
No filters? That’s fine for small folders. Novaplan AI will just sync everything it can read.

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Step 5 — Turn sync on

After you save, you’ll land on the Local FS instance page with one row — your new instance.
Local FS instance row with Sync Enabled toggle
Right now the row shows Sync Paused — nothing is happening yet.
  1. Find the Sync Enabled toggle on the right of the row.
  2. Click it on.
The status flips to Sync Enabled and Novaplan AI is ready to scan your folder.

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Step 6 — Run the first sync and watch progress

Click anywhere on the instance row to open the Overview panel on the right.
Overview panel with record stats and sync actions
If you picked Manual sync strategy in Step 3, click Sync or Full sync here to kick off the first crawl. If you picked Scheduled, the next sync will run at the interval you set (or click Sync if you don’t want to wait).In the panel you can see:
  • Total — how many files Novaplan AI has found.
  • Completed — files that are fully indexed and searchable.
  • Processing — files being read right now.
  • Queued / Not Started — files waiting their turn.
  • Failed — files Novaplan AI couldn’t read (usually a permission issue, or a corrupt/protected file).
  • Sync / Full sync — request another synchronization. The accessible backend sync scans the selected folder again and may rebuild records; do not assume Sync processes only changed files. Confirm the behavior of these controls in your deployed workspace.
  • Manage Configuration — re-opens the two tabs from Steps 2–4 if you want to change the folder or filters later.
Once Processing and Queued drop to zero, check Completed and Failed to see which files were indexed. Searchability depends on the file type and the parsers enabled for your workspace.

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First sync (full scan)

The first time, Novaplan AI walks the files in the configured folder and its subfolders, if enabled. Duration depends on folder size, file types, parsing, and workspace capacity. Filters can reduce the number of files to process.

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Later syncs

Later syncs update search records to reflect changes in the source folder:
  • New files — added to search.
  • Edited files — re-indexed.
  • Deleted files — removed from search.
The accessible backend path scans the folder again and resets its records before rebuilding them. Another event-based path can apply individual file changes. Duration therefore depends on the deployed sync path, folder size, file types, and indexing work; do not assume later runs are quick.

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Who can see the synced files?

Local FS is registered as a personal connector. Only your Novaplan AI user can search the files indexed by your instance. It does not change permissions on disk in any way.

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Scheduled vs Manual

Scheduled runs on its own at the interval you picked. Set it once and forget about it.Manual only runs when you click Sync or Full sync. Useful when:
  • You just dropped a batch of files into the folder and want them searchable now.
  • You’re testing filter changes.

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Fully searchable (text inside the file)

These get parsed so you can search the actual contents:
  • Documents — PDF, DOCX, PPTX, XLSX, ODT, RTF
  • E-books — EPUB without copy protection (DRM). Their text can be searched, but they cannot be previewed in Novaplan AI; download the book to read it.
  • Plain text — TXT, MD, CSV, JSON, XML, HTML
  • Code — .py, .js, .ts, .java, and most others

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Stored but not searched inside

These show up by filename and metadata, but their contents aren’t indexed:
  • Images (JPG, PNG, GIF, …)
  • Video and audio
  • Archives (ZIP, RAR, …)
  • Other binary files
Password-protected PDFs and Office files can’t be indexed unless they’re unlocked.

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Troubleshooting

The folder path may exist on your laptop but not in the managed workspace, or the connector may lack read permission. Ask Novaplan AI support to verify the path and access from the connector process. Do not use a path from your device unless Novaplan has confirmed it is available there.
  • The folder might genuinely be empty, or all the files might live in subfolders while Include subfolders is off.
  • Your filters might be excluding everything — open Manage Configuration and double-check.
  • Ask Novaplan to confirm the files exist at the configured path from the connector process.
  • Allow a minute or two for indexing to finish — large files take longer.
  • Check the file type is one Novaplan AI can read inside (see What Novaplan AI can read).
  • Password-protected PDFs and Office files won’t be indexed.
  • Files showing in Failed on the Overview panel will tell you why — usually a permissions problem.
  • Make sure Sync Strategy is set to Scheduled and Sync Interval has a value.
  • Confirm Sync Enabled on the instance card is on (not paused).
  • If the settings look correct, contact Novaplan AI support to check the managed connector process.
The folder may no longer be available at its previous path. Ask Novaplan to check the folder’s availability and permissions in the current workspace. If the path has changed, update Local folder under Manage Configuration after Novaplan confirms the replacement.

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Frequently asked questions

It does not write back to the source folder. It reads files to build search records, and some sync paths upload file bytes into Novaplan AI storage for processing. Ask Novaplan to confirm storage and retention controls for your workspace before connecting sensitive files.
Local FS is registered as a personal connector — only your Novaplan AI user can search files indexed by your instance. For team-wide file sharing, use a cloud connector (S3, GCS, Azure Blob, Google Drive, OneDrive, etc.).
On the next sync, Novaplan AI notices it’s gone and removes it from search.
Yes. On the Local FS instance page click + Add Another Instance, give it a different name, and point it at a different path. Each instance has its own filters and its own on/off toggle.
The path is saved in your Novaplan AI configuration. Treat it as workspace configuration information and avoid entering credentials in the path field.