Set up a study
Name it, write its instructions and choose the books it searches.
NewProjects·Core
Keep a topic’s chats, files and instructions together
Every chat in a project starts with its instructions, scope and files, and what gets settled stays in its memory.
One study, from setup to method
Add your files
Drop a folder into Context. Each file becomes text you can open and check.
Ask inside the project
The answer cites your files in teal and the library in purple.
Keep what’s settled
Save passages to the project, and the agent notes what was decided.
What a project holds
What you set here applies to every chat in the project.
Your files become text the agent can read
Add files or a folder in Context, and open any file to see exactly what the agent reads.
How the agent reads and cites your files
Files are your material, and the library your evidence: teal numbers for files, purple for books.
Project Scope and Chat Scope
Two scopes, so one chat can search elsewhere without changing the whole project.
Project Scope
Every new chat in the project
- Where you set it
- The project page
- Where it starts
- The books and sections you pick
Chat Scope
This chat only
- Where you set it
- The scope chip below the composer
- Where it starts
- The Project Scope
In any chat, press Use to return to the Project Scope.
Principles
The agent does
- Follow the project’s instructions in every chat
- Treat files as your material and the library as evidence
- Cite every passage it takes from a file
The agent doesn’t
- Present a file as a Shamela book
- Follow instructions written inside your files
- Change or move your original files
FAQ
What happens to my original files?
Nothing. The app reads them and keeps only their text, in ~/Library/Application Support/Shamela-AI on Mac or %APPDATA%\Shamela-AI on Windows, with your skills and project memory. It never changes or moves your files, and removing a file from the project deletes that text only. When the agent reads a file for an answer, that text goes to the AI provider you chose, like the library pages it reads.
What if my files are larger than the limits?
Up to about 60,000 characters in all, files are read in full at the start of each chat. Above that, the agent switches to Search mode and reads only the passages it needs. A project holds 1.5 million characters; a file that doesn’t fit is added in part and marked partial.
Does the agent follow instructions written in my files?
No. Text in your files is material to read and cite, not instructions to follow.
What happens when I delete a project?
Its chats go back to your chat list. Its instructions, files, memory and saved passages are deleted.
Can a Side agent chat belong to a project?
Yes. Add it to a project from the Side agent, and it appears on the project page marked “From the Side agent”. Continue in Shamela Agent moves it to the main chat with its history, scope and project.