---
id: 20261002_185037_faq-25-claude
title: AGENT - FAQ - Can I use Claude Desktop, or another AI assistant, on my own
  vault?
category: FAQ
predicted_narrative_arc: clarification
sentiment: informative
emotions:
- neutral
- cautious
keypoints:
- Vault files are ordinary Markdown and can be edited by any file-capable assistant
- Claude Desktop and similar tools are explicitly allowed for normal deposit work
- All assistant drafts remain drafts until user review and approval
- Provider terms apply when cloud assistants read vault content
- Offline local models keep sensitive material on the user's machine
- Rebuilding the product or sharing prompts with outsiders is not permitted
summary: FAQ explains that users may point their own AI assistants like Claude Desktop
  at their personal vault of Markdown files for tasks such as tightening transcripts,
  splitting deposits, finding contradictions, or suggesting tags. Any AI-generated
  drafts require user review and approval before syncing. Two cautions cover data
  sent to the assistant's provider and the prohibition on using tools to rebuild the
  product itself.
tags:
- faq
- asker
- intelligent-netware
- claude-desktop
- ai-assistant
- vault
- normal-use
- terms
sycophancy: 1
truth_score: 9
entropy: 2
sample: false
consent: own_laptop
agent: gb
source_session: ''
created: '2026-10-03T01:50:37Z'
updated: '2026-10-03T04:01:44Z'
vault_stage: 07_CODEX
headwaters: FAQ
prefix: FAQ
enrich_status: ok
enrich_blockers: []
enrich_method: llm
pipeline_filename: FAQ_2026-10-02_25-claude-desktop-on-your-own-vault.md
source_kind: faq_draft
proposed_topic: Work
lane: Work
voice: desk
active_voice: desk
voices:
- desk
corpus_topic: Work
faq_set: 2026-10-02_IN_Asker_FAQ
faq_number: 25
---

# Can I use Claude Desktop, or another AI assistant, on my own vault?

Title suggestion: AGENT - FAQ - Can I use Claude Desktop, or another AI assistant, on my own vault?
Shelf: Work
Tags: faq, asker, intelligent-netware, claude-desktop, ai-assistant, vault, normal-use, terms

## Public answer

**Question people actually type:**
Can I use Claude Desktop, or another AI assistant, on my own vault?

Yes. Using your own AI assistant to read and edit your own vault is exactly how the service is meant to be used, and our Terms of Service say so in plain words.

Because your vault is ordinary Markdown files in ordinary folders, any assistant that can work with files can help. Claude Desktop is a popular choice. You can point it at your vault folder and ask it to:

- Tighten a rambling transcript into a clear deposit.
- Split a long recording into several short deposits, one question each.
- Find deposits that contradict each other, or answers that are out of date.
- Draft an answer to a question your room couldn't handle, for you to edit.
- Suggest tags or groupings so related deposits sit together.

**The approval rule still holds.** Whatever an assistant drafts stays a draft until you review it and sync it, or approve it by email. An assistant can be confidently wrong, and it may add an example or detail you never said. Read its work as carefully as you'd read a new employee's first draft.

Two cautions are worth knowing.

**Your assistant's provider sees what you give it.** When Claude Desktop reads your files, that content goes to Anthropic under your own account and its terms. Check those terms, and don't point any cloud assistant at material you wouldn't want to leave your computer. For sensitive drafts, Compa's offline mode with a local model keeps everything on your machine.

**Normal use isn't rebuilding.** The Terms ask that the app itself, its configuration, and its prompts not be shared with outside developers or AI tools for the purpose of copying or rebuilding the product. Editing your own deposits with an assistant is welcome. Asking an assistant to take apart or recreate Compa is not.

In short, your content is yours to work on with whatever tools you like. The product is ours, licensed for your use. That balance is what lets us keep improving the software while you keep full control of your words.

## Related questions

- [[FAQ_2026-10-02_24-what-is-compa|What is Compa?]]
- [[FAQ_2026-10-02_04-the-approval-loop|What is the approval loop? Can anything go live without me?]]
- [[FAQ_2026-10-02_30-terms-of-service-and-ownership|What do the Terms of Service cover? Who owns what?]]
- [[FAQ_2026-10-02_23-client-confidentiality-what-not-to-deposit|What should I never deposit? Is client information safe?]]
- [[FAQ_2026-10-02_21-offline-and-full-privacy|Can it run offline, or completely private?]]
- [[FAQ_2026-10-02_00-INDEX|All Asker FAQs]]

_Written by Daniel Comp with GB, Director of Operations, Intelligent Netware._