> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.alterhq.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Use workspaces for bigger tasks

> Index folders and files once so Alter can work across larger contexts

Use workspaces when one-off file drops are not enough and you need persistent context.

## Why use workspaces

<CardGroup cols={3}>
  <Card title="Faster responses" icon="zap">
    Keep relevant context indexed and ready.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Lower cost" icon="credit-card">
    Send focused context instead of large raw inputs every time.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Large folders" icon="folder-open">
    Work with bigger codebases and document sets.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

## Create your first workspace

<Steps>
  <Step title="Open The Hub">
    Press `Shift + Cmd + H`.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Go to Workspaces">
    Open the Workspaces section in the sidebar.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Create workspace">
    Click `+` in the workspace picker.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Add files and folders">
    Add only the resources needed for one workflow you run often.
  </Step>
</Steps>

## How files are prepared

| File type   | Conversion                 |
| ----------- | -------------------------- |
| PDFs        | Markdown with page markers |
| DOCX        | Markdown                   |
| XLSX        | Markdown or CSV            |
| Images      | OCR text extraction        |
| Directories | Recursive processing       |

<Note>
  Audio and video files are not supported directly in workspaces. Transcribe them first by dropping them into Alter.
</Note>

## Local storage

Workspace data is stored locally in:

```text theme={null}
~/Library/Application Support/Alter/Workspaces/
```

## Related pages

* [Automate with workspaces and actions](/getting-started/automate-with-workspaces-and-actions)
* [Create reusable actions](/getting-started/actions-basics)
* [Use Tool Manager](/how-to/tool-manager-guide)