Files & Data
Glaze apps are local-first: your data lives on your Mac, and most keep working offline. An app can read and write files, remember settings, store larger data sets, and keep secrets safe. You don't manage any of it, just describe what an app should keep and the agent picks the right storage.
Reading and Writing Files
Apps work with your real files, the foundation for tools like a notes app that saves to disk, a converter that turns one file into another, or a log viewer that watches a file change. The agent builds the file handling around what your app does.
File Dialogs
When an app needs you to pick a file or choose where to save one, it uses the native macOS dialogs you already know. They act and do what you would expect:
- Open a single file, multiple files, or a folder.
- Filter the picker to certain file types, so a photo app shows only images.
- Save with a suggested name and starting location.
Storing Data
For anything an app keeps between launches, Glaze puts the right kind of data in the right place:
- UI state: Small, frequently-changing bits of interface state, like the last-selected tab, a sidebar width, or the current sort and filters.
- App data: The substance of what your app holds, like your settings, the items in a list, or a history. It lives in the app's own data area on your Mac, separate from other apps. For relational data or very large sets, the agent reaches for a local database instead of plain files.
Because data is stored locally, your app's content stays on your machine and is available offline. See Core Concepts for what local-first means across Glaze.
Keeping Secrets
Some apps hold sensitive values: an API key, an access token, a password. These do not belong in ordinary settings. Glaze apps can use secure storage that encrypts them natively, protected by the macOS Keychain, and keeps them out of the app's plain data, so a token stays safe at rest.
When an app connects to an outside service through a Glaze integration, the access token is handled securely for you. See Integrations Overview.
Large Files
Apps can handle large content too, like big audio, video, images, or other document files. The agent keeps these responsive by serving the file in pieces rather than loading it all at once, and reaches for this automatically when your app needs it. See Large Files & External Tools for how it works and how to ask for it.