Everyday use09 / 16
Open and manage projects
On this page
A Noea project connects intent documents with a code folder. This guide covers opening and switching projects, locating their data, and handling renaming, relocation, and deletion.
Distinguish the two folders
The implementation folder contains the code the Agent reads and changes. The Noea project folder holds intent documents and project-related data. Select the right kind of folder for the opening method you use.
By default, new projects are stored in NoeaProjects under your home directory, grouped as “implementation folder name / project name.” You can choose another location when creating a project. Chats and attachments live separately in local app data; see Data, privacy, and updates.
Choose how to open a project
| Action | When to use it | What to select |
|---|---|---|
| Open Implementation Folder | Start from code you are working on. | The code folder. |
| New Noea Project | Choose the project location yourself. | The implementation folder and the project folder. |
| Open Existing Noea Project | Open a project already created in Noea. | The folder containing its configuration and intent documents. |
Open Implementation Folder creates a linked project if none exists, opens it directly if there is one, and asks you to choose if there are several. An ordinary code folder is not an existing Noea project; do not use Open Existing Noea Project to initialize it.
All three actions are in the File menu. The sidebar's Open Folder… opens an implementation folder.
Switch and restore projects
The project menu at the top of the sidebar lists recent projects grouped by implementation folder. Before switching, Noea confirms that the current tabs will close and warns about unsaved edits.
By default, the app restores the last successfully opened project on startup. Turn this off or clear recent projects in Settings → General. Clearing the list does not delete the projects.
File → Close Project returns to the workbench with no project open.
Use several projects with the same code
Project → New Project on This Implementation… creates another Noea project linked to the same code folder. Each project can focus on a different topic.
They share the implementation folder; Noea does not create independent code copies. If another linked project has running chats or tasks, Noea warns you when opening it. Code changes from any linked project affect the shared implementation.
Link or relocate an implementation
Without a linked implementation, you can still read and edit intent and view existing history. To link one, open Settings → Current Project → Project, select the implementation folder, and confirm its path.
Once linked, the folder cannot be directly replaced with another one. If the original location becomes inaccessible, settings offer relocation. Select the original code folder's new location; do not use relocation to switch to unrelated code.
Rename or delete a project
The project menu offers rename, reveal-folder, and delete actions. Renaming changes the name shown in local lists, not the folder's name on disk.
Deleting a project moves its project folder to the Trash or Recycle Bin and deletes its locally stored chats, history, and attachments. The linked implementation folder is unaffected. Wait for running chats or tasks to finish, or stop them, before deleting.
When a project will not open
Confirm the selected folder, then read the app's explanation. If a newer app version wrote the data, update as instructed. If the configuration is invalid, do not overwrite it by creating a new project in its place.
For incompatible data versions, moved folders, or access problems, see Troubleshooting.