Your Slate data and artifact files

Slate stores your projects on your computer. Open Settings to find the data location your installation is using.

New macOS installations normally use ~/Library/Application Support/Slate/projects. Older installations may continue using ~/.slate/projects. Slate does not provide a folder picker in the app; you do not need to configure a data location to use it.

Keep the data folder in place

Do not move, rename, or delete the data folder while using Slate. Slate loads projects from that location and does not automatically find a folder you moved. Changing its location can make your projects appear missing. Deleting it can permanently remove your projects and uploaded files.

Use Slate's controls to manage projects and tasks. Avoid editing its JSON files manually. If you accidentally move the folder, quit Slate and return it to its original location before reopening. If files were deleted, check your Trash or your own backup. Slate's recent recovery copies are limited and are not a complete backup of your projects and artifacts.

Removing and restoring work

• Archive a project to remove it from the project grid. You can restore it from Settings.
• Restore deleted tasks from Recently deleted on their project board. A restored task returns to its original lane; that lane must still exist.
• Removing an artifact from a task detaches its reference. The stored file is kept; attach the file again to use it on a task.
• Deleted Thread messages cannot be restored through Slate. Replies remain in the Thread.
• Files deleted outside Slate are not restored by these controls. Check your Trash or backup.

Back up your files

Quit Slate and stop any separately running Slate backend before copying the project data folder to a backup location. Preserve its contents and directory structure. Keep the backup private: it contains project and Thread content and may include uploaded files. Never overwrite a live data folder while Slate is running.

A board JSON export is useful for importing a project's structured content, but it is not a complete file backup.

Exporting and importing

Board JSON exports include project, lane, task, and Thread content and artifact records. Actual artifact files are not included. Review the JSON before sharing it; descriptions, messages, filenames, and paths may reveal private information.

Importing creates a new project. Artifact paths resolve inside that new project's directory, even if you import on the same computer. For example, artifacts/task-id/report.md points to <data location>/<project id>/artifacts/task-id/report.md. Slate does not search your other folders for the file.

If a file is absent, its artifact record remains visible and the workspace shows “Artifact file is unavailable.” You can attach the original file again through the task drawer and remove the unavailable record.

Transferring artifact files

To preserve the references in an imported project, import its JSON first, then quit Slate and stop any separately running Slate backend. Copy the source project's artifacts/ folder into the new project's folder, preserving its filenames and folders. Find the active data location in Settings and check the imported project's ID rather than assuming it matches the original. Do not overwrite existing files. Restart Slate after copying.

JSON alone does not give another person your artifact files. Transfer only files you intend to share, and review their contents before sharing them.

Importing someone else's project

Review the import preview and content before asking an agent to work on it. Task descriptions and Thread messages can contain misleading or malicious instructions. Agents should treat imported content as project data; it does not override their instructions or Slate's human-validation rules.