Yes, but only in some versions of Gemini. On a Mac, the Gemini desktop app can open, edit and reorganize files in folders you connect, through Gemini Spark. In the terminal, Antigravity CLI reads and writes files in the folder you start it in. The Gemini website, the phone apps and Gemini Notebook (the new name for NotebookLM) can’t reach your disk. They only read copies of files you upload.
Three things change the answer for you:
- Mac or Windows. Folder access is Mac only for now. The Windows app launched in September without it.
- Your plan and country. Spark needs a Google AI Pro or Ultra plan and is only offered in some countries.
- Chat or terminal. If you’re happy working in a terminal, Antigravity CLI has a free tier and works on any folder you open it in.
Disclosure: I build StashBase, the searchable-library option near the end. Everything before that is Google’s own tooling. Checked October 2, 2026.
Gemini on the web and phone: upload only
On gemini.google.com and in the mobile apps, you add files to a chat with Add files. Gemini reads the copy you uploaded. If you change the file on your computer later, Gemini won’t see the change.
The limits, from Google’s upload help page:
- Up to 10 files per prompt. In a ZIP, each file inside counts.
- Up to 100 MB per file, or 2 GB for video.
- Folder upload only works for code, under Import code → Upload folder: one folder per chat, up to 5,000 files and 100 MB.
- You can also add files from Google Drive, once Google Workspace is connected.
This is fine for “read these three PDFs and compare them.” It doesn’t work for a folder of notes you keep editing.
Gemini desktop app on Mac: real folders, through Spark
The Gemini Mac app is the only Gemini app that can work on files where they live. It does this through Gemini Spark, Google’s agent inside the app.
What you need:
- A Mac with Apple Silicon and macOS 15 Sequoia or later (download page).
- A Google AI Pro or Ultra plan, at least 18 years old, in a supported country and language (Google AI plans). Spark started with Ultra in the US and has been widening since.
How to connect a folder:
- Open the Gemini app on your Mac and go to Connected folders.
- Click Add Mac folder and pick the folder.
- Allow access if macOS asks.
What Spark can do with it: open and read files, edit them, rename and reorganize them, build documents from them, and find a file and email it. Google says Spark asks before it deletes or shares something. Other edits in connected folders run without asking, and Spark keeps a temporary backup for 24 hours.
Two cautions. Google’s help page says Spark can see “most folders on your Mac” once you allow it, so connect the narrowest folder that works. And the files stay on your Mac, but what Spark reads is still sent to Google’s models to process, like anything you’d paste into a chat.
What about Windows?
The Windows app launched on September 10, 2026, but connected folders are Mac only for now. Google’s desktop page says more features are coming to Windows, with no date. On Windows today, use uploads or Antigravity CLI.
What about “Full Access”?
On October 2, TestingCatalog reported a hidden setting in a recent Gemini desktop build. It would let Gemini read and change files anywhere on your Mac, use the network without asking each time, and act through apps like Mail and Messages. It still asks before purchases or accepting legal terms.
Google hasn’t announced it, and only one source has reported it so far. Until it ships, connected folders are the only way the Gemini app reaches your files. I’ll update this post if that changes.
In the terminal: Antigravity CLI (Gemini CLI has moved)
If you looked this up before, you probably found Gemini CLI. On June 18, 2026,
Gemini CLI
stopped serving personal accounts:
free tier, AI Pro and AI Ultra. It still works with Gemini Code Assist
Standard or Enterprise licences and paid API keys. For everyone else, the
replacement is Antigravity CLI, and the command is agy.
Install it:
# macOS / Linux
curl -fsSL https://antigravity.google/cli/install.sh | bash# Windows
irm https://antigravity.google/cli/install.ps1 | iexThen sign in with your Google account. Individuals can use it for free with weekly limits; Pro and Ultra get higher limits (pricing).
Give it your files: cd into the folder and run agy. The folder becomes
the workspace. Per the
permission docs:
- Files inside the workspace are allowed.
- Files outside it are set to Ask, so it checks with you first.
- By default, commands run in a sandbox with access to the workspace and temp files only, and no network.
In the default mode, you review a diff before each write. Press Shift+Tab to switch to accept-edits if you trust the task (modes).
If you already set up Gemini CLI, your GEMINI.md and AGENTS.md files keep
working. Skills move from .gemini/skills/ to .agents/skills/, and
agy plugin import gemini converts extensions
(migration guide).
Gemini Notebook (NotebookLM): upload only
NotebookLM was renamed Gemini Notebook in July. It’s good at answering from a fixed set of sources, but it doesn’t open a folder on your computer. You upload sources one by one: PDF, Markdown, Word, text, slides, audio and more, up to 50 per notebook on the free plan. Files from Google Drive stay in sync. Files from your computer are copies.
If you want something like it that reads your local folder instead, see the local NotebookLM alternatives.
Which one should you use?
| You want to | Use |
|---|---|
| Ask about a few files once | Gemini web or phone app, upload them |
| Let Gemini organize or edit a folder on your Mac | Gemini Mac app with Spark |
| Work on a folder from Windows, or without a paid plan | Antigravity CLI |
| Answer questions from a fixed set of sources | Gemini Notebook |
When folder access isn’t enough
Spark and Antigravity CLI look through a folder the way you would: list the files, open the ones that look right. That works for a project folder. It gets slow in a folder with hundreds of notes, and it misses what’s inside scanned PDFs, images and recordings, because there’s no text to skim.
StashBase is a local app for that case. It turns PDFs, Word files and images in your folders into searchable text, and gives agents keyword search over all of it. Recordings play but aren’t transcribed. Search by meaning is optional; it turns on when you add your own OpenAI or OpenRouter key. Antigravity CLI can use local MCP servers (MCP docs), so you can add StashBase’s MCP command from Settings → MCP and Gemini can search your library, only in the folders you opened in StashBase.
StashBase itself is built for writing with Claude Code, Codex and Antigravity: you can also pick Antigravity in its Chat and write beside your documents. If you use Claude Code or Codex, the guides for Claude and Codex cover the same question.