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

# Chat Types & Access

> Per-chat access patterns — workspace, shared, and personal — and how files and ACL interact with each.

Findable has three distinct types of chats, each with different storage, lifecycle, and access control characteristics. For the full chat-type comparison, see [Architecture Overview](/architecture/overview). This page focuses on how chat access interacts with files, ACL, and the multi-source RAG pipeline.

### Shared Files & Azure Blob Storage

Shared and personal files are stored in **Azure Blob Storage** and made searchable via **Azure AI Search**. A single blob container holds all files, organized by folder path.

**Container layout:**

```
{azureBlobStorageContainerName}/          ← default: "data"
├── {azureBlobStorageSharedFolder}/       ← default: "Shared"
│   ├── {folderName-1}/                   ← one folder per shared chat's file set
│   │   ├── report.pdf
│   │   └── slides.pptx
│   └── {folderName-2}/
│       └── handbook.docx
└── {azureBlobStoragePersonalFolder}/     ← default: "Personal"
    ├── {sanitized-upn-1}/                ← e.g. "john-doe-contoso-com"
    │   └── notes.txt
    └── {sanitized-upn-2}/
        └── data.csv
```

* **Shared folders** are scoped per chat — each chat with `dataSourceType: SHARED` gets its own subfolder under the shared root
* **Personal folders** are scoped per user — the user's UPN is sanitized (`@` and `.` replaced with `-`) and used as the subfolder name

**Data source naming:** The folder path (e.g. `Shared/my-folder`) is sanitized by `generateDataSourceName()` — slashes become dashes, all lowercase, non-alphanumeric characters stripped. This produces a name like `shared-my-folder` which is used as the identifier for **all four** Azure AI Search resources tied to that folder.

**Search resource pipeline:** When a user creates a folder and clicks "Create Search Resources", the server provisions four Azure AI Search resources — all sharing the same sanitized name:

| Resource        | Purpose                                                      |
| --------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------ |
| **Data Source** | Points Azure Search at the blob folder path                  |
| **Index**       | Schema for searchable fields (content, metadata, vectors)    |
| **Skillset**    | AI enrichment pipeline (OCR, chunking, embeddings)           |
| **Indexer**     | Scheduled job that crawls the data source → skillset → index |

Resources are created from JSON templates in `/src/azure/search/schemas/{apiVersion}/` and support both API key and managed identity authentication.

**Indexing schedule:**

* Shared folder indexers run on a configurable interval: `azureSharedFolderIndexingIntervalInMinutes` (default: 60 min), starting at `azureSharedFolderIndexingStartTime` (default: 02:00)
* After file uploads, the indexer can also be triggered on-demand

**Personal folder retention:** A background purge job runs periodically and deletes personal folders (blobs + all search resources) that haven't been accessed within `personalFolderRetentionInHours` (default: 72h). Access timestamps are tracked in the `datasourcelastaccessed` Cosmos container.

**ACL on file operations:**

* **Personal files** — path-scoped by the user's UPN; no chat ACL check needed
* **Shared files** — require `chatId`; the server validates the user's entitlement against the chat via `validateChatAccess()`. Read access requires any role (owner/contributor/user); write/delete requires owner or contributor
* **Admins** bypass all file ACL checks

**Configurable settings** (Admin → Personal Workspace \[`#/admin/workspace`] for file location; Admin → AI Search Endpoints \[`#/admin/search`] for index settings):

| Setting                                      | Default    | Description                                                              |
| -------------------------------------------- | ---------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
| `azureBlobStorageContainerName`              | `data`     | Blob container name                                                      |
| `azureBlobStorageSharedFolder`               | `Shared`   | Root folder for shared files                                             |
| `azureBlobStoragePersonalFolder`             | `Personal` | Root folder for personal files                                           |
| `azureBlobAuthType`                          | `apiKey`   | Authentication: `apiKey`, `connectionString`, or `managedSystemIdentity` |
| `personalFolderRetentionInHours`             | `72`       | Hours before unused personal folders are purged (0 = disabled)           |
| `azureSharedFolderIndexingIntervalInMinutes` | `60`       | Indexer schedule for shared folders                                      |

### Personal Files in Shared Chats

When `enablePersonalFilesInSharedChats` is enabled, users can upload and search their **own personal files** while inside a shared chat. The files are stored in the user's private storage — never in the shared chat's data source.

**Storage backend** is determined by `personalFileLocation` (**Admin → Personal Workspace** \[`#/admin/workspace`]):

| Backend                  | Where uploads go                    | Folder structure                                                                          |
| ------------------------ | ----------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Azure Blob** (default) | User's private Azure Blob container | `Private/` folder                                                                         |
| **OneDrive**             | User's OneDrive                     | `{oneDriveFolderName}/AttachedFiles/{chatId}/` (e.g. `AIAssistant/AttachedFiles/abc123/`) |

**OneDrive folder layout** (when `personalFileLocation = OneDrive`):

```
User's OneDrive
└── AIAssistant/                    ← configurable via oneDriveFolderName
    ├── Workspace/                  ← ephemeral workspace files
    └── AttachedFiles/              ← per-chat attached files
        ├── {chatId-1}/             ← files attached while in shared chat 1
        └── {chatId-2}/             ← files attached while in shared chat 2
```

**How it works at runtime:**

1. User toggles to "My Files" inside a shared chat via the Data Source sidebar (or uploads a file via the prompt input)
2. The client sets `sourceState[sourceId].disabled = true` on shared sources and activates the user's WORKSPACE source entry
3. The client sends the `dataSources[]` array with runtime `sourceState` applied — the shared chat's persisted configuration is never modified
4. The server's `chatSecurityGuard` validates the user is only accessing **their own** personal data source (prefix check against the user's UPN)
5. The RAG query runs against the user's personal index — the shared chat's index is not modified

**Gating:**

* **Global toggle:** `enablePersonalFilesInSharedChats` (**Admin → Personal Workspace** \[`#/admin/workspace`]) — controls visibility of the personal files panel in all shared chats
* **Per-source control:** WORKSPACE sources in `dataSources[]` have `allowUserToggle` — when true, end users can disable/enable their personal source at runtime from the sidebar
* Personal files can always be attached via the prompt file input regardless of panel visibility

**OneDrive shared index:** When using OneDrive, all users' attached files are indexed into a single shared Azure AI Search index (`oneDriveSharedIndexName`). ACL filtering ensures each user's queries only return their own files.

**Multi-Source Architecture:**

* The shared chat's `dataSources[]` may include a WORKSPACE source entry (type: `workspace`) alongside SHARED sources
* WORKSPACE sources resolve `indexName` at runtime from the authenticated user's UPN (not stored in the chat configuration)
* Users toggle between shared and personal sources via the Data Source sidebar — this only affects their runtime `sourceState`, not the persisted chat configuration

### Entity Scope Configuration

The entity scope system controls Personal/Shared/Public availability for all entity types (chats, prompts, flows, pages, etc.):

* **Global defaults** (`defaultEntityScopeConfig`) — Set base rules for all entity types
* **Per-type overrides** (`entityScopeOverrides`) — Override the global defaults for specific entity types
* Configure both in **Admin → Entity Scopes** (\[`#/admin/scopes`])

See [Entity Scope Configuration](/access-identity/entity-scopes) for the full reference.