Your helpers folder
Everything in Margaret lives on your computer. No cloud sync, no servers, no accounts. Your helpers are plain text files in a folder you choose — the helpers folder, sometimes called the vault.
Where is it?
By default, Margaret creates a folder called Margaret in your Documents folder:
~/Documents/Margaret/You can change this at any time in Settings → Helpers folder. Margaret will use whatever folder you point it at.
What's in it?
When you open the folder in Finder, you'll see:
Your helper files — each helper is a .md (Markdown) file named after the helper. For example, a helper called "Client Email Drafter" becomes Client Email Drafter.md. These are plain text files you can open in any text editor.
Your output files — every time you run a helper, Margaret saves the result as a .md file in the same folder. Output files are named with the helper name and a timestamp, so you always know when something was produced.
Can I edit helper files directly?
Yes. Helper files are just text — you can open them in any editor (TextEdit, VS Code, Obsidian, anything). Changes you save to the file will be reflected in Margaret the next time you load the app or reload your helpers.
That said, it's usually easier to edit helpers from within Margaret — either by clicking the edit icon on any section in the Definition panel, or by using the Tune up feature for more substantial changes.
Can I back up my helpers?
Absolutely. Since your helpers are just files in a folder, you can back them up however you like:
- iCloud Drive — move your Margaret folder into your iCloud Drive and it syncs automatically
- Time Machine — if you use Time Machine, your helpers folder is included automatically
- Dropbox / Google Drive — move the folder there and point Margaret at it in Settings
- Manual copy — just copy the folder wherever you want
If you use iCloud Drive or another sync service, you can also access your helpers from multiple Macs — just point Margaret at the same synced folder on each machine.
Can I share helpers with someone else?
Yes. A helper file is just a Markdown file — you can send it to anyone. If they have Margaret, they can drop it into their helpers folder and it'll appear in their sidebar automatically.
This is also how helper bundles work: a bundle is just a collection of .md files that you add to your folder.
What if I accidentally delete a helper?
If you delete a helper from within Margaret (using the delete button in the helper panel), it removes the .md file from your helpers folder. The output files from past runs are not deleted — they stay in the folder.
If you deleted the file from Finder and want it back, check your Trash — it'll be there unless you've emptied it. Time Machine can also restore it if you have backups enabled.
Changing your helpers folder
Go to Settings (the gear icon in the top right) → Helpers folder → Change folder.
Margaret will immediately start using the new folder. Your old folder and its contents are left untouched — nothing is moved or deleted automatically. If you want to carry your helpers across, copy the .md files from the old folder into the new one.