Permissions in HQ: Who Can See What

The short answer: in HQ, files are private until someone shares them. Teammates only see the folders your company chooses to share. Sensitive files stay private as long as they're kept outside those shared folders.

This page explains how that works, what each role can see, and how to set things up so sensitive information stays with the people who should have it.

The basics in one minute#

• Your files are encrypted. Each company's files are stored with AES-256 encryption, using an encryption key that belongs to that company alone, and the key is rotated every year. Everything sent between your computer and HQ's cloud is encrypted too. One company's files never mix with another's.
• Teammates start with nothing. Inviting someone to your company gives them no access to files on its own.
• Four folders are shared by default. When a company is connected to the cloud, every member gets access to knowledge/, projects/, policies/, and skills/. Everything else is private.
• Owners and admins can see everything in the company's files. Keep that list short.
• The AI only sees what you can see. HQ works from the files on your computer, and your computer only downloads what you have access to.

The rest of this page goes into each of these.

Companies are separate#

A company in HQ is a workspace for one business or team. Each company has:

• its own encrypted cloud storage, with its own encryption key
• its own folder on your computer
• its own members, roles, and permissions

When you work in HQ, each session is tied to one company, and HQ stops the AI from reading another company's files during that session. If you belong to two companies, they stay apart. In the Claude app's Code tab, this check is a rule the AI follows, without the automatic block. See Using HQ with Claude Code. The cloud storage for each company stays separate either way.

For very sensitive information, a separate company is the strongest wall. Some teams keep HR or finance in its own company with only the people who need it. Nobody else can see that company exists.

What each role can see#

Every member of a company has one role:

Owners and admins can open every file in the company, whether or not it's been shared with them. This is how they manage the company. It also means:

• Only make people owners or admins if they should be able to see everything, including HR and payroll.
• Owners' computers download the whole company's files when they sync.
• For anything even owners shouldn't see, keep it out of the company entirely. See "Keeping sensitive files safe" below.

Owners and admins can change someone's role. Only an owner can make someone else an owner.

What members get by default#

When a company is first connected to the cloud (with /designate-team), HQ shares four folders with every member, with permission to read and edit:

• knowledge/: your company's knowledge, like processes, guides, and notes
• projects/: project plans and project work
• policies/: the rules HQ follows for your company
• skills/: your team's reusable workflows

Everything else in the company is private by default. A folder like hr/ or finance/ is invisible to members unless someone shares it with them.

The important rule: sharing a folder shares everything inside it, including anything added later. If you put a performance review inside knowledge/, every member can see it. Keep sensitive files out of the four shared folders.

Changing the defaults. An owner can run /team-access to see and change what members can reach. For each shared folder you can choose:

• Everyone, the whole folder
• Everyone, but only some subfolders
• Only a group (for example, just the leadership team)
• Nobody by default

If your company was connected to the cloud before late September 2026, it may not have these defaults set, and some older folders may be readable by everyone. Run /team-access once to review it. It also points out anything that's shared more widely than it should be.

Sharing specific files and folders#

Beyond the defaults, you can share any file or folder with:

• One person, by email
• A group of people
• Everyone in the company

Each share is either read (they can open it) or write (they can change it too). HQ always checks with you before giving write access.

How to share:

• /hq-share followed by the file or folder. HQ opens a page where you pick who gets access. See Sharing Your Work.
• Ask HQ in plain words, like "share the hr/reviews folder with sam@acme.com, read only."

Checking and removing access. Run /hq-files to see who has access to any file or folder, who granted it, and when. You can remove access from there too.

Who can share. Owners and admins can share anything. A member can only share files they already have access to, and only at the same level or lower.

Your personal files#

Everything in your personal/ folder, plus your session notes and handoffs, is stored in your own private personal space. It's not part of any company. Your teammates, and the company's owners, can't see it.

It's a good place for drafts and private notes you're not ready to share.

What the AI can see#

The AI tools that work in HQ (Claude Code, Codex, and bots) work from the files on your computer. Your computer only downloads the company files you have access to. So:

• A member's AI can only see the shared folders and anything shared with them directly.
• It can't see private folders, other people's personal files, or other companies.
• An owner's AI can see the whole company, because owners can.

You can also limit what's downloaded to your computer, even when you have access to more. Run hq sync mode shared to download only what's been shared with you. This saves space but doesn't change who can access what.

Bots follow the same rules:

• A personal bot acts as you, so it can see what you can see.
• A company bot has its own identity and only sees that company's files, plus anything shared with it.
• A cloud bot may be set up with wide access to the company's files. Ask an owner to check what each cloud bot can reach (/hq-files) and narrow it if needed.

See Local Bots and Cloud Bots.

Things that never leave your computer#

Some files are never uploaded, even when everything else syncs:

• company settings folders, which can hold local credentials
• files like .env, credentials.json, and anything named .secret.

HQ's connector for ChatGPT and Claude.ai also never reads settings, secrets, or workers folders.

Passwords and API keys#

Passwords and API keys don't belong in files at all. HQ keeps them in a separate, encrypted secrets store:

• Each secret starts private to the person who added it, and is shared one secret at a time.
• The AI can use a secret without ever seeing its value.
• If someone needs to give you a password, HQ can make a one-time link they paste it into.

See the Secrets Guide.

Sharing outside HQ#

When you publish a page with /deploy, you choose who can open it: anyone with the link, a password, your company, or specific people. If a page looks sensitive (for example, a file named "payroll" or "salary," something with personal details, or anything from a data folder), HQ won't publish it as public. It adds a password unless you say otherwise. See Sharing Your Work.

Keeping sensitive files safe#

For employee reviews, payroll, compensation, and other HR or finance files:

1. Keep them in their own folder, outside knowledge/, projects/, policies/, and skills/. For example, hr/ or finance/. That folder is private by default.
2. Share them only with named people or a small group, read-only where possible. Never with everyone.
3. Run /team-access once to make sure nothing is shared more widely than you expect, especially in older companies.
4. Keep the owner and admin list short. Owners and admins can see everything.
5. Check who has access with /hq-files from time to time.
6. Keep passwords and keys in the secrets store, never in files.
7. For the most sensitive information, use a separate company with only the people who need it, or keep it out of HQ.

Common questions#

If you get stuck#

Ask HQ to "show me who can see the hr folder," or run /team-access for a guided review. Still unsure? Report it with /hq-bug, or contact Indigo.