Data and privacy¶
Caffold runs on your host, the Mac or Linux machine you installed it on. This page explains where your data is stored, which features send data to external services, and who can access Caffold.
Where data is stored¶
Caffold's data folder is ~/Library/Application Support/Caffold/data on a Mac
and ~/.caffold on Linux.
| Data | Where it is stored |
|---|---|
| Caffold app data — Tasks, Sections, Notes, Task options, voice input settings and API keys, the Whisper model, Jev's key and rules, and notification subscriptions | Caffold's data folder. |
| Conversation history and agent sign-ins | Each agent's own local storage on the host. Caffold reads conversation history from the agent and does not save a second copy. |
| Project files and prompt attachments | The Task's working directory. Worktrees Caffold prepares are under worktrees/ in its data folder; attachments are under .caffold/uploads/ in the Task's working directory. |
| Logs and diagnostic reports — records used to investigate problems with Caffold | On a Mac, logs are in ~/Library/Logs/Caffold, and reports saved when the server stops responding are in diagnostics/stalls/ in Caffold's data folder. On Linux, logs are in the systemd journal: journalctl --user -u caffold. |
| Browser settings — Appearance, Keyboard, and Files | Saved separately in each browser on each device. |
API keys are stored in files only your user account can read, and Caffold never shows a saved key again.
What leaves the host¶
Apart from your agents talking to their own services, something leaves the host only in these cases:
- Voice input with OpenAI, Gemini, or Grok sends each recording from the host to that provider. See Voice input.
- Ask Jev first sends each approval request an agent makes, and each prompt you send, to TypeSafe, with your Jev rules. See Ask Jev first.
- Notifications pass through your browser vendor's push service. The encrypted message carries only the Task's name and its status, never what the agent asked or wrote. See Notifications.
- GitHub views read Issues and Pull Requests through the GitHub CLI on the host.
- Antigravity uses the installed CLI's saved Google sign-in. Its credentials stay in the CLI's store on the host; sign in and out in the CLI.
- Update checks: Caffold, and on a Mac its menu-bar app, ask GitHub for the newest Caffold release, and Settings → Codex asks OpenAI for the newest Codex release when you open it.
Who can use Caffold¶
Caffold has no sign-in of its own. It assumes one trusted person, one trusted host, and a private network, and anyone who can open its address can use it.
By default the server listens only on the host. Tailscale makes it reachable from your own devices on your tailnet, and nowhere else. Do not expose Caffold to the public internet.
To remove Caffold and its data, see Uninstall.