> ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://app.keystroke.ai/docs/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Overview > Static context copied into the agent workspace. Files are static context you give an [agent](/learn/agents/overview): documents, instructions, reference material that get copied into the agent's workspace so it can read them like local files. Use files for the background an agent needs every time, such as a product guide, a style sheet, or an API reference, that the agent should read rather than have packed into its system prompt. Use files for material the agent should read. Use [skills](/learn/skills/overview) for instructions about how the agent should do a task. ## Example requests Ask your coding agent which reference material an agent should always have on hand. It can attach those documents as files. > "Give the sales agent our pricing sheet and competitor comparison to reference on every call prep." > "Attach our refund policy and support macros so the support agent can read them before drafting replies." ## How files work Files live in your project under `src/files/`, grouped into folders called file sets. Attach a set with `sandbox: defineSandbox({ files })` on `defineAgent()`, and Keystroke materializes its contents into `/workspace/agent` before a prompt runs. ``` src/files/support/ product-guide.md support-instructions.md context/seed.txt ``` ```ts src/agents/support.ts theme={null} import { defineAgent } from "@keystrokehq/keystroke/agent"; import { defineSandbox } from "@keystrokehq/keystroke/sandbox"; export default defineAgent({ slug: "support", systemPrompt: "Read /workspace/agent/product-guide.md before answering.", model: "anthropic/claude-sonnet-4.6", sandbox: defineSandbox({ files: true }), }); ``` With `defineSandbox({ files: true })`, Keystroke uses the file set matching the agent's `slug` (here, `src/files/support/`). The folder layout is preserved under `/workspace/agent`, so `src/files/support/context/seed.txt` becomes `/workspace/agent/context/seed.txt`. Point the agent at the paths it should read from the `systemPrompt`. ## Files vs skills Files and [skills](/learn/skills/overview) both materialize into the agent workspace, but they serve different purposes: | | Files | [Skills](/learn/skills/overview) | | --------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | ------------------------------------- | | **What it is** | Static *context*: documents to read | A *playbook*: instructions for a task | | **Where it lands** | `/workspace/agent/{path}` | `/workspace/agent/skills/{slug}/` | | **Attach with** | `sandbox: defineSandbox({ files: true })` or `defineSandbox({ files: "set" })` | `skills: ["name"]` | | **Reach for it when** | The agent needs reference material | The agent needs procedural guidance | Many agents use both: files for the documents, a skill for how to use them. ## Files vs memory Files, the agent's own file system, and [memory](/learn/agents/build-agents#memory) all involve "files," but they answer different questions: what *you* give the agent, what the agent *writes during a run*, and what the agent *remembers across runs*. | | Files (`src/files/`) | Agent file system (`/workspace`) | [Memory](/learn/agents/build-agents#memory) | | ------------------ | ---------------------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | **Who owns it** | You, authored in your project and version-controlled | The agent, scratch space it reads and writes during a run | The agent, written and recalled automatically | | **What it's for** | Static context the agent should read | Working files for the current task | Carrying knowledge between sessions | | **Where it lives** | Seeded into `/workspace/{path}` | `/workspace` | A memory area outside `/workspace` (`MEMORY.md`, `USER.md`, archived notes, searchable past sessions) | | **Lifetime** | Re-seeded the same way every session | The session's workspace | Persists across sessions | The relationship in one line: **files** are the read-only-by-convention context you seed into the **agent file system** at the start of a session, while **memory** is the separate, durable store the agent uses to remember things from one session to the next. Because files are re-seeded each session, treat them as fixed input rather than a place the agent saves work. If an agent needs to remember something for next time, that's [memory](/learn/agents/build-agents#memory), enabled by default and managed by the agent itself, not by editing files. Set `memory: false` on an agent to make it stateless. ## Files and the sandbox Files seed the agent's `/workspace`, the same sandbox the agent uses for its file system and bash tools. Seeding is idempotent: files are written once per session and the agent's own edits during a run are preserved. ## Next steps Use the agent's set or a shared set. Give agents reusable playbooks alongside files. Configure models, tools, skills, and files. How the agent workspace and file system work.