Workspace modes
Forge has two ways of relating to your filesystem.
Open mode
Section titled “Open mode”You’re in Open mode when no folder is open. Use it for:
- Quick questions where you don’t want to commit to a project.
- Throwaway scripts.
- Exploring something on disk without giving the agent a full project context.
In Open mode:
- The agent’s working directory is
~/.forge/scratchpad/. Anything it generates lands there. - Memory writes go to
~/.forge/scratchpad/. There’s no.forge/directory created. - The file watcher is off.
- Engine bridges (Unity, Godot) don’t activate.
- The Inspector panel hides project-only tabs (Memory, Git, Plan).
Project mode
Section titled “Project mode”You’re in Project mode the moment you open a folder. Click the mode dropdown in the top-left of the title bar, then Open project, then pick a folder.
In Project mode:
- The agent’s working directory is the project root.
- Forge creates
.forge/in the root the first time, with starterBRIEF.md,DESIGN.md,STACK.md,DECISIONS.md,PROGRESS.md,STYLE.md,ASSETS.md, andtasks.toml. - Memory writes go to
<project>/.forge/. - A file watcher updates the memory search index when
.forge/*.mdfiles change. - Engine bridges auto-detect (see Engine modes).
- Workspace state persists per project: tabs, splits, terminal cwds, pinned files. Stored in
<project>/.forge/workspace.json.
Switching between them
Section titled “Switching between them”
The mode dropdown is the only place to switch. Closing a project drops you back to Open mode but preserves the project’s .forge/ on disk for next time.
The list of recently opened projects lives in Settings → Workspace → Recent projects. Pick one to reopen, or remove an entry to forget it.
What persists where
Section titled “What persists where”| State | Open mode | Project mode |
|---|---|---|
| Sessions list | %APPDATA%\Forge\forge.db (global) | Same (sessions aren’t bound to projects). |
| Skills | ~/.forge/skills/ (global) | Same. |
| Generated assets | ~/.forge/scratchpad/ | <project>/.forge/generated/ |
| Memory files | ~/.forge/scratchpad/ | <project>/.forge/ |
| Memory search index | None | <project>/.forge/.index/memory.db |
| Workspace layout | localStorage (per-machine) | <project>/.forge/workspace.json (per-project) |
| Tasks | None | <project>/.forge/tasks.toml |
| Plan checklist | None | <project>/.forge/plan.md |