Workspace Configuration

Workspace settings

Each Super Brain has configuration options that control how it behaves, what model it uses for chat, custom instructions, and which files to ignore from indexing. Open any Super Brain and click Edit (or the pencil icon) to see the Brain Details panel.

Brain Details panel

Brain name and description

• Brain name: A short label for your workspace
• Description: A short note about what you store in this Brain. A good description helps Elephas pull the right information when you ask a question

Auto-sync (Pro)

Auto-sync keeps your Brain fresh as your files and connected integrations change. It automatically re-indexes every 4 hours. Auto-sync is a Pro feature, so you will need to upgrade if you are on the free tier.

Smart Redaction

Choose how this Brain handles personal information when sending queries to cloud AI:

• Inherit the global Smart Redaction setting
• Always anonymize before cloud calls
• Disable redaction for this Brain

Per-Brain Smart Redaction settings require Pro Plus. See the Sensitive Data Protection article for how Smart Redaction works.

Chat model

Pick which AI model this Brain uses to write its answers. The model controls how responses are written, not what is remembered. Cloud and offline models are both available depending on your provider configuration.

Custom instructions

Set custom instructions that apply to every chat in this Brain. Use this to set the tone, style, response format, or any rules the AI should follow when answering questions from this workspace.

Ignored Files

The Ignored Files section lives inside the Brain Details panel and lets you exclude specific files from the search index. The file remains in the workspace but is not used when answering questions.

1. Open the Brain Details panel
2. Scroll to the Ignored Files section
3. Click + Add and select the file(s) to ignore
4. Click Update Brain to save

Useful for excluding drafts, scratch files, or large media files you don't want surfaced in chat answers.

Open storage folder

The Brain Details panel also has an Open storage folder link at the bottom that opens the local folder where this Brain's indexed data is stored on your Mac.

Refreshing a Brain

For Brains connected to external sources (Notion, Apple Notes, Obsidian), Elephas does not auto-refresh by default unless Auto-sync is enabled. To manually refresh, open the integration in your Brain and click Refresh to re-fetch and re-index updated content.

Deleting a Brain

Click the red Delete button at the bottom-left of the Brain Details panel to delete a Brain. This removes all indexed data (the search index, text chunks, and metadata) from your local storage. Your original files on disk are not affected. This action cannot be undone.