Artifacts

An artifact is a piece of work Perch makes that you can open separately from the conversation: a memo, an interactive calculator, a code sample, a table, or a finished file. It appears as a card in the chat, with a title and the available Open and Download actions. The Artifacts library brings those outputs together across your chats and workspaces.

Make an artifact

Ask for the result you want, including its format and the material Perch should use. For example:

• "Turn these notes into a memo I can download as a Word document."
• "Make an interactive pricing calculator with seats, monthly cost, and an annual discount."
• "Put these transactions in a CSV table, with a column for exceptions."

Desktop, CLI, and cloud agents can create documents, code, interactive HTML pages, and tables directly during a turn. Perch AI Web creates downloadable documents from the conversation. Writing Studio drafts, research reports, cloud output files, and supported deliverable files written on Desktop can also appear as artifact cards.

You do not need a special command. Tell Perch what to make, then use the card to open the result.

Open and inspect the result

On Desktop and web, Open shows the artifact in a panel beside the chat when a preview is available. A new inline artifact can open automatically while Perch is working. Reopening a chat restores its cards without automatically opening the panel again.

The viewer depends on the output:

Interactive pages run in an isolated preview. They can calculate and respond to input, but cannot access your Perch session or make API requests. Ask for a self-contained tool; a page that needs a live backend will need a separate implementation.

If an artifact shows citation checks or review notes, inspect them before using the result. Being an artifact does not by itself mean its claims have been verified. See citation verification.

Ask for a revision

Continue in the chat that made it: "Shorten the memo's introduction" or "Add a yearly total to the calculator." When Perch updates an inline artifact, it saves a new version. The panel's v1 of 2 controls let you move between versions, and Changes compares the selected version with the one before it.

In a chat panel that supports follow-up questions, you can also select text and use Ask, Explain, or Improve. For an interactive page, select text in Source. Revisions happen through the conversation; the preview is for inspecting and using the result.

Find it later in the library

Open Artifacts from the sidebar on Desktop or Perch AI Web. The library is available to signed-in accounts and lists outputs from workspaces your account can access, newest first. It shows the latest version of each artifact.

• Search by title.
• Filter by Documents, Pages, Code, Tables, or Files.
• Narrow the list to a workspace and switch between grid and list views.
• Use an item's menu to Open, Download, or Go to chat where that surface can reopen the originating conversation.

Stored text can reopen across devices. A file that only exists on your computer still needs Perch Desktop on that computer; the library does not upload every local file. Older outputs may have only a download or a preview available.

Remove from library hides the artifact and its versions from the library while keeping it in the chat. Deleting the chat also removes its library entries.

Download and export

Use Download to save the available file. Inline artifacts download in their own format, such as Markdown, HTML, or CSV. Generated web documents keep their original file download even when the panel displays the Markdown used to make them.

Document previews also offer Export PDF and Export Word. Ask for a particular file format up front when you need a workbook, deck, or document for another app. See Deliverables for the kinds of finished files Perch can produce.

On the CLI, documents, code, and tables appear in terminal output. Interactive pages are saved to a temporary HTML file with a local link you can open in a browser. Use Desktop or web for the library and preview panel.

Share one version

For artifacts with stored content, open Share, choose Create link, and then Copy link. Anyone with that link can view the selected version without signing in. They can copy or download it, but cannot edit it or see your chat, workspace, or other versions.

The link is a snapshot: revising the artifact does not change what an existing link shows. Share the newer version separately when it is ready. To turn off a link, open Share on that version and choose Stop sharing.

Sharing currently needs a stored body, such as a document, code sample, page, or table. Files kept only as local paths or remote downloads cannot be shared this way. Removing an artifact from the library, deleting its chat, or archiving its workspace also stops its links from working.