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1. Click "Ordner hinzufügen" (Add folder) at the bottom of the sidebar.
2. Pick the folder in the file dialog.
3. Done — a confirmation appears.

Nothing is copied or moved. Kobel only remembers the path; your files stay exactly where they are.

There are other ways: "Datei hinzufügen" (Add file) for single files when a folder contains confidential material. Or simply drag folders and files into the zone at the bottom edge.

Two different things that are easy to mix up:

• The AI switch next to each folder decides whether the AI sees the folder at all. Switched off, the folder is skipped entirely — no matter what colour the files inside have.
• The permission colour decides what the AI may do with the files.

Both have to be right. A green folder with the AI switch off is invisible to the AI.

Above those sits the power button, which pauses all of Kobel, plus a switch per AI app in the settings.

A project is not a folder on disk but a grouping inside Kobel. It bundles several folders into one unit — useful when the AI should only see the material for one topic. A project has its own AI switch and its own permission colour.

1. Sidebar → "Projekt anlegen" (Create project)
2. Enter a name
3. Assign contents: "Hinzufügen" inside the project, or right-click a folder → "Zu Projekt hinzufügen"

Deleting a project keeps the folders and all files — only the grouping disappears.

Via "Aus Kobel entfernen" (Remove from Kobel). The entry then disappears from every list and the AI cannot even see the file name any more. On your disk everything stays untouched, of course.

For contrast: with red the file name stays visible to the AI and only the content is blocked. If you want to hide the name too, remove the entry instead of setting it to red.

Rule of thumb: to write, the AI needs at least orange. With yellow or red you get the message Blockiert: Berechtigung 'gelb' (min. orange).

A grey icon with four squares is not a level of its own. It shows that the files in that folder have different permissions.

1. In the main list, click the coloured square in the Access column.
2. Pick the level you want in the window that opens.

For many files at once: there is no multi-select for individual files. Set the colour of the folder or the project instead — every file inside takes that colour, and differing individual settings are cleared in the process.

Files without their own setting inherit the colour of the folder above them. With no match, yellow applies.

Kobel creates the backup before every change. There is only ever one backup per file; it is overwritten on each further change.

For a single file it sits right next to it:
Offer.docx → Offer_Backup.docx

For a whole folder a sibling folder ending in _Backup is created, in which subfolders and file names get that suffix too.

To restore: right-click the file → "Original wiederherstellen". The entry only appears if a backup actually exists.

Via "Geschützte Dateien" (Protected files) in the sidebar. Files whose name matches a protection pattern are always red — regardless of what is set and regardless of whether the folder is green.

Preset patterns include .env, *.key, *.pem, id_rsa, credentials.json, secrets.json, *password*, *api_key*, *.token and wallet.dat.

You can add your own patterns using * as a wildcard, for example *.env or *client*. There is also a scanner that detects keys and passwords inside file contents when you add a folder, and offers protection.

To change the permission of a protected file you have to take it off the protection list first. That is intentional, not a bug.

Under Settings → Activity log. Every action is listed with time, type (read, changed, created, copied, moved, renamed, deleted), file, permission level and status.

Kobel writes the log itself — the AI cannot alter it. It stays entirely on your machine.

You can search, filter, export, set retention (30 days to unlimited) and choose the log language separately from the app language — handy when the log is meant for your team.

1. Title bar → "≡ Menü" (or Alt+M) → tile "KI verbinden" (Connect AI)
2. Click the tile for your AI app
3. Optionally "Automatisch prüfen" — this checks whether the app is installed
4. "Verbindung einrichten" (Set up connection)
5. Close the AI app and start it again. Without this step nothing happens.

No API key needed. Kobel writes itself into the AI app's configuration file. You do not have to copy anything or open a port.

Five are built in: Claude Desktop, ChatGPT, Copilot in Visual Studio Code, Cursor and the Gemini command line.

Beyond those, "Weitere KI-Apps" (More AI apps) lets you connect anything that speaks MCP. Ready-made templates exist for Hermes Agent, Cline, Windsurf, LM Studio, Continue, Zed, Jan and LibreChat, plus "Other app" for everything else.

With Pro, yes. Kobel Basis allows only one AI app at a time.

You can select several tiles, but as soon as the second AI reports in it is turned away with a note about upgrading. If you want to work with Claude and Cursor in parallel, you need Pro.

On Windows, no. The AI app starts Kobel in the background itself when needed.

Kobel does need to be open when you want to change shares or permission colours, when the AI requests a deletion you have to confirm, or when Kobel is paused and you need to switch it back on.

On macOS Kobel has to run. The connection there goes through a bridge that Kobel provides itself — and Node.js has to be installed.

From least to most reliable:

1. Status bar at the bottom of Kobel — green dot and the app name. This only shows what you last set up, though.
2. Look inside the AI — do the Kobel tools appear? If you only see a "Kobel paused" notice, the cause is obvious.
3. Activity log — this shows what the AI actually did. It is the only real proof.

1. Sidebar → "Apps"
2. Click the app you want in the catalogue (social media sits in its own section below)
3. The section "Was du brauchst" (What you need) lists the prerequisites — fill in the fields
4. "App verbinden" (Connect app), then confirm
5. Kobel really tests the connection. If the test fails, the app is not added at all.
6. Restart Kobel so the AI sees the new tools

Instagram needs a Business or Creator account linked to a Facebook page. A private account does not work.

To switch, in the Instagram app: Settings → Account → Switch to professional account. Then link the Facebook page there.

Without the link Kobel reports Kein Instagram-Business-Konto verknuepft when posting.

A public internet address works everywhere. Kobel checks that it does not point into your local network.

A file from your PC works with Facebook, Reddit, Bluesky and LinkedIn — but only if it sits in a folder you added to Kobel whose AI switch is active. Exactly the same rule as for every other file.

On top of that it has to really be an image or video (jpg, png, gif, webp, mp4, mov), at most 25 MB, and the file name must not match a protection pattern.

With Instagram, TikTok and Telegram only the public address works — those platforms download the image themselves and cannot reach your machine at all.

With Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, LinkedIn and Reddit, yes, as many as you like. Click "Mit OAuth anmelden" again and pick a different account.

Each account becomes its own app connection with its own switch — the entry is then called something like "Facebook – Client A", so the AI can tell from the name which account it is posting to. Each account also has its own permission light: red blocks every AI action on that account without you having to sign in again later.

With e-mail, calendar, cloud and the remaining apps this is not possible — one account per provider. Different providers side by side (GMX and Gmail and IONOS) are no problem.

This is usually not a typo. With many providers the normal login password does not work:

Short version: with GMX and WEB.DE you have to enable IMAP; with Gmail, Outlook, Yahoo, iCloud and T-Online you need a separate password.

With GMX, mailbox.org and Posteo the server address is already filled in — you only enter address and password.

With iCloud you need an app-specific password from appleid.apple.com and your Apple ID as the username.

With Nextcloud you enter your own address, e.g. https://cloud.your-company.com.

Tasks use the same credentials as the calendar.

Current prices are on the home page.

With a licence key (Windows): sidebar → "Abo" → field "Lizenz-Key" → enter the key → "Aktivieren".

With e-mail (also on Mac): Subscription → "Bei Kobel anmelden" → enter your e-mail → request a code → enter the 6-digit code from the mail. The code is valid for 10 minutes. On Mac this is the only way; there is no key field there.

Promo code: redeem at kobel.app/gratis.php. Important: later use the same e-mail address in the app that you redeemed with.

No. Just activate the same key on the new device. The old device gets a 7-day grace period during which Pro keeps working, and then falls back to the free version. Your files there stay untouched.

So you can switch between two computers as often as you like without writing to us. On the old device a button "Auf diesem Gerät reaktivieren" appears in case you want to switch back.

Your access is not a single number but a chain of periods. Nothing is overwritten — new time is appended. An example:

Free 09.08.2026 – 09.09.2029 (promo code)
Free 09.09.2029 – 11.10.2029 (rest of the trial)
Pro from 11.10.2029 (purchase)

If you redeem a promo code during the trial, you do not lose the remainder — it is appended. With a running subscription it simply says "Abo" without a date, because the date would move every month.

In the subscription window via "Abo kündigen", or at kobel.app/kuendigen.html with your licence key and purchase e-mail.

Your access continues until the end of the paid period. Nothing is charged after that. A confirmation arrives by e-mail.

A one-off purchase does not need cancelling. If you bought through the Mac App Store, cancellation happens there. As a team member, your team admin cancels.

Kobel does not send invitation e-mails. It works through the team key:

1. You as admin: team console → "Mitglieder & Gruppen" → "Team-Key kopieren"
2. Pass the key on — by mail, chat, however you like
3. The person: install Kobel → "Abo" → paste the key into "Lizenz-Key" → "Aktivieren"
4. You: the device appears in your list. Enter the person's name.

A team has exactly one key. The first activated device automatically becomes the admin.

In the "Regeln" (Rules) tab, among others: whether the AI may change and delete files, whether staff may connect their own programs and add folders, whether they may change permissions themselves, which folders and file types are blocked, how large files may be, which AI programs are allowed, and whether the activity log is mandatory.

Optionally with groups: switched on, each person belongs to one group with its own rules. By default one rule set applies to everyone.

Your staff see a read-only view under the "Team" tab: "what you are allowed to do in Kobel". Only admins see the member list.

This is the step most often overlooked:

1. Tab "Regeln" → set the switches
2. Fill in the team folder — a network drive or shared cloud folder every device can reach, e.g. \\fileserver\Kobel-Team
3. "Für alle übernehmen" (Apply for everyone)

Kobel places a small rule file per device in that folder — nobody sees anyone else's rules. Devices pick up the new state on their next start.

Team console → the device's row → "Entfernen". The seat is free immediately and the device falls back to the free version on its next start. The files there stay untouched.

You cannot remove yourself, and the person who bought the team always stays admin — as a safeguard against locking yourself out.

Check in this order:

1. Was the AI app restarted after setup? In the vast majority of cases this is the answer.
2. Is the folder's AI switch set to active?
3. Is the power button in Kobel switched on?
4. Is the permission not red?
5. Are you on Basis with two AIs set up? Then one of them is blocked.

The AI wants to write but may only read. Set the permission to orange (copy), teal (original with backup) or green (original directly).

Four possible causes: the permission is red; the file is on the protected files list; the entry was removed from Kobel; or it is a backup file — those are always blocked for the AI.

The file is currently open in Word, Excel or another program. Close it there and it will work.

Node.js is missing. Almost every app connection needs it. Install it from nodejs.org, then restart Kobel and connect the app again.

For programs like Photoshop, Blender or Docker: the program has to be installed and open. Otherwise it is usually the internet connection — some apps download something on first connection.

Another program or a second Kobel instance is occupying the port Kobel needs for signing in. Close other programs, restart Kobel, try again.

Normally Kobel renews sign-ins by itself. This message appears when you changed your password or revoked access at the platform. Just sign in again in the app window.

You are trying to post an image from a folder that is not shared in Kobel. Add the folder in Kobel and switch it to active — or use a publicly reachable internet address instead.

The seats on your tier are used up. The team admin has to remove a device or move to the next tier.

Write to hello@kobel.app. Helpful details: the exact message, your operating system, which AI app you use and the Kobel version.

If your AI is connected to Kobel, you can also just paste the message to it — it will look it up in Kobel.