Open files and folders in other apps

When you want to continue in your own tools, DataMind Oda can hand a chat's folder or a file to an app on your computer, such as an editor, a terminal, a Git tool or your file manager. The controls sit in the chat header, in a file's preview in the side panel, and on files Oda delivered or changed.

Open the chat's folder in an app

Open the chat (Chat with Oda) whose folder you want to work in.
In the chat header, choose Open In.... It opens the chat's workspace folder in the app it shows; pointing at the button names that app, for example Open in Cursor.
To use a different app, open the arrow beside the button and pick one from the list; the arrow is labelled More ways to open.

Oda lists the apps it found installed and marks the one it would use, for example Cursor (default). It remembers the app you pick and opens it from then on; before your first pick it uses the first app in the list.
If the app Oda remembers is gone from the computer, it falls back to the first app it can offer.
The control appears only when Oda found at least one app it can open the folder in and the chat has a workspace folder. If Oda found only one app, there is no list: the button opens that app directly.
While Oda opens the folder the button is disabled, and repeated clicks do nothing. Escape closes the list without opening anything.
A folder's list offers apps only: there is no Show file location entry for a folder.

Open or reveal a file

Open the file's preview in the side panel; Browse workspace files covers the folder tree and Preview workspace files the preview tabs.
Choose Open to start the file in the app your computer uses for that file type.
Choose More ways to open to pick another app from the list. That pick applies to this one action; it does not change what Open uses next time.
Choose Show file location to reveal the file in your file manager.

When Oda cannot identify an app for the file type, the footer row reads Show file location (default) and the main button reveals the file instead.
Until Oda has read the list of apps, the control shows a placeholder and stays disabled. When that read fails, the menu shows a disabled Could not load applications row and keeps Show file location as the default. Open the list again to have Oda read it once more.
Opening and revealing files describes the file controls in full.

Files Oda delivered or changed

Files on a delivery card, and the files in a turn's change review, carry open and reveal choices too: Open, the app list and Show file location. The card and the review report their own progress and failure notes for these actions; Delivered files covers the delivery cards, and Review changed files the review itself.

Which apps can appear

Oda offers a fixed set of apps, and from that set the ones it found on this computer:

Kind	Apps
File managers	Finder, File Explorer, Files
Editors and IDEs	Cursor, VS Code, VS Code Insiders, Windsurf, Zed, Sublime Text, Xcode, Android Studio, IntelliJ IDEA, PyCharm, WebStorm, PhpStorm, GoLand, Rider, RustRover
Git tools	Fork, Sourcetree, GitHub Desktop, Tower, GitKraken, SmartGit, Sublime Merge
Terminals	Ghostty, Warp, iTerm2, kitty, Terminal, Windows Terminal, Git Bash, GNOME Terminal, Konsole

Where Oda looks depends on your computer: macOS checks the standard application folders, Windows reads its registered install locations, and Linux lists apps with a registered desktop entry.
Install a new app while Oda is running and it will not appear yet: restart Oda, and reload the page if you work in a browser.
Oda takes each app's icon from the computer. When it cannot read one it shows a plain glyph; on a high-resolution display a Windows icon can look soft.
The set cannot be extended with your own apps: only the apps above can appear.

When an app will not open

Could not open. Try again.: the launch failed; try it again, or pick another app. The failure does not change the app Oda remembers.
Could not show the file location. Try again.: Oda could not ask your file manager to show the file; try again.
Could not load applications: Oda could not read the apps for that file; Show file location still works.

One of these reasons sits behind Could not open. Try again.:

Reason	What it means and what to do
`unknown or unavailable app: <app>`	The app has left the list, usually because it was removed or moved. Reopen the list and pick another app.
`path must be an absolute directory path`	The chat's workspace folder cannot be used as it is: it is not a full path to a folder that exists. Choose the folder again; see Choosing the workspace folder.
`failed to launch <id>`	The app was found but did not start. Open it yourself once to check it, and if it needs reinstalling, install it and restart Oda.

Questions, answered

Why is Open In... missing from my chat?

Oda shows it only when it found at least one app it can open the folder in and the chat has a workspace folder; a chat without a folder yet, or a computer without any of the apps above, shows no button. It also stays hidden when you reach Oda over SSH from another computer, where the application list is empty, including for a choice you made earlier. Workspaces, files and permissions covers the folder.

Why is my editor not in the list?

Oda offers only the apps in its fixed set, and from that set only the ones it finds on this computer. If you installed your editor recently, restart Oda; if you work in a browser, reload the page. On macOS, Oda looks in the standard application locations, so an app kept elsewhere may not appear.

Can I add my own app to the list?

No. Oda's set is fixed and ships with the app; only its entries can appear, and only when Oda finds them on the computer.

I installed a new app. When does it appear?

After you restart Oda; if you work in a browser, reload the page too. Oda works out the list when it starts, so an app installed while it runs is not picked up straight away.

Why does an app have no icon, or one that looks soft?

Oda takes each app's icon from the computer and shows a plain glyph when it cannot read one. On Windows, icons are taken at a small size, so they can look soft on high-resolution screens.

The button keeps opening the same app. How do I change it?

Pick another app from the list once; Oda remembers that choice and opens it from then on. The list marks the app in use, for example Cursor (default): that mark is Oda's own choice, not your computer's default application. If the remembered app is gone from the computer, Oda falls back to the first app it can offer.

I removed an app. What happens when I pick it?

Oda checks the app again when you pick it. If it is gone, the launch fails with Could not open. Try again., and the app leaves the list.

Which folder does the app open?

The chat's workspace folder, the folder that chat works in. An editor opens it, a terminal starts inside it, and a file manager shows it.

Do I need to open the app first?

No. Oda starts the app and hands it the folder or the file; the app does not need to be running beforehand.

Why is there no arrow next to Open In...?

When Oda found only one app it can hand the folder to, there is no list to open: the button opens that app directly, with no arrow beside it. An arrow appears when there is more than one app to choose from.

Does each chat remember its own app?

No. Oda keeps one remembered app and every chat header uses it; pick another app from any chat's list and Oda opens with it from then on. There is no per-chat choice.

How does Oda find the apps it lists?

It works out the list when it starts, using each system's own records: macOS checks the standard application folders, Windows reads its registered install locations, and Linux lists apps with a registered desktop entry. An app installed outside those places can be missed.