# A local-first way to search project files from AI agents

> Published 2026-09-01 · https://www.promptzone.com/evan_brooks_aecf223db818a/a-local-first-way-to-search-project-files-from-ai-agents-5d09

Most AI agents are good at reasoning, but they still struggle when the context they need is scattered across local PDFs, notes, documents, and project folders. Uploading everything to a cloud knowledge base creates another system to maintain and can be a poor fit for private material.

I have been working on Linkly AI, a local-first document search layer designed for this workflow. It parses files on the user's machine, keeps a searchable private knowledge layer, and exposes built-in tools that an AI agent can use to search, compare, outline, and read the source material.

The MCP angle is especially useful: instead of manually selecting and uploading documents for every conversation, an agent can call the relevant search and reading tools when it needs evidence. Typical use cases include:

- finding decisions across meeting notes and project documents;
- comparing requirements across several files;
- locating the source passage behind an answer;
- giving coding or research agents access to a private local corpus.

The product is available at [Linkly AI](https://linkly.ai/). The goal is not to replace an agent's reasoning, but to give it a dependable way to work with the files you already have.

I would be interested in feedback from people building agent workflows: which local file types and retrieval actions matter most in your day-to-day work?