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Where jo stores data

jo keeps all data on your Mac. Nothing is sent to external servers unless you explicitly use cloud models.

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Data locations

Location: ~/Library/Application Support/jo/index.dbContains:
  • Searchable index of your files, emails, and browser history
  • Embeddings for semantic search
  • Metadata (file paths, timestamps, sizes)
Size: Typically 1-5% of your source data size
  • 50,000 documents ≈ 500MB-2GB
  • 100,000 documents ≈ 1-4GB
The index contains searchable representations of your content, not the original files themselves.
Location: ~/Library/Caches/jo/Contains:
  • Temporary processing files
  • Thumbnail previews
  • Model cache (embeddings, tokenizers)
  • Query result cache
Size: 500MB-2GB
Cache can be safely deleted. Jo will regenerate it as needed.
Location: ~/Library/Preferences/ai.askjo.jo.plistContains:
  • User preferences
  • Data source configurations
  • API keys (encrypted)
  • Exclusion rules
Size: Less than 1MB
Location: ~/Library/Logs/jo/Contains:
  • Application logs
  • Error reports
  • Debug logs (if enabled)
Size: 10-100MB (rotated automatically)

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What jo does NOT store

  • Original file contents (jo only stores references and indexes)
  • Unencrypted API keys or passwords
  • Conversation history with cloud models (unless you enable history)
  • Usage analytics or telemetry

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Managing disk usage

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Check current usage

1

Open Settings

Go to Settings > Data Sources > Storage
2

Review breakdown

See disk usage by:
  • Index database
  • Cache
  • Logs
  • Total
3

Identify large sources

Expand “Index by Source” to see which data sources use most space.

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Reduce index size

Prevent jo from indexing file types you don’t need:
1

Navigate to file types

Settings > Data Sources > Files > File Types
2

Uncheck unnecessary types

Common excludes to save space:
  • Video files (.mp4, .mov)
  • Audio files (.mp3, .wav)
  • Archives (.zip, .tar)
  • Images (if you don’t search them)
  • Code dependencies (node_modules, .git)
3

Apply and re-index

Click Apply. Jo will remove excluded file types from the index.
Reduce how far back jo indexes emails:
1

Email settings

Settings > Data Sources > Email > History Depth
2

Set time limit

Options:
  • Last 30 days
  • Last 90 days
  • Last 6 months
  • Last year
  • All time (default)
3

Apply changes

Jo will re-index email with the new limit.
Emails older than your limit remain in your inbox—they just won’t be searchable in jo.
Skip folders you don’t need indexed:
1

Open file source settings

Settings > Data Sources > Files > Exclusions
2

Add paths

Common exclusions:
  • ~/Downloads (temporary files)
  • ~/Movies (large media)
  • ~/Developer/node_modules (dependencies)
  • External drive archives
3

Save and re-index

Jo removes excluded paths from the index.

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Clearing cache and indexes

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Clear cache

Clearing cache is safe and won’t delete any indexed data. Jo will rebuild cache as needed.
1

Open Settings

Settings > Advanced > Storage
2

Click 'Clear Cache'

This removes:
  • Temporary files
  • Thumbnail previews
  • Query result cache
3

Restart jo

Quit and relaunch for best performance after clearing cache.
What happens:
  • Immediate disk space freed: 500MB-2GB
  • First few queries after clearing may be slightly slower
  • Cache rebuilds automatically over the next few hours

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Reset index

Resetting the index deletes all indexed data. Jo will need to re-index everything from scratch, which can take 30 minutes to several hours depending on data volume.
When to reset:
  • Index appears corrupted (incorrect results, errors)
  • After major macOS update
  • Troubleshooting persistent issues
  • Starting fresh after changing data sources
1

Back up preferences (optional)

Settings > Advanced > Export SettingsThis saves your configuration so you don’t need to reconfigure after reset.
2

Reset index

Settings > Advanced > Storage > Reset Index
3

Confirm action

Type “RESET” to confirm. This action cannot be undone.
4

Wait for re-indexing

Jo automatically begins re-indexing all data sources. This runs in the background.
What happens:
  • Index database deleted
  • All search history cleared
  • Data source configurations preserved
  • Re-indexing starts automatically

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Clear specific data sources

1

Open data source settings

Settings > Data Sources > [Source Name]
2

Click 'Remove from Index'

This removes only this source from the index.
3

Optionally re-add later

You can re-enable and re-index this source anytime.

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Backup and restore

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What to back up

jo’s data falls into two categories:
  1. Preferences and configuration (small, important)
    • Data source settings
    • Exclusion rules
    • Cloud model configurations
    • Custom preferences
  2. Index database (large, can be rebuilt)
    • Searchable index
    • Can be regenerated by re-indexing
Most users only need to back up preferences. The index can always be rebuilt from your original files.

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Export settings

1

Open export dialog

Settings > Advanced > Data Management > Export Settings
2

Choose export location

Save jo-settings-backup.json to:
  • iCloud Drive (syncs across devices)
  • External backup drive
  • Secure cloud storage
3

Verify export

Confirm the file is ~10-50KB and contains your settings.
Exported settings include:
  • Data source configurations (paths, exclusions)
  • API keys (encrypted)
  • Search preferences
  • Indexing schedules
NOT included:
  • The actual index database
  • Cache
  • Logs

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Restore settings

1

Install jo on new Mac

Download from askjo.ai and complete initial setup.
2

Import settings

Settings > Advanced > Data Management > Import Settings
3

Select backup file

Choose your jo-settings-backup.json file.
4

Re-index data sources

Jo will automatically start indexing based on your imported configuration.
API keys are encrypted with your Mac’s hardware key. If restoring to a different Mac, you may need to re-enter them.

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Back up index database (advanced)

If you want to back up the actual index to avoid re-indexing:
1

Quit jo completely

Cmd+Q to fully quit the application.
2

Copy index database

In Finder, press Cmd+Shift+G and go to:
~/Library/Application Support/jo/
Copy the entire jo folder to your backup location.
3

Restore by replacing folder

On new Mac or after reinstall, replace the jo folder with your backup.
4

Launch jo

Jo will use the restored index.
Index backups are Mac-specific and may not work across different macOS versions or hardware. Settings export is more reliable for migrations.

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Uninstalling jo

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Quick uninstall

Remove jo app but keep settings (in case you reinstall later):
1

Quit jo

Cmd+Q or right-click jo in Dock > Quit
2

Delete app

Drag jo from Applications folder to Trash
3

Empty Trash

Right-click Trash > Empty Trash
What remains:
  • Settings and preferences
  • Index database
  • Cache
These will be reused if you reinstall jo.

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Complete uninstall

This permanently deletes all jo data including your index, settings, and cache. This action cannot be undone.
To remove jo completely from your Mac:
1

Quit jo

Ensure jo is not running.
2

Delete application

Move /Applications/jo.app to Trash
3

Remove support files

In Finder, press Cmd+Shift+G and delete these folders:
~/Library/Application Support/jo
~/Library/Caches/jo
~/Library/Preferences/ai.askjo.jo.plist
~/Library/Logs/jo
Select each path, press Enter, then move to Trash.
4

Remove Full Disk Access permission

System Settings > Privacy & Security > Full Disk AccessFind jo in the list and click the - button to remove.
5

Empty Trash

Right-click Trash > Empty Trash
Disk space recovered:
  • Application: ~100MB
  • Index database: 1-5GB
  • Cache: 500MB-2GB
  • Total: ~2-8GB depending on index size

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Uninstall script (advanced)

For a complete automated uninstall, run this in Terminal: 
#!/bin/bash
# Complete jo uninstall script

echo "Quitting jo..."
killall jo 2>/dev/null

echo "Removing application..."
rm -rf /Applications/jo.app

echo "Removing application data..."
rm -rf ~/Library/Application\ Support/jo
rm -rf ~/Library/Caches/jo
rm -f ~/Library/Preferences/ai.askjo.jo.plist
rm -rf ~/Library/Logs/jo

echo "jo has been completely uninstalled."
echo "Empty Trash to free disk space."
Review scripts carefully before running. This will permanently delete all jo data.

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Privacy and security

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Data protection

  • Local-only storage: All data stays on your Mac
  • Encrypted API keys: Stored using macOS Keychain
  • No telemetry: jo doesn’t track usage or send analytics
  • No account required: No user data stored on jo servers
  • Sandboxed: jo runs in macOS app sandbox for security
Data is sent externally ONLY when:
  1. You explicitly call a cloud model (GPT, Claude, Gemini)
    • Only the current conversation is sent
    • Never the entire index
    • You control when this happens
  2. Crash reports (optional, opt-in only)
    • Anonymous error data
    • Helps improve jo
    • Can be disabled in Settings
When you delete data from jo:
  • Files removed from index immediately
  • Cache entries overwritten
  • Secure deletion on next database compact (Settings > Advanced > Compact Database)
For maximum security, use FileVault (macOS full-disk encryption).

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Next steps

Performance

Optimize indexing and query speed

Troubleshooting

Fix common issues

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