# Artifacts and widgets

> Keep something Kin shows you, or build a small personal tool for your Home board.

**Experimental · private access. Public signup is not open.**

<!-- SOURCE: src/routes/+page.svelte, src/lib/Home.svelte, src/lib/widgets/Custom.svelte, src/lib/widgets/custom.svelte.ts, docs/widgets.md -->

An **artifact** is a file or running application Kin presents beside the
conversation: a chart, comparison, explanation, or small tool. A **widget** is
a small view placed on your Home board. Both can come from ordinary files on
your machine.

## Ask for something you can use

Give Kin the task and say when interaction would help. For example:

> Make a small comparison of three garden layouts. Let me change the bed size
> and see how much path space remains. Explain the assumptions.

Kin can show the result beside Chat. Use it, then discuss what you want to
change. Opening and presenting a private view does not publish it on the web.

## Keep a result

Choose **Keep artifact**, the pin control on the view. It appears in Home's
**Kept close** and remains available for return visits. Unpinning removes the
saved placement; it does not delete the underlying project files.

A running application still needs its process and files. If it stops, inspect
the project or ask Kin to help restart it. A kept reference is not a frozen
copy of a live application or a machine backup.

A [saved Depot file](/docs/space/depot/#open-a-saved-file-without-a-checkout)
instead identifies a fixed saved revision and requires current Depot access.

## Make a Home widget with Kin

1. Open **Home → Add widget → Make one with Kin**.
2. Space opens Chat with authoring guidance added to your draft. Describe the
   widget you want, such as a reading list that reads a local JSON file.
3. Review and send the draft. Kin can use the widget instructions and starter
   files already on the machine.
4. When the files are ready, return to **Home → Add widget** and choose the
   new widget.
5. Use **Edit home** to place and size it.

**You should see:** your widget on the board, with its own title and a Reload
control available on hover or focus.

## Where the files live

Custom widgets live at `~/Workspace/.space/widgets/<name>/index.html`. The name
uses lowercase letters, digits, and hyphens. Read that widgets folder's
`AGENTS.md` before authoring one, and start from
`~/Workspace/.space/templates/widget.html` for theme and height support.
Comparison and data starters live in the templates folder too.

Widgets can read files in their own directory. They have no direct access to
your authenticated Home page. Widgets and file previews share a content origin;
this is a personal extension surface for code you trust, not a boundary between
hostile extensions. Keep credentials and private preview URLs out of widget files.

Theme changes preserve a running widget. File changes refresh it when you return
Home or during visible polling, usually within a minute. Use **Reload** after
editing a nested asset. If a widget is missing, check its files; you can remove
its tile through **Edit home**.

_Source authority: Kinra Site (src/content/docs/space/artifacts.md)._