One folder is enough.
Your work computer and the Mac mini need to be connected to the same router. Use your regular office network, not the guest Wi-Fi. Pick one top-level folder, for example “Company,” that holds all the subfolders your AI employee needs. Apps and system files stay out of it.
Take a moment to decide whether he should only read the files or also be able to change them. “Read only” is enough for looking things up and copying. He needs “read and write” if he’s supposed to save results straight into your folder or edit files.
“I’d like to share the folder [name] on my [Mac / Windows computer] with you. You can [only read / also write] in it. Walk me through it step by step.”
Here’s how you open the door for him.
Create a separate sharing account.
Open System Settings → Users & Groups → Add User. Confirm with your Mac administrator password. Choose “Sharing Only” as the type for the new account. Name it something like ai-employee and give it its own password. This account is only for accessing files, not for signing in to the Mac the normal way.
Alternatively, you can create the “Sharing Only” account later, right in File Sharing, from a contact. Your AI employee will walk you through the right screen.
Turn on File Sharing.
Open System Settings → General → Sharing. Click the Info button next to “File Sharing” and turn it on. Leave “Allow full disk access for all users” turned off.
Choose your work folder.
Under “Shared Folders,” click +, choose your folder, and confirm with “Open.” Then select exactly that folder in the list.
Set the permissions.
Under “Users,” add your new sharing account. Next to it, choose “Read Only” or “Read & Write”, whichever you decided on earlier. “Everyone” doesn’t need access to your company folder, and don’t allow guest users for this folder. You keep your own access.
Turn on SMB and note the address.
Click “Options” and turn on “Share files and folders using SMB”. If your sharing account is listed under “Windows File Sharing,” turn it on there and confirm its password. Click “Done.”
File Sharing shows your Mac’s network address, for example smb://office-mac.local. Write it down along with the name of the shared folder.
One local account, one shared folder.
Set your office network to “Private.”
Open Settings → Network & internet. Select your active Ethernet or Wi-Fi connection and set the network profile type to “Private network”. This is only for your trusted office network, not for public Wi-Fi.
Create a separate local account.
Go to Settings → Accounts → Other users → Add account. Choose “I don’t have this person’s sign-in information” and then “Add a user without a Microsoft account”. Name the account something like ai-employee and give it its own password. A regular standard account is enough; it doesn’t need administrator rights.
Turn on file sharing for private networks.
Open Settings → Network & internet → Advanced network settings → Advanced sharing settings. Under “Private networks”, turn on Network discovery and File and printer sharing. Password protected sharing stays on: your AI employee uses his own account.
Share the folder.
In File Explorer, go to your work folder. Right-click it and choose Show more options → Give access to → Specific people. Select your new local account, click “Add,” and set “Read” or “Read/Write”. Confirm with “Share.”
If that menu item doesn’t show up, open the folder’s Properties → Sharing and choose “Share” there. Use that one account, not “Everyone.”
Check the folder permissions and the network address.
Windows checks both the sharing settings and the folder’s own permissions. Under Properties → Security, the new account needs the chosen permissions as well: Read for looking things up, Modify for editing. Don’t remove any existing permissions for other users.
Windows shows you the network path, for example \\OFFICE-PC\Company. Send this path to your AI employee. The user name would then be something like OFFICE-PC\ai-employee. Your Windows Hello PIN is not this account’s password.
Now he connects.
In your direct chat, send your AI employee the network address, the folder name, and the login details for the new sharing account. Tell him which permissions you’ve allowed. He sets up the connection from his Mac mini.
“The folder is shared. Address: [network address]. Folder: [name]. Account: [user name]. Password: [password]. Connect, check the permissions we agreed on, and show me with one file that you have access. Set up automatic reconnect and check that it works after a restart.”
To wrap up, tell him the name of a file whose contents you know. If he’s allowed to write, he can also create a small test file. Once everything is set up, have him check that the connection comes back after his Mac mini restarts. While your work computer is off or asleep, he can’t reach those folders.
If the connection doesn’t work.
Send him the error message or a screenshot. Check these together first: both computers on the same network, no guest Wi-Fi, file sharing on, the right network path, the right account password, and permissions on the chosen folder. You don’t have to share your whole computer or turn off the firewall.
Back to First stepsThis guide is based on the current help articles from Apple and Microsoft.
Apple: File SharingApple: SMBMicrosoft: File sharing