Connect a file server

A file server in your company network can be connected as a data source: 9brains indexes the files of a share, and everyone in the workspace can search that content in the chat. This works for Windows file servers, NAS systems and any other SMB share.

Access is always read-only. 9brains never changes, moves or deletes anything on your file server.

Requirements

Your workspace needs a Business or Max license
You are an administrator in the workspace
A configured on-premises connector with the file server set up as a service (protocol SMB, usually port 445)
A service account (username and password) with read access to the share
The name of the share to be indexed (e.g. Sales)

Is the share reachable directly from the internet? Then it works without the connector, for example with Azure Files or a Hetzner Storage Box. In the connection dialog choose “Server is directly reachable (without connector)” and enter the address yourself. The connector is the normal case, because a file server almost always sits inside the internal network.

Connect a file server

Step 1: Create a service in the on-premises connector

Go to Settings, On-premises connector
In the appropriate tunnel, create a service pointing at the file server: internal IP or hostname, port 445, protocol SMB
Use “Test connection” to confirm the service is reachable

Details are on the on-premises connector page.

Step 2: Create the data source

Go to Settings, Data sources
Click ”+ Data source” and then “Connect Windows file server”
Fill in the fields:

Field	Description
Name	Display name of the data source (e.g. “Sales department drive”)
File server	The service from the on-premises connector. Server and port come from there, no typing needed
Share	Name of the SMB share to be indexed (e.g. `Sales`)
Domain	Optional, the Windows domain of the service account
Username	The service account with read access to the share
Password	The password of the service account, stored encrypted

Click “Connect file server”. Initial indexing starts automatically

Step 3: Choose folders and filters (optional)

Before saving, you can narrow down what gets indexed:

Select folders: Click “Test connection and choose folders”. 9brains connects to the share and shows the folder structure. If you select nothing, the whole share is indexed
File types: Documents, spreadsheets, presentations, web pages and images can each be switched on or off. Images are captured through AI image descriptions, the most expensive part of indexing
Maximum file size: The default is 300 MB, larger files are skipped
Only files modified after: Useful for old drives that have grown over the years, when only recent content matters

You can change these settings later at any time via “Edit filters”. A change triggers a new sync; files that no longer match the filters are removed from the index.

What gets indexed?

All files in the share, or in the selected folders
Subfolders are searched recursively
Only the file types 9brains can process and that you allowed in the filters

Permissions: everyone sees only their own files

On a department drive, rarely does everyone have access to everything. So that the AI respects this, you can switch on permission filtering in the connection dialog. Then a user only gets results from files they are also entitled to on the file server according to Active Directory. The Windows file permissions carry over one to one.

Without permission filtering every user in the workspace sees all indexed files. That is intentional and the simplest option for a drive that is open to everyone anyway.

To resolve permissions, 9brains needs a look into your directory. There are two ways:

Connection	When it fits	What you need
Microsoft Entra ID (hybrid)	Your local AD is synchronized to Microsoft 365 via Entra Connect	The Microsoft tenant ID and the consent of a Microsoft administrator
On-premises AD (LDAP)	A purely local Active Directory without Microsoft 365 synchronization	A second connector service for the LDAP server, the search base and a service account

Important: Users are found in the directory through the “mail” attribute. It has to match the address the person signs in to 9brains with. If those do not line up, 9brains cannot find the person and their search stays empty.

LDAP tip: Use LDAPS where possible (encrypted, port 636). The port of the connector service and the setting in the dialog have to match, otherwise the directory sign-in hangs instead of failing.

What about agents? An agent, too, always searches with one particular human’s permissions: in chat with those of the person operating it, on a scheduled run with those of the Microsoft account on its list or of its owner. Details under Agents.

Check access

Once the data source exists, it offers a “Check access” function. It walks through what works and what does not, step by step:

Connection to the file server: Is the share reachable, are the credentials accepted?
Directory service: Does Active Directory or Entra ID respond?
Your user account: Was your person found in the directory, which permission groups came out of it?
Actual document access: How many of the sampled documents are you really allowed to read?

This is the first tool to reach for when a user reports they find “nothing” from the drive. Usually it is either an account that cannot be found in the directory, or a permission that genuinely is missing on the file server.

Workspace data source

File servers are always workspace data sources:

Only administrators can create, edit and delete them
The data source appears under “Workspace data sources” on the data sources page
Which files an individual user finds in the chat depends on permission filtering (see above)

Synchronization

After initial indexing, syncing continues automatically:

New files are indexed
Changed files are re-indexed, detected via modification date and file size
Deleted files disappear from the index

Unlike OneDrive and SharePoint, a file server does not report changes on its own. 9brains therefore compares the share against the index every hour. A file you just saved is not searchable instantly, but usually within an hour. If you do not want to wait, open the data source and start synchronization manually.

Searching files in the chat

After indexing, the content is available in the chat:

“What is in the quote for Müller GmbH?”

“Summarize the minutes of the last sales meetings.”

“Which price list currently applies to key accounts?”

Answers include source references with the network path of the file, for example \\fileserver\Sales\Quotes\Mueller.docx. That way anyone can find the original on the drive again.

Security & privacy

Access is read-only
The connection runs through the encrypted tunnel of the on-premises connector, your file server stays unreachable from the internet
The credentials of the service account are stored encrypted
With permission filtering switched on, the Windows file permissions stay effective in search as well
Other workspaces have no access to your tunnels, shares or indexed content

Common problems

“The file server is unreachable or rejects the credentials”

Check the connector service: Is the SMB service reported as reachable in the on-premises connector?
Share name: This means the name of the share, not the full network path
Service account: Check username including domain, plus password and read access to the share

One user finds no files while others do

Almost always permission filtering. Have that person run “Check access”. If the account is not found in the directory, the sign-in address does not match the “mail” attribute in Active Directory. If the check reaches the last step and reports that none of the documents are accessible, the permissions really are missing on the file server.

Further checks are paused temporarily

After several failed directory sign-ins, 9brains pauses so the service account does not get locked out in Active Directory. Once the credentials are corrected, checking resumes immediately.

Less is indexed than expected

Check the filters: Deselected file types, the size limit or a modification date deliberately leave files out
Check the folder selection: Is the data source narrowed down to individual folders?
Storage quota: If the workspace quota is exhausted, the rest waits for free space. Usage is shown at the top of the data sources page