How much does it cost?

Nothing. You can read every lesson without creating an account. To use the exercises and talk to your Maestro, you sign in with your email and enroll with one tap, no card.

Do I have to install anything or know how to code?

No. The terminal exercises run inside your browser, in a course environment, and you only use four commands that we teach you right there: pwd, ls, cd and cat. You don't need to know how to code.

I use a Mac, or my job uses Google Drive instead of OneDrive. Is this for me?

Yes. The lessons that change depending on your system have a Windows version and a Mac version, and the ones that change depending on your cloud have one for OneDrive and one for Google Drive. You choose once and the course shows you yours on every page.

How long does it take?

It's 13 short lessons in three modules. You can do it in one sitting or one lesson at a time, at your own pace.

Does this prepare me for other courses?

Yes. Folders, paths and where a file lives are what the Python and AI agent courses take for granted. At the end we tell you which one comes next if you want the computer to do the work with those files.

Where Does Your File Live?

Name: Where Does Your File Live?
Availability: InStock

By the end you'll be able to say where any work file really lives, whether it opens offline, what happens if you delete it, and which path to give a program so it can find it.

You go at your own pace, with your Maestro beside you, 1:1, through the whole course: ask it anything, and it asks you questions too.

12 skills · 3 modules

Free

Start free

Read the first page How do free courses work?

What you'll be able to do

Each box is a skill. The base is at the bottom, recognizing and explaining, and you work your way up to building something of your own and judging what works and why. Hover over a box to see what it builds on. Click it to see where I teach it and how your Maestro checks it.

Evaluate
Analyze
Apply
Understand

Evaluate
- Choose which path to give a program
  Where I teach it: Send, find, use · What file path do I give Excel, Python or an AI agent?
  Builds on:
  Use absolute and relative paths
  Find a SharePoint file on your computer
  Tell whether a file is on your disk or only in the cloud
  Your Maestro asks you to judge when it fits and why and saves it as evidence when you do.
Analyze
- Decide between sending a link or a copy
  Where I teach it: Send, find, use · Should I send the file or send the link?
  Builds on:
  Tell OneDrive, SharePoint and Teams apart
  Your Maestro asks you to break a problem down with it and saves it as evidence when you do.
Apply
- Predict what happens when you delete a synced file
  Where I teach it: One file, one address · Is this file on my computer or in the cloud?
  Builds on:
  Tell whether a file is on your disk or only in the cloud
  Your Maestro asks you to use it on a new case and saves it as evidence when you do.
- Find a file with pwd, ls, cd and cat
  Where I teach it: One file, one address · What's a folder, and what's a file path?
  Builds on:
  Explain what a file path is
  Your Maestro asks you to use it on a new case and saves it as evidence when you do.
- Use absolute and relative paths
  Where I teach it: One file, one address · Absolute vs. relative path: where does a path start from?
  Builds on:
  Find a file with pwd, ls, cd and cat
  Read a Windows path and a Mac path
  Your Maestro asks you to use it on a new case and saves it as evidence when you do.
- Find a SharePoint file on your computer
  Where I teach it: Send, find, use · Someone said "it's in SharePoint": how do I find it?
  Builds on:
  Tell OneDrive, SharePoint and Teams apart
  Read a Windows path and a Mac path
  Your Maestro asks you to use it on a new case and saves it as evidence when you do.
Understand
- Tell whether a file is on your disk or only in the cloud
  Where I teach it: One file, one address · Is this file on my computer or in the cloud?
  Your Maestro asks you to explain it in your own words and saves it as evidence when you do.
- Explain why your Desktop can live in OneDrive
  Where I teach it: One file, one address · Is this file on my computer or in the cloud?
  Builds on:
  Read a Windows path and a Mac path
  Your Maestro asks you to explain it in your own words and saves it as evidence when you do.
- Tell OneDrive, SharePoint and Teams apart
  Where I teach it: One file, one address · Is this file on my computer or in the cloud?
  Builds on:
  Explain why your Desktop can live in OneDrive
  Your Maestro asks you to explain it in your own words and saves it as evidence when you do.
- Read a Windows path and a Mac path
  Where I teach it: One file, one address · Is this file on my computer or in the cloud?
  Builds on:
  Explain what a file path is
  Your Maestro asks you to explain it in your own words and saves it as evidence when you do.
- Explain what a file path is
  Where I teach it: One file, one address · What's a folder, and what's a file path?
  Your Maestro asks you to explain it in your own words and saves it as evidence when you do.
- Compare streaming and mirroring in Google Drive
  Where I teach it: A folder that is also the cloud · Blue cloud or green circle: what does each OneDrive icon mean?
  Builds on:
  Tell whether a file is on your disk or only in the cloud
  Your Maestro asks you to explain it in your own words and saves it as evidence when you do.

What we'll cover

Common questions

How much does it cost?: Nothing. You can read every lesson without creating an account. To use the exercises and talk to your Maestro, you sign in with your email and enroll with one tap, no card.
Do I have to install anything or know how to code?: No. The terminal exercises run inside your browser, in a course environment, and you only use four commands that we teach you right there: pwd, ls, cd and cat. You don't need to know how to code.
I use a Mac, or my job uses Google Drive instead of OneDrive. Is this for me?: Yes. The lessons that change depending on your system have a Windows version and a Mac version, and the ones that change depending on your cloud have one for OneDrive and one for Google Drive. You choose once and the course shows you yours on every page.
How long does it take?: It's 13 short lessons in three modules. You can do it in one sitting or one lesson at a time, at your own pace.
Does this prepare me for other courses?: Yes. Folders, paths and where a file lives are what the Python and AI agent courses take for granted. At the end we tell you which one comes next if you want the computer to do the work with those files.

What you get

3 modules and 13 pages, open whenever you want them.
Open to everyone: read all of it, and your Maestro, an AI, answers one question per page, on up to five pages a day.
With a free account: your Maestro for the whole course, always on the page you're on, and the exercises run with nothing to install.

Words you'll meet

In the lessons, tap one to see what it means, or ask your Maestro about it.

The whole glossary

Who's teaching you

Sergio Sánchez

I'm Sergio, chekos online. I've worked with data for about ten years, mostly at mission-driven organizations: policy research first, then education, and now early childhood services. In 2018 I started tacosdedatos to share what I was learning, and since then it's been a blog, a podcast, courses, guides, and a community. These days I spend a lot of my time building with AI agents and writing about how I organize my work around them. I share what I've learned; you take what's useful and make it yours.