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Memory-first design

Waymark is a memory-first companion, not a generic document-search tool. That distinction drives every design decision. The core loop is always:

capture messy thought -> structure memory card -> store locally -> retrieve with sources -> reflect over time

Non-drift rules

These rules keep the product from drifting into "yet another RAG app":

  1. Memory before automation. Manual capture is the foundation; AI is an enhancement.
  2. Capture before import. Documents enrich the journey — they don't replace your own captured memories.
  3. Local SQLite backbone before vector search. A simple, inspectable relational store comes first.
  4. App-only mode before local AI setup. Everything works with no model installed.
  5. Explicit confirmation before model downloads, file scans, OCR, or background indexing. Nothing heavy happens by surprise.
  6. Every generated answer must cite saved memories or imported sources.
  7. Decisions are first-class objects, not just tagged notes.

What this means in practice

  • Private by default. All data is local. Local AI is opt-in and runs through Ollama on your machine; no remote calls.
  • Models are never downloaded for you. Setup prints the exact ollama pull ... commands and lets you run them.
  • Folders are never scanned automatically. You always name the file or folder, and imports are preview-first.
  • AI output is always a draft. Generated titles, summaries, tags, and reflections are shown for confirmation before anything is saved.
  • Answers are grounded. If no saved memory or source matches, Waymark says so and invites you to capture or import more context — it does not fabricate.

Guided first, commands second

The guided Textual interface is the primary experience: calm, warm, and keyboard-driven, framed around attention and documentation coverage rather than scoring your life. Every guided action has a direct CLI equivalent for scripting and automation.