01
Nothing is filed unseen
Commonfold drafts the structure and waits for approval before writing the durable note.
Private knowledge workspace
The private knowledge system for notes, sources, and decisions.
Capture without filing first. Ask across everything you saved. Commonfold answers with citations, keeps remembered context visible, and exports the complete archive as Markdown.
Review before filingAnswers cite their sourcesMarkdown import and export
CommonfoldPersonal space
Conversation · ArtifactsWhat changed in our position on local-first sync, and why?
Commonfold
The position moved from “offline-first everywhere” to a narrower promise: durable capture offline, then background reconciliation for links, search, and collaboration.
The turning point was the August reliability review. It found that full local graph sync delayed startup without improving the core capture flow.
Reliability reviewSync decisionMobile notes
Ask, capture, or begin a longer note…Ask ↵
ArtifactsDecision trail
Live viewLocal-first sync
A generated timeline of the notes, conversations, and decisions behind the current position.
- 03 Aug
Initial principle
Make the entire archive available offline.
- 12 Aug
Observed constraint
Full graph sync added startup delay on mobile.
- 19 Aug
Decision
Keep capture durable offline; reconcile the graph later.
- 24 Aug
Current position
Offline capture is the promise. Search and collaboration recover in the background.
The approach
Built around the record, not the model.
AI helps interpret, connect, and present what you have saved. It does not replace the source note, the decision trail, or your authority over what becomes durable.
02
Answers point backward
Claims stay connected to the passages, files, and conversations that support them.
03
Changes leave a version
Human, AI, and system revisions remain attributable and can be restored without rewriting history.
From fragment to record
Organize with the thought still in view.
Start with the language that is already in your head. Commonfold turns it into a reviewable filing proposal without forcing you to stop and design a taxonomy first.
I keep returning to the idea that a product should preserve the reasoning behind a decision, not only the outcome.
CapturingShift ↵
Review before filing
Preserve decision context
Type · principleFolder · ProductLinks · [[Decision journal]] · [[Product craft]]
From answer to artifact
Keep the evidence beside the conclusion.
A useful answer can become a timeline, comparison, graph, or working canvas. Every block keeps its source references and validated note versions, so the output can be inspected and rerun later.
Decision comparison
Grounded view · 5 sources01
Original position
Sync the complete archive to every device before the workspace opens.
2 sources
02
Current position
Open with durable local capture, then reconcile search, links, and presence in the background.
3 sources
Saved views keep their validated source versions and can be rerun when the archive changes.
The product, end to end
One archive. Four modes of work.
Commonfold follows the same source record from first capture through retrieval, interpretation, and action. You do not have to move the context between disconnected tools.
01
Capture the unfinished thought
Unified input · Voice · Files · Templates
Write a sentence, speak a note, attach a file, or stay long enough for the input to become an editor. Commonfold proposes the title, type, folder, tags, and links. You decide whether it becomes part of the archive.
02
Find the context, not only the phrase
Hybrid search · Citations · Wikilinks · Backlinks
Full-text, semantic, and graph-aware retrieval work together across notes, conversations, comments, and uploaded documents. Answers link back to the exact sources and document locations used.
03
See the shape of an argument
Timelines · Comparisons · Graphs · Saved views
Turn retrieved evidence into a timeline, comparison, note collection, graph, or composed canvas. Useful views can be saved and rerun against newer source versions instead of becoming detached screenshots.
04
Carry a decision into the work
Tasks · Reminders · Collaboration · Automation
Create a task, assign an owner, set a reminder, continue in a shared note, or connect a scoped automation. Proposed knowledge changes remain reviewable, and the source record stays attached.
What Commonfold remembers
AuditableWorking preference
Show the reasoning, then the recommendation.
Active intention
Prepare the research archive for October.
Current activity
Reading about tools for thought.
Editable · Pinned · Reversible
Context with a paper trail
Memory you can read, edit, and remove.
Commonfold can carry relevant facts, preferences, activities, and intentions between conversations. Each item shows when it was learned, where it came from, and whether it is active or pinned.
Undo, merge, pin, unpin, or remove remembered context.
Shared work
Collaborate without flattening authorship.
Edit a note together, discuss an exact passage, invite a member, or share a controlled view externally. The durable Markdown checkpoint and revision history continue to identify who changed what.
Research synthesis
The archive as a thinking partner
A useful archive keeps the trail from observation to decision. It should make disagreement visible and preserve the source behind every conclusion.
Shared context becomes more valuable when each change remains attributable.
Discussion
Mira
Can we link this to the launch decision?
You
Done, and added the August source.
Saved · Version 24
Portability is part of the product
Bring an Obsidian vault. Leave with a complete Markdown archive.
Folders, frontmatter, tags, wikilinks, notes, daily entries, conversations, and remembered context travel with the export.
Start with one source