Local before network
If a useful action can happen on the device, it should. The network adds continuity and collaboration when those things earn their cost.
Technology · the bounded stack
Fast where it matters. Bounded everywhere else.
Ten products do not need ten architectures. They need a small set of honest patterns for local work, durable state, institutional records, and paid services.
01
Local interface
Drafts and active context begin on the device.
02
Policy boundary
Authentication and row-level rules decide what can cross.
03
Supabase
Postgres, Realtime, Storage, and retrieval only where the product needs them.
The first useful interaction happens close to the person. Cloud state is scoped, authenticated, and kept smaller than the interface.
01
Vercel Functions
Sensitive work runs server side with narrow request shapes.
02
Neon Postgres
Durable records sit in Postgres with isolated environments for change.
03
Scoped access
Roles, retention, and exports are explicit parts of the product.
Distillation work needs durable records and explicit institutional boundaries. Each request has a visible source, result, and audit trail.
01
Free local core
Files stay on the device for immediate, private first use.
02
Vercel delivery
Static delivery, caching, and functions serve the public product.
03
Paid boundary
Identity and billing unlock durable team work without enclosing the local core.
The commercial surface stays fast and legible. Paid boundaries are server side. The free local core does not require an account.
The operating rules
Architecture is a promise about who stays in control.
The server holds the boundary
Inference, speech, email, billing, and privileged data access stay server side. Clients receive only the capability they need.
Retrieval before invention
When a product must answer from known material, it retrieves that material and exposes its sources. A plausible sentence is not evidence.
Exit is a feature
Exports, deletion, and bounded retention are product behavior, not fine print. A person should be able to outgrow the system cleanly.
Primary references
The claims should be inspectable too.
The stack map describes design intent and current implementation patterns. The platform behavior behind it is documented by the platform maintainers.
The architecture
A smaller stack. A clearer contract.
Bring us the sensitive edge, the expensive edge, and the place where trust could fail. That is where the architecture starts.