File-over-App Philosophy
File-over-app means keeping your work in files you can read, edit, and take to another tool. It does not mean every runtime record or provider transcript is ordinary Markdown.
Storage boundaries
| State | Primary location | What to verify |
|---|---|---|
| Vault notes, Context codeblocks, provider thread URLs, and Active/Done fields | Markdown files in the vault | The file contains the intended source path, state, or bookmark. |
| Smart Environment indexes and Smart Chat Pro API records | Linked application data under .smart-env/ |
Reopened records still contain the expected sources, messages, and context. |
| Provider conversation transcript | The selected provider unless explicitly copied into the vault | The saved URL reopens the intended conversation. |
| Copied Context or Template request | Clipboard until pasted or saved | The pasted package contains only the reviewed sources and instructions. |
| Generated or downloaded binary media | The destination explicitly chosen by the user | The file list, labels, and content match the reviewed output. |
What remains portable
- Markdown stays inspectable. Notes, manifests, thread bookmarks, and review state can be searched, diffed, synced, and edited with normal file tools.
- Application data has a separate lifecycle.
.smart-envrecords and indexes are not ordinary notes. Test sync methods for concurrent writes and conflict recovery before treating them as multi-device canonical state. - Provider history remains provider state. Saving a URL in Markdown does not copy the transcript into the vault.
- Exports become durable only when saved. Clipboard text, composite media, and ZIP output become files after the user pastes or saves them to a chosen destination.
Why it matters
- Users can see which parts of a workflow are normal vault files and which depend on application or provider state.
- Compare changes to Markdown files before incorporating them into your notes.
- Teams can choose sync, backup, and retention policies appropriate to each storage class.
- Switching tools is easier when the durable work product remains in open, user-controlled formats.