# AGENTS.md — Build guide for Day One

## Project scope
Write entries in multiple private journals, attach photos, search text and revisit entries from the same calendar day in earlier years.

Catalogue verdict: kinda. The visible digital journal loop is buildable, but a credible replacement needs more than the first screen. Day One earns its keep through polish, sync, importers, so expect a weekend or multi-day build and a narrower personal scope.
Use the implementation prompt below to define the deliverable. Complete each phase's acceptance checks before extending the scope.

## Working agreement
- Inspect the repository and its existing instructions before choosing paths, dependencies or commands. Keep one coherent stack and explain changes to the proposed architecture.
- Plan a vertical slice that accepts a real input and produces the useful output described below. Persist only the state the prompt calls for; respect memory-only and upstream-managed workflows. Use fixtures only when they are clearly labelled.
- After scaffolding, document the actual install, development, check and build commands in README and keep them synchronized with the package or project manifest. Do not report commands as successful unless they ran.
- Work in small steps. At handoff, list implemented flows, checks actually performed, remaining blockers, and any credentials or provider setup the owner must supply.
- Do not publish, spend money, contact customers, delete source data or run irreversible migrations without the project owner's authorization.

## Prerequisites
- Runtime and tools: Swift, SwiftUI/AppKit and SQLite on macOS, with secrets in Keychain where needed.
- Before starting: A Mac, the current Xcode toolchain and a documented permission checklist; distribution signing is a separate delivery task.

## Stack and architecture
- Swift, SwiftUI/AppKit and SQLite on macOS, with secrets in Keychain where needed
- Data design: Store Journal, EntryRevision, Attachment and LocalDate; preserve timezone/date at entry creation and separate a revised entry from its historical timestamps.
- Setup: A Mac, the current Xcode toolchain and a documented permission checklist; distribution signing is a separate delivery task

## Security and data integrity
- Ask for each operating-system permission when its feature is used. Handle denial and revocation without a loop; show permission status and keep local history deletable.
- SQLite alone does not encrypt a journal. Document the local storage and backup protection honestly; optional encryption must include a tested key-recovery design before being claimed.
- Keep secrets outside client bundles and exported projects; document what leaves the device and make retention/deletion controls visible.

## Agent implementation rules
- Project rule — domain: Store Journal, EntryRevision, Attachment and LocalDate; preserve timezone/date at entry creation and separate a revised entry from its historical timestamps.
- Project rule — scope and recovery: SQLite alone does not encrypt a journal. Document the local storage and backup protection honestly; optional encryption must include a tested key-recovery design before being claimed.
- Project rule — acceptance: Write near midnight while traveling, change timezone and browse 'on this day'; the entry stays attached to its chosen journal date and exports with its attachments.
- Project rule — delivery: document real setup commands and permissions; do not claim a build, accuracy level, performance result or security certification that has not been demonstrated.

## Optional agent skills and references
- Recommended skill: [swiftui-expert-skill](https://github.com/AvdLee/SwiftUI-Agent-Skill/blob/main/skills/swiftui-expert-skill/SKILL.md) — design native SwiftUI state, accessible controls and permission/error views for the proposed Apple-platform interface. Follow the maintainer's installation instructions and match its requirements to the chosen runtime.
- Recommended skill: [swift-concurrency](https://github.com/AvdLee/Swift-Concurrency-Agent-Skill/blob/main/skills/swift-concurrency/SKILL.md) — isolate capture, background work and UI updates, and make cancellation invalidate late callbacks. Follow the maintainer's installation instructions and match its requirements to the chosen runtime.

Read the linked SKILL.md and its dependencies before adding a skill. Select only the skills matching this project's runtime and task; their documentation does not supply API access, credentials or approval to perform external actions. Pin the reviewed revision where the tool supports it. Follow the chosen agent's documented project-level installation mechanism.

## Distribution ideas
These are optional planning notes. Obtain the owner's approval before publishing or contacting anyone.
- Demonstrate this working slice using synthetic or explicitly authorized non-sensitive examples: Write entries in multiple private journals, attach photos, search text and revisit entries from the same calendar day in earlier years.
- Share a synthetic example export and the acceptance walkthrough; keep real customer, health, financial and source data private: Write near midnight while traveling, change timezone and browse 'on this day'; the entry stays attached to its chosen journal date and exports with its attachments.
- State the limits before asking someone to replace their existing tool: SQLite alone does not encrypt a journal. Document the local storage and backup protection honestly; optional encryption must include a tested key-recovery design before being claimed.

## Engineering roadmap
1. Phase 1 — Pin the working slice and create its example input: Write entries in multiple private journals, attach photos, search text and revisit entries from the same calendar day in earlier years. Confirm setup: A Mac, the current Xcode toolchain and a documented permission checklist; distribution signing is a separate delivery task.
2. Phase 2 — Implement persistence and write-time invariants before decorating the UI: Store Journal, EntryRevision, Attachment and LocalDate; preserve timezone/date at entry creation and separate a revised entry from its historical timestamps.
3. Phase 3 — Connect the working view to real saved state. Ask for each operating-system permission when its feature is used. Handle denial and revocation without a loop; show permission status and keep local history deletable.
4. Phase 4 — Expose the app-specific limits and recovery path in context: SQLite alone does not encrypt a journal. Document the local storage and backup protection honestly; optional encryption must include a tested key-recovery design before being claimed.
5. Phase 5 — Walk through this concrete acceptance case and preserve its exported evidence: Write near midnight while traveling, change timezone and browse 'on this day'; the entry stays attached to its chosen journal date and exports with its attachments. Finish the README and backup/restore instructions; report unfinished capabilities explicitly.

## Paid-product capabilities outside this build
- conflict-safe multi-device sync
- mature importers and exporters
- collaborative editing and sharing
- native mobile clients

## Implementation prompt
Build the following focused alternative to Day One. This is a deliberately limited personal or small-team substitute, not parity with the paid service.

WORKING SLICE
Write entries in multiple private journals, attach photos, search text and revisit entries from the same calendar day in earlier years.

SETUP AND ARCHITECTURE
Use Swift, SwiftUI/AppKit and SQLite on macOS, with secrets in Keychain where needed. Prerequisites: A Mac, the current Xcode toolchain and a documented permission checklist; distribution signing is a separate delivery task. Before integrating anything, record actual versions and permissions, plus model files or provider limits only where used, in the README; make unavailable dependencies visible rather than simulating success.

DOMAIN MODEL AND INVARIANTS
Store Journal, EntryRevision, Attachment and LocalDate; preserve timezone/date at entry creation and separate a revised entry from its historical timestamps.

IMPLEMENTATION CONTRACT
Ask for each operating-system permission when its feature is used. Handle denial and revocation without a loop; show permission status and keep local history deletable. Provide an input/setup view, the main work view, and a review/export view appropriate to this workflow. Preserve the last saved state if a job or save fails. Include empty, loading, permission-denied, partial and retryable-error states. Log identifiers and error categories without secret values or unnecessary private content.

APP-SPECIFIC BOUNDARY AND RECOVERY
SQLite alone does not encrypt a journal. Document the local storage and backup protection honestly; optional encryption must include a tested key-recovery design before being claimed.

ACCEPTANCE SCENARIO
Write near midnight while traveling, change timezone and browse 'on this day'; the entry stays attached to its chosen journal date and exports with its attachments. Also reopen the app after an interrupted operation, confirm the saved record/export remains inspectable, and document the recovery action. These are implementation acceptance requirements, not a claim that this guide has been tested.

DELIVERY
Deliver a runnable repository with migrations or project-format versioning, a non-sensitive example, environment/permission setup, the exact manual acceptance steps, and a backup/export-and-restore walkthrough. Implement the working slice before optional integrations; list any deferred paid-product capabilities honestly. Do not add capabilities outside the working slice just to resemble the original product.

PROJECT RULES FOR AGENTS.md
Keep the domain invariants above executable at the write boundary. Propose scope changes before adding providers or permissions. Never fabricate source evidence, publish results, identity matches or successful delivery. Preserve user originals and require an explicit confirmation for destructive changes or external publication.

## Completion evidence
Demonstrate the prompt's acceptance scenarios against the scoped workflow. Include setup from a clean checkout and failure recovery. Check persistence across restart and export/restore only for the state the prompt says to store; for memory-only tools, confirm that temporary content is discarded as specified. Record actual results and remaining limitations. A detailed plan alone does not establish a working replacement.