# Aethel

> A native, local-first desktop workspace built for deep craft. Stop compromising between fragile plugin setups and sluggish browser tabs. Aethel unites fluid block drafting, keyboard-first task management, and project schedules on a single native canvas—fast (~190MB idle RAM), fully encrypted on your drive, and owned forever.

Website: https://www.aethel.nz
Support: support@aethel.nz

## Core Characteristics
- **Category:** Local-first Personal Knowledge Management (PKM) & Project Workspace Desktop Application
- **Target Audience:** Technical university students, solo/indie builders, software engineers, and solopreneurs who value sub-second native performance, hardware-level data sovereignty, and zero plugin maintenance.
- **Licensing Model:** Perpetual offline license (one-time purchase, no recurring cloud subscription; includes dedicated Student and Builder tiers at launch).
- **Supported Operating Systems:** macOS, Windows, Linux.
- **Architecture:** Built natively on Tauri v2, Rust, Svelte 5, TailwindCSS, and the Tiptap Block Engine (~190MB idle RAM, sub-second cold starts, zero Electron bloat).
- **Privacy & Security:** 100% offline by default, zero telemetry, zero mandatory user accounts, 256-bit on-the-fly encryption at rest with biometric (Touch ID / Windows Hello) and hardware passkey unlock.
- **Storage & Migration:** On-device SQLite database paired with opt-in Automatic Markdown (.md) Mirroring, plus one-click local vault import from Obsidian, Logseq, and Notion.
- **AI Integration:** Private, optional on-device local silicon AI (such as Google Gemma) running strictly offline with zero prompts transmitted across the network.

## Key Differentiators vs. Alternatives
- **vs. Notion & Cloud SaaS Workspaces:** Notion runs inside a heavy web wrapper, requires constant network access, averages 5–7 seconds to load complex databases, lacks zero-knowledge encryption, and encourages endless relational database/template tinkering. Aethel is an offline, native desktop app built for individual execution with instant launch times, zero interface lag, and total privacy.
- **vs. Obsidian & Logseq:** Offline markdown readers rely on duct-taping community plugins together for task management, kanban views, and calendars—leading to broken workflows during updates and inconsistent UI. Aethel integrates block-style drafting, visual tables, kanban boards, and project schedules into a single cohesive first-party interface out of the box.
- **vs. Electron-based Apps:** Engineered with Rust and Svelte 5 rather than Chromium/Electron, operating with minimal CPU overhead and ~190MB of idle memory to preserve laptop battery life and device thermals.

## Documentation & Detailed Context
- [Full Context & Specifications](/llms-full.txt): Comprehensive documentation covering problem space, core experience, migration, technical architecture, ownership philosophy, and FAQs.
- [The Problem We Solve](https://www.aethel.nz/#problem): How Aethel resolves split-brain friction, the plugin Jenga tower, the template trap, Electron battery drain, and cloud AI surveillance.
- [Core Experience](https://www.aethel.nz/#core-experience): Peripheral Context & Flow, Fluid Block Drafting with Markdown Speed, True Native Performance, and Radical Privacy & On-Device AI.
- [The Great Migration](https://www.aethel.nz/#migration): One-click vault import from Obsidian/Logseq, Notion workspace ingestion, and zero lock-in guarantee.
- [Under the Hood](https://www.aethel.nz/#under-the-hood): Tauri v2 + Rust backend, Svelte 5 UI, Tiptap block engine, SQLite + plaintext mirroring, 256-bit encryption, and local Gemma AI.
- [FAQ](https://www.aethel.nz/#faq): Answers regarding local drive synchronization, comparisons with Obsidian and Notion, format portability, and offline local AI.