Project Intake - Chronicle Visualizer

Project Name: Chronicle Visualizer
Repository: https://github.com/maggielerman/chronicle-visualizer
Live URL(s): None public. Local-only review surfaces observed at ports 3056 and 4177 during intake; do not publish these as website links.
Source Repo Path: /Users/maggielerman/Documents/chronicle-visualizer
Source Baseline: local main at db7823a (origin/main parity confirmed)
Queue Item: Operator-requested direct project intake on 2026-06-04

1) Executive Summary

Chronicle Visualizer is a privacy-first visual work-history project. It started with a real local Chronicle browser that indexed recent screen frames and persisted Chronicle summaries, then split into a public-facing Next.js scaffold and a private archive/redaction operating lane. The project is not just a screenshot gallery. Its product shape is a governed visual evidence system: raw frames stay private, written context is archived with images, public derivatives require redaction and review, and project/work-state labels remain inferred until corroborated by durable sources.

This intake treats the source repo as the canonical Chronicle Visualizer project and links it back to the already-intaked Building Chronicle MVP chat plus the Chronicle visualizer image-evidence records. The source repo currently contains a synthetic/redacted public timeline scaffold, repo-native project governance, completed encrypted S3 archival tooling, a local-only imported viewer under local-tools/chronicle-visualizer/, and active privacy/redaction/publication planning.

2) Project Type and Domain

• Project category: local-first AI-workflow evidence viewer, private archive tooling, and public redacted visual timeline scaffold.
• Domain: AI Ops, personal work-history evidence, visual timeline browsing, privacy/redaction governance, archive/storage infrastructure.
• Primary user: Maggie, reviewing work history across Codex, Hyphenomenon, ecommerce, print-production, and related local workflows.
• Future public audience: people inspecting a curated, redacted visual record of project work without access to raw private captures.
• Public status recommendation: active.
• Trail recommendation: ai_ops.

3) Repository and Live URLs

• Source repo: https://github.com/maggielerman/chronicle-visualizer
• Local source path: /Users/maggielerman/Documents/chronicle-visualizer
• Local public scaffold: local-only development surface observed on port 3056 during intake; not a public website link.
• Private local viewer: local-only private viewer observed on port 4177 during intake; not a public website link.
• Related source project: codex-skills-library, because the first local viewer was built under /Users/maggielerman/Github/codex-skills/local-tools/chronicle-visualizer before being imported into this repo.
• Related chat: Building Chronicle MVP at route /chats/building-chronicle-mvp-019e9364.
• Related image evidence:
  • Chronicle Visualizer Timeline Overview - Top at route /image-evidence/chronicle-visualizer-timeline-overview-top-2026-06-04.
  • Chronicle Visualizer Timeline Overview - Upper Middle at route /image-evidence/chronicle-visualizer-timeline-overview-upper-middle-2026-06-04.
  • Chronicle Visualizer Timeline Overview - Lower Middle at route /image-evidence/chronicle-visualizer-timeline-overview-lower-middle-2026-06-04.
  • Chronicle Visualizer Timeline Overview - Bottom at route /image-evidence/chronicle-visualizer-timeline-overview-bottom-2026-06-04.
  • Chronicle Visualizer Detail View at route /image-evidence/chronicle-visualizer-detail-view-2026-06-04.

4) Product/User Journey Summary

The current project has two user-facing modes with different safety boundaries.

The public scaffold opens on an app-style visual timeline. It shows synthetic frame cards grouped by date, project filters, search, redaction status, a date rail, and a selected-frame inspector. The scaffold intentionally does not load raw Chronicle frames. It previews the target interaction model while preserving the rule that real public visuals must be approved redacted derivatives.

The archive lane preserves raw frames and written context before the rolling buffer expires. It now uses encrypted AWS S3 raw storage, local receipts, restore dry-run tooling, LaunchAgent scheduling, and local retention controls. Public publication remains blocked until the privacy/redaction/publication project defines approved derivative workflows.

5) Architecture and Stack Summary

• Public app: Next.js 15, React 19, app router, CSS-only app-first visual timeline scaffold.
• Private viewer: local Node HTTP server, static HTML/CSS/JS, thumbnail cache, sips thumbnail generation fallback, OCR sidecar parsing as noisy search metadata.
• Raw sources: $TMPDIR/chronicle/screen_recording/, ~/.codex/memories/extensions/chronicle/resources/, and broader ~/.codex/memories written context.
• Archive tooling: Node scripts for snapshots, incremental preservation, LaunchAgent install, AWS S3 setup, encrypted snapshot/delta uploads, remote verify, restore dry-run, and local pruning.
• Private storage: AWS S3 bucket chronicle-visualizer-raw-private-528049652889-us-east-1, account guardrail 528049652889, client-side GPG AES256 encryption, local passphrase file outside git.
• Docs/process: repo-native DOCS/, numbered project docs, generated project dashboard, review-board operating pattern, checkpointed roadmap/changelog.

6) Key Workflows and Operational Flows

• Private frame browsing: local viewer indexes recent frames, memory summaries, OCR sidecars, inferred project labels, and source paths; selected frames open with nearby-frame and related-summary context.
• Archive preservation: scheduled incremental script copies new/changed Chronicle files and written-context files, bundles deltas, encrypts objects locally, uploads to S3, writes receipts, and supports remote verification.
• Public scaffold review: synthetic/redacted placeholder frames allow UI review of the timeline surface without publishing raw screenshots.
• Redaction/publication gate: raw frame ingestion, sensitive-surface checks, advisory OCR/visual detection, pixel-burned redaction, review-board generation, human approval, and public manifest export.
• Source governance: Context Layer docs track project lifecycle, storage completion, privacy/publication blockers, and the unresolved decision about whether to refactor the local viewer into the Next app.

7) AI Context: Prompts, Chats, Agent Workflows

The project is directly linked to the Codex chat Building Chronicle MVP, which records the creation of the local viewer, the public scaffold correction, the privacy boundary for raw captures, and the durable private storage plan. The preceding What is Chronicle? chat framed Chronicle as work-visible evidence rather than canonical project state.

The repo itself contains AI-agent operating rules in AGENTS.md, checkpoint-oriented project docs, and a review-board process for human visual judgment. Chronicle memory summaries and Codex rollout summaries are part of the private written-context archive, but they are not public by default.

8) Supporting Docs and External Resources

• README.md - public/private lane split, local dev commands, and privacy rule.
• AGENTS.md - repository operating contract and Chronicle privacy boundary.
• DOCS/project-master.md - product vision, scope, personas, success metrics, architecture, and operating principles.
• DOCS/PROJECTS/active/0001_public-site-context-layer-setup.md - parent project for public app and Context Layer setup.
• DOCS/PROJECTS/completed/0002_capture-archive-storage-design.md - completed durable private S3 archive v1.
• DOCS/PROJECTS/active/0003_privacy-redaction-publication-pipeline.md - redaction/publication gates and labels.
• DOCS/PROJECTS/backlog/0004_visual-timeline-viewer-roadmap.md - local/private and public/redacted viewer roadmap.
• DOCS/development/archive-runbook.md - commands and policy for archive, upload, verify, restore, and prune.
• app/page.jsx - public app-first timeline scaffold.
• local-tools/chronicle-visualizer/server.js - local-only private viewer implementation.

Hydration Source Artifacts

Artifact (relative repo path)	Canonical URL	Type	Why hydrate this into note body
README.md	https://github.com/maggielerman/chronicle-visualizer/blob/main/README.md	markdown	Concise public/private lane split, local dev commands, and raw-capture privacy rule.
DOCS/project-master.md	https://github.com/maggielerman/chronicle-visualizer/blob/main/DOCS/project-master.md	markdown	Product vision, scope, personas, success metrics, architecture overview, and operating principles.
DOCS/PROJECTS/completed/0002_capture-archive-storage-design.md	https://github.com/maggielerman/chronicle-visualizer/blob/main/DOCS/PROJECTS/completed/0002_capture-archive-storage-design.md	markdown	Completed private archive/storage evidence, including S3, encryption, receipts, restore verification, and LaunchAgent status.
DOCS/PROJECTS/active/0003_privacy-redaction-publication-pipeline.md	https://github.com/maggielerman/chronicle-visualizer/blob/main/DOCS/PROJECTS/active/0003_privacy-redaction-publication-pipeline.md	markdown	Public safety gate for redacted derivatives, sensitive-surface categories, and publication labels.
DOCS/PROJECTS/backlog/0004_visual-timeline-viewer-roadmap.md	https://github.com/maggielerman/chronicle-visualizer/blob/main/DOCS/PROJECTS/backlog/0004_visual-timeline-viewer-roadmap.md	markdown	Viewer roadmap linking the local private MVP to future archive-aware and public-redacted viewer tracks.
DOCS/development/archive-runbook.md	https://github.com/maggielerman/chronicle-visualizer/blob/main/DOCS/development/archive-runbook.md	markdown	Operational archive commands, S3 layout, restore notes, and raw/public storage policy.
app/page.jsx	https://github.com/maggielerman/chronicle-visualizer/blob/main/app/page.jsx	text	Public app-first timeline scaffold: synthetic frames, filters, selected-frame inspector, and publication boundary messaging.
local-tools/chronicle-visualizer/server.js	https://github.com/maggielerman/chronicle-visualizer/blob/main/local-tools/chronicle-visualizer/server.js	text	Private local viewer implementation: frame indexing, memory matching, OCR search metadata, thumbnail generation, and inferred project filters.
Unknown	Unknown	image	No committed source image artifact exists by design; public visual proof for this intake uses generated route screenshots in this run directory and separately linked image-evidence records.
Unknown	Unknown	pdf	No .pdf source artifact was found during this review.

9) Screenshot Gallery (with relative links + captions)

1. - Desktop source-app screenshot of the synthetic/redacted timeline scaffold with project filters, search, date rail, and selected-frame inspector.
2. - Source-app docs route summarizing the Context Layer, privacy/redaction, and archive/storage docs.
3. - Source-app projects route showing public-facing lifecycle tracks for setup, archive/storage, privacy/redaction, and viewer roadmap.
4. - Mobile source-app screenshot of the public timeline scaffold, confirming the synthetic/redacted surface is responsive.

10) Candidate Import Nodes and Relationships

• Project supernode:
  • ID: project-chronicle-visualizer
  • Slug: chronicle-visualizer
  • Title: Chronicle Visualizer
  • Status: active
  • Trail: ai_ops
• Candidate supporting notes:
  • Chronicle Visualizer project master
  • Durable private S3 archive v1
  • Privacy redaction and publication pipeline
  • Visual timeline viewer roadmap
  • Archive runbook and restore policy
  • Public app scaffold
  • Local private viewer implementation
• Candidate workflow:
  • workflow-chronicle-visualizer-private-archive-and-publication-loop
• Candidate data models:
  • Chronicle private archive and public derivative boundary
  • Chronicle viewer index and evidence relationship model
• Relationships:
  • Project -> codex-skills-library, because the first local viewer was implemented there.
  • Project -> Building Chronicle MVP chat, which created the local viewer and public scaffold.
  • Project -> Chronicle visualizer image-evidence records, which preserve approved visual proof of the local MVP.
  • Project -> workflow for private archive and public publication review.

11) Risks, Gaps, and Unknowns

• Public deployment is intentionally blocked until the privacy/redaction/publication pipeline approves public-safe surfaces.
• Raw Chronicle captures, OCR sidecars, private summaries, thumbnails, archive outputs, passphrases, and receipts must stay out of git.
• The public app currently uses synthetic/redacted placeholders; it is not yet connected to a public-safe manifest or redacted derivative store.
• The private local viewer can reveal local filesystem paths and private screen content, so it should remain local-only.
• Project labels are inferred from path, summary, and noisy OCR signals unless corroborated by git, docs, artifacts, PRs, or route checks.
• No committed source image artifact exists by design, because raw image material is sensitive.
• No .docx or .pdf source artifacts were found.

12) Handoff Checklist for Hyphenomenon Import

• Confirm dossier sections complete and source-backed.
• Confirm screenshot files exist in DOCS/intake/runs/projects/2026-06-04-chronicle-visualizer/screenshots.
• Confirm screenshot links render from DOCS/intake/runs/projects/2026-06-04-chronicle-visualizer/dossier.md.
• Confirm Unknowns are explicit.
• Create project-page-packet.json.
• Create workflow-packet.json.
• Run source artifact extraction to source-artifact-hydration.json.
• Run dossier validation with hydration and project-page packet.
• Run project sync dry-run and save output.
• Run workflow packet dry-run and save output.
• Apply project packet locally for main-site review.
• Apply workflow packet locally for main-site review.
• Reapply linked chat and image evidence artifacts so existing Chronicle evidence points to this project.
• Verify /projects/chronicle-visualizer, the linked workflow route, the chat route, and image evidence relationships.

Dataset Preview

• Raw CSV row/table content is available in the source artifact.