Keep each body of work in a local vault.
A vault is a local SQLite file containing its assertions, sources, entities, predicates, saved queries, adopted vocabularies, and provenance. The current vault is the context for every capture and query in the app.
From the start screen, choose New vault and select where to save it. Normal vaults start empty, so pick a location you already back up and give the file a name that identifies the client, system, or engagement.
Use a recent vault on the start screen, or open the app menu and choose Manage vaults. Open a vault in the current window to switch context, or in a new window to work with two vaults side by side.
In Manage vaults, choose Rename. Renaming keeps recent-vault tracking and does not break the path used by the local MCP integration.
Claimframe is local-first. The vault file is the authoritative store. Close or pause writers before making a manual copy, and keep the vault with the project’s normal encrypted backup process.
Adopt shared terms without flattening local knowledge.
A vocabulary is an immutable release of reusable terms, predicates, and optional general knowledge. A vault works without one; adopt a vocabulary when stable identifiers or a shared domain language will improve capture and recall.
Open the app menu and choose Manage vocabularies. Select a supplied release, or use Import file to preview a local .cfvocab package.
Check the namespace, publisher, license, release, attribution, included terms, predicates, statements, and any local name collisions. Collisions do not overwrite local names; Claimframe shows the namespaced vault token it will use.
Select terms, predicates, and—when available—general knowledge. Choose Adopt vocabulary. Imported terms and predicates then appear in capture and query autocomplete.
An imported release can be undone until vault data depends on it. Once an assertion, saved query, or another imported vocabulary uses its terms, Claimframe keeps the release in place and explains the dependency.
The current importer does not upgrade or compare releases. If the vault already contains that vocabulary ID, another release is blocked.
Write the claim first; attach its context as you go.
Capture accepts a compact subject–predicate–object statement. Autocomplete suggests existing entities, predicates, sources, and vocabulary terms, helping the vault reuse canonical names instead of creating near-duplicates.
subject predicate object @source ^evidence !status %confidence #tag
@source
Who or what made the claim: a person, call, document, or repository.
^evidence
A locator such as a timestamp, section, URL fragment, or commit ID.
!status
The review state. Defaults to active.
%confidence
A decimal from 0 to 1. Defaults to 1.0.
#tag
A retrieval aid. Add more than one tag when useful.
?
An object that is known to exist but whose value is not yet known.
Common capture forms
customer-portal
Create or reuse an entity without making a claim.
billing-service owns invoice-generation @alice
Capture a sourced relationship.
billing-service named "Billing Service" @alice
Use quotes for a multi-word term.
bob disputes claim:ASSERTION_ID @client-call
Make a sourced claim about an existing assertion.
Press Cmd/Ctrl + Shift + C to jump to a fresh capture from anywhere in the app. The capture dock also remains available below most workspaces.
Capture from a source
Use Source Intake to import transcript text or a file and to preview timestamped speaker segments. You can also import prepared document assertions with a source title. Extracted candidates move to Claim Review, where you may edit the subject, predicate, or object, then accept, defer, or reject each candidate.
Use the same three-part shape to ask the vault.
A query is a subject–predicate–object pattern. Put ? in any position you want Claimframe to match. Exact terms narrow the result; ? ? ? returns all assertions.
? owns invoice-generation
Who or what owns invoice generation?
billing-service ? ?
What does the vault say about the billing service?
? depends-on postgres
What depends on Postgres?
? ? ?
Show every assertion in the current vault.
Run queries from Graph Recall or Assertions. Autocomplete reuses the vault’s canonical tokens. In assertion lists, select the subject, predicate, object, source, status, or tag on a row to pivot directly into a related filtered view.
Save useful queries
After entering a query, choose the save control, give it a clear name, and save it. Saved queries live inside the current vault. Open the app menu and choose Manage queries to run, rename, or delete them.
Choose list recall for precision and graph recall for context.
Assertions is the direct route to a filtered, scannable result set. Graph Recall turns the same query results into entities and relationships, with the matching sourced assertions kept alongside the graph.
Enter the smallest subject–predicate–object pattern that describes what you need. Use the source, predicate, object, status, and conflicts-only filters to reduce a busy graph.
Select an assertion row or graph edge to open its provenance. Review source, evidence locator, capture method, confidence, status, tags, and related events before repeating the claim.
On the graph, select a node and add inbound or outbound relationships. Drag nodes to keep the working subgraph readable; the app remembers their positions.
Use Copy Citation for one sourced assertion, or use Export to copy the current vault assertions as Markdown for notes, documentation, or handoff.
Press Cmd/Ctrl + Shift + Q for quick query. The command palette can also find sources, entities, and assertions or start a query from the typed term.
Resolve the work without rewriting history.
Claimframe treats disagreement as data. Structural conflicts, explicit dispute or contradiction claims, and disputed statuses can coexist until you have enough evidence to interpret them.
Open Conflicts, or use the conflict review area in Claim Review. Select each assertion and compare its source, evidence, timestamp, confidence, and exact wording in the provenance inspector.
Use Edit for a typo or malformed capture. If a source’s claim was recorded correctly but is wrong, leave it intact and record the disagreement as another sourced claim.
Use Dispute or Contradict to draft a claim that targets the selected assertion with claim:ASSERTION_ID. Capture who is making the new claim and where its evidence can be found.
Update the status in the provenance inspector. Use the state that describes the individual assertion; do not delete a losing claim merely to make the conflict indicator disappear.
active— usable, not specially reviewedneeds_review— requires human attentionconfirmed— checked against sufficient evidencedisputed— actively challengedstale— once useful, possibly out of datesuperseded— replaced by a newer claimrejected— reviewed and not acceptedinferred— derived rather than directly asserted
In Manage predicates, value cardinality, uniqueness, and conflict-predicate settings determine which structural disagreements Claimframe surfaces. Change these rules deliberately: they affect how the whole vault interprets relationships.