NorthVault — the spec

NorthVault is a Canadian-hosted productivity and AI platform for everyday people who want Google-Drive-level convenience without surrendering their data to foreign servers. Users store files, organize photos, edit documents, and run AI tools — all within Canadian infrastructure, with encryption and data residency they can verify. It replaces the scattered stack of Drive, Photos, and AI writing tools with one sovereign alternative.

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Decisions locked

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The core loop

1. User creates an account and receives a verified Canada-only data residency confirmation.
2. User uploads photos or files (documents, PDFs, spreadsheets); local AI auto-tags photos on ingest.
3. User opens or creates a document and uses the AI writing assistant — running locally — to draft or edit content.
4. User organizes files into folders, searches tagged photos by subject or date, and previews any file in-browser.
5. User downloads finished files in their chosen format (DOCX, PDF, XLSX, PPTX).
6. User connects their own AI agent or tool via MCP, pulling from their NorthVault data without it ever leaving Canadian infrastructure.

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v1 scope

Data Residency Guarantee
Every byte stored, processed, and transmitted lives on Canadian servers. A persistent residency badge on every screen confirms status; the account dashboard shows the data-center region and a plain-language certification users can share.

Photo Organization with Local AI Tagging
On upload, a locally executed model tags photos by content, date, and location metadata. The photo grid screen exposes tag-based filters and a search bar so users can find any image without manual labeling.

Encrypted File Storage
All files are encrypted at rest and in transit. The file manager screen shows storage usage, folder structure, upload/download controls, and a per-file encryption-status indicator — no file is ever readable outside the user's authenticated session.

AI Writing Assistant (Local)
A locally run language model is available inside every document editor screen. Users invoke it inline to draft, rewrite, summarize, or expand text. No content leaves the platform; the assistant operates entirely within the Canadian-hosted environment.

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Deliberately later

• Spreadsheet editor with formula + AI — formula parsing adds significant complexity; ship the file-storage foundation first and validate that users store spreadsheets before building editing parity.
• Simple AI app builder from templates — a builder requires a stable MCP integration layer; prove that connection in v1 before layering a no-code surface on top.
• Offline-first sync across personal devices — conflict resolution and local-device sync are an infrastructure project of their own; v2 scope once the cloud core is proven.
• One-click privacy audit and controls — meaningful only after users have enough data history to audit; becomes a retention and trust feature once the base is established.

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Data model sketch

• users — id, email, phone, plan_tier, residency_confirmed_at, created_at
• files — id, user_id, filename, mime_type, size_bytes, storage_path, encrypted, folder_id, created_at, updated_at
• folders — id, user_id, parent_folder_id, name, created_at
• photos — id, file_id, user_id, taken_at, location_lat, location_lng, ai_tags (JSON array)
• documents — id, file_id, user_id, content_snapshot, last_edited_at, assistant_sessions (JSON)
• mcp_connections — id, user_id, endpoint_url, token_hash, scopes, last_connected_at
• contacts — id, user_id, name, email, phone, notes, created_at

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Screens

• Sign-up / Login — account creation with residency confirmation display on first load.
• Dashboard — overview of storage used, recent files, residency badge, and quick-upload action.
• File Manager — folder tree, file list, upload/download controls, encryption status per file.
• Photo Gallery — grid view with AI tag filters, date range selector, and search bar.
• Document Editor — rich-text editor with inline AI writing assistant panel.
• MCP Connections — list of connected AI agents, add/revoke controls, scope permissions.
• Account & Billing — plan management, data-residency certificate download, contact details.

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How to use this document

• Bring it into Mind Palace, where the guided platform and its AI coach pick up from exactly this document and build NorthVault with you step by step.
• Hand it to a developer as the complete v1 brief — scope, data model, and screen list are ready to act on without further discovery.
• Keep it as the single source of truth during the build to prevent scope creep and hold every decision accountable to the 30-day, five-customer target.