Archive Layout

With the workspace from the installation guide, Aesop uses this layout:

~/Aesop/
  imports/<source>/       # Optional incoming account exports
  data/
    raw/                 # Original preserved source artifacts
    runs/                # Collection manifests included in backups
    parsed/
      README.md          # Human-readable library index
      manifest.json      # Parsing results and coverage
      ...                # Rendered conversation documents

Configuration lives at ~/.config/aesop-agentic/config.toml. Runtime state and browser profiles live below ~/.local/state/aesop-agentic/. Operational logs live at ~/Library/Logs/Aesop Agentic/; earlier Aesop-Agentic logs may remain after upgrades.

Preservation and Revisions

Immutable session artifacts retain content-addressed revisions. Large mutable databases retain a verified latest snapshot instead of duplicating all pages every collection cycle. SQLite snapshots use online backup, including committed WAL changes. Opaque LevelDB stores may require a quiescent source application for a stable snapshot.

Parsing reads the raw archive and writes derived Markdown. It never modifies the original files. Parser upgrades can regenerate documents; keep raw artifacts and manifests together when backing up or migrating.

Interpreting Status

Collection states include complete, partial, blocked, empty, and not_found. Parsing separately reports readable coverage and unknown or failed records. opaque means the bytes were retained but cannot be reliably decoded. A successful copy does not establish that every conversation in an account was available.

Collection manifests describe the snapshot included in backups. Final operational summaries also include backup outcomes and remain outside the mirrored tree so recording those outcomes does not invalidate the just-verified backup.