💡 Vault Layout and Document Type Inference

Early aclarai design inferred document types (Tier 1, 2, 3) by folder path. While convenient for structured vaults, this breaks down when:

• Users flatten their vault (common Obsidian practice)
• Files are moved across folders
• Team members mix types in shared directories

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Goals

• Allow configurable folder layout (but make it optional)
• Detect document type via content markers, not file path
• Let users flatten, nest, or relocate vault files freely

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Solution

1. Add paths: block to configuration

paths:
  tier1: "tier1"
  summaries: "."
  concepts: "."

Each path is where aclarai prefers to write, but detection is metadata-based.

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2. Infer document types using internal markers

Type	Required Marker
Tier 1	aclarai:id=blk_* + ^blk_* anchors
Tier 2	aclarai:id=clm_* + summary references
Tier 3	aclarai:id=concept_* + concept header/def
Override	<!-- aclarai:type=tier2 --> (optional)

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3. aclarai Behaviors

• Writes files into configured folders.
• Scans all .md files when syncing.
• Uses ID prefix (blk_, clm_, concept_) and optional type comments to classify files.
• Creates folders if missing — but doesn’t require them.

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Benefits

• Supports flat vaults, traditional tiered layouts, or hybrids.
• Prevents misclassification when files are moved manually.
• Matches Obsidian’s flexibility without breaking aclarai’s automation.

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Next Steps

• Update design_config_panel.md
• Adjust sync layer to rely on ID-based classification
• Optionally add aclarai:type in new files for clarity and robustness

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What Belongs in the Vault (and What Doesn't)

The aclarai vault is intended exclusively for user-facing knowledge content: Tier 1, 2, and 3 Markdown files.

System-level configuration files, such as the main settings/aclarai.config.yaml and LLM prompt templates, are stored separately in the ./settings directory. This separation ensures that your vault remains a clean, portable collection of your knowledge, while system configurations can be managed and versioned independently.