Keep the evidence. Separate the authority. Resume the work.
The Record Method is a local-first operating method for long-running AI work. Models can propose, summarize, and retrieve. Only the human can ratify what governs.
Evidence
Preserve the original conversation and source files with exact identities and receipts.
Derived work
Keep summaries, mining appendices, indexes, and handoff packets clearly labeled as derived.
Human authority
Decisions become governing state only through an explicit human approval path.
Capture with ChatVaultAI
Create a local Envelope v1 source record and a derived readable copy.
Close the chat
Add the structured mining appendix without replacing the preserved original conversation.
Intake into Keep
Verify every hash, hold the record unassigned, then choose its primary and related projects.
Review candidates
Promote useful fragments to confirmed context or reject them. Nothing is silently canonized.
Generate the next handoff
Create a deterministic project packet for ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, a local model, or a future tool.
No account is required for the method. Your source files and catalog remain under your control. Model-written material remains derived unless you explicitly approve otherwise.