Driftinel™
For people who carry their business in their head
Bring its knowledge to life.
The decisions. The experience. The promises. Driftinel helps you remember what matters, find answers in the information you choose, and notice when plans start to drift.
Your sourcesYour computerYour judgement
In private development. Mac first; Windows planned. Purchasing is not yet open.
If your business could talk…
The latest forecast is two days later than the date you agreed.
Now you can decide what to do.
Illustrative example of the current recorded-commitment workflow. Text-based observations; not a voice-call feature.
You shouldn’t have to remember everything
The proposal that already answered this question. The reason you made an exception. The delivery date someone agreed to.
Somewhere, you have the information. Too often, you’re still the person expected to remember where—and why it matters.
“Where did we put that?”
“Why did we agree to this?”
“Has something changed?”
Less to hold in your head.
More to work with.
Memory. Search. Drift detection.
Put the knowledge you already have to work in the moments you need it.
01 · Remember
“Here’s why we made that exception.”
Capture the decisions and details that never make it into a formal file. Give your future self more than a half-remembered conversation.
Put it down. Pick it up when you need it.
02 · Find
“We’ve tackled something like this before.”
Ask a question across the files and memories you choose. Find the useful connection without having to remember the filename or the exact words.
Start with experience you already have.
03 · Notice
“That forecast is later than we agreed.”
A promise and a later update can tell different stories. Driftinel’s initial rules can flag a slip between the commitments and forecasts you record.
A reason to look closer. A decision you own.
From scattered information to useful context
No need to reorganize your whole working life. Start with the information that matters to you.
Choose the folders you want Driftinel to read. Your original files stay where they are.
Add the decisions and context that live in your head.
Find relevant information, with sources you can check.
Review a flagged commitment slip and decide what happens next.
Working in private development: memory capture, selected-file search, and initial drift rules. Broader detectors and email/calendar connections are still being developed.
For owner-led businesses
You’re the person customers call, the person who knows the history, and the person who notices when something feels off.
Driftinel is being built for solopreneurs and small-business owners whose work lives across documents, decisions, and a very busy head.
Keep the experience you’ve earned within reach.
A useful voice. Yours to question.
Useful help shows its workings. Driftinel brings the information; you bring the understanding of your business.
Select the files and folders you want included. Nothing is watched just because it is on your computer.
Follow an answer or observation back to its sources. See what supports it and what may be missing.
Driftinel gives you something to consider. It does not make consequential decisions for you.
Development status
Driftinel is an independent software project I’m developing. My current focus is business memory, selected-file search, and initial drift detection.
Development is focused on Mac, with Windows planned. It is not yet available to purchase or join through an early-access program.
Frequently asked questions
What Driftinel does, how it treats your information, and what is still in development.
Driftinel is a local-first business memory assistant in development. It helps you remember decisions, find answers across selected information, and notice supported changes—so less of your business has to live in your head.
Capture decisions, commitments, and context, then ask questions across those memories and your selected files. The current app reads text PDFs, Word documents, Markdown, plain text, CSV, and HTML. Scanned-document OCR is not yet available.
The private development app supports explicit memories and corrections, selected-folder indexing, semantic search, cited answers, knowledge review, and initial drift rules. OCR, email and calendar connections, broader drift coverage, and customer-ready installers remain development work.
It removes that source from current search and stops its indexing. Retained history is separate from source selection. Pausing indexing keeps the last known content searchable.
Driftinel combines “drift” and “sentinel.” The name reflects its purpose: a business memory that stays useful when you ask and watches your back in the background. Memory, semantic search, and drift detection are its three first-class features.
Yes. Driftinel is designed to run locally on a computer you control. Development is currently focused on Mac, with Windows support planned. Customer-ready installers are still in development.
No. The current app indexes only the local folders you select. You can deselect sources and manage exclusions. Additional service connections remain future work.
Driftinel keeps selected business information and observations on your own device unless you deliberately choose otherwise.
Driftinel is local-first. Any capability that requires an external service is clearly disclosed and deliberately enabled.
No. Driftinel informs; you review the evidence and decide.
A Detector Pack gives Driftinel a focused way to examine selected information for a particular kind of change, pattern, or open loop.
The thinking behind Driftinel
Developed by James Burchill, Business Systems Architect.
Driftinel is informed by Because Drift Happens™: how businesses, processes, assumptions, and technology move away from their original intent, and how we recognize and respond. The product applies that thinking to the information a business owner chooses to watch.
Explore the broader ideas in The Vault.