These are the stable rules used to evaluate product and technical decisions.
- Agent-native — StashBase exists to make local files stable context that agents can read, search, and reuse.
- File-first — Local files are the source of truth. Previews, extracted text, indexes, and app state are derived from them.
- Local-first — The core path runs on the user's computer. Optional cloud capabilities must not be required to browse, prepare, or retrieve local context.
- Bring your own agent — StashBase is context infrastructure, not a closed agent product. The same library should work with multiple MCP-capable clients.
- User-controlled access — Agents only receive the file access the user has explicitly authorized. Context tools are not a general host-filesystem escape hatch.
- Derived data stays invisible — Generated text and indexes can support reading and search, but users continue to see, manage, and open their source files.
- Useful before perfect — Browsing, editing, and keyword retrieval should remain useful while preparation is incomplete or semantic indexing is unavailable.
- Small, understandable surface — New features must earn their place by strengthening the local-file-to-agent-context loop.