Docs / Getting started
What FrameBuff is
FrameBuff is your own private cloud. It runs on the machines you already own, joins them into one fleet and gives them one encrypted drive.
One program, three ways in
FrameBuff is one program. Each of your machines runs its own copy, called the core. You can reach a core in three ways, and all three use the same list of tools:
- The web page in your browser.
- The command line:
framebufffollowed by a command, such asframebuff status. - The MCP server, for AI clients you already use. See The MCP server.
The pieces
- Machines
- Each computer runs its own core. When you pair two of them, they join one fleet. See Pairing machines.
- The drive
- The FrameBuff drive is one encrypted drive that every paired machine shares. Each machine also has a personal folder that stays on that machine. See The encrypted drive.
- Modules
- The core itself handles storage, settings, logs and jobs. Everything else arrives as a module: files, sync, backup, family, models and more. You turn modules on and off on the Modules page. Turning one off removes its tools and pages and leaves your files on disk. You can also add modules other people wrote. See Writing a module.
- Tools
- Every action FrameBuff can take is a tool with a short dotted name, such as
fs.listorcrypt.unlock. The Registry page lists every tool and which module owns it. - Pipelines and jobs
- A pipeline is a list of steps, and each step calls one tool. Each run of a pipeline is a job, and the Jobs page shows its steps, its log and how it ended. See Pipelines, jobs and the command chat.
- The command chat
- A box in the right bar where you type a command such as
statusorrun Nightly backup. It follows fixed rules and uses no AI model. - People
- Family, friends and the people you work with. A person is not a machine in your fleet. Adding someone gives them the permissions you choose. It never gives them your drive keys.
- Rules
- One page lists every rule on the machine: what it does, where it came from, its current value and whether you can change it.
Who can reach a core
A new core listens only to its own machine. Nothing else on your network can reach it, so there are no accounts: the person at the keyboard already owns the machine, its files and its keys.
If you open a core to your network in Settings → Listen on, every request from another device has to show the machine's access token. A browser gets a sign-in page. The token is shown in full only on the machine itself. Rotating it signs out every device that held the old one, and you can only rotate it at the machine.
Everything in one folder
A core keeps everything it changes in one data folder: settings, its database, wrapped keys, the encrypted drive and its logs. To move a core to new hardware, stop it, copy that folder and start it on the new machine.
The copy carries the machine's identity, so treat it as a move. To add a second machine, set it up fresh and pair the two. Pairing is what hands over the drive keys.
Status
FrameBuff is in beta. It runs every day on its maker's machines, and there is no download yet. Join the waitlist to hear when the beta opens.