{"slug": "show-hn-domvault-self-hostable-second-brain-with-consent-based-note-sharing", "title": "Show HN: Domvault – self-hostable second brain with consent-based note sharing", "summary": "Developer Dom Sadarangani released Domvault, an open-source, self-hostable second brain tool that integrates with Obsidian and Claude AI to create a self-improving knowledge graph. The tool features a consent-based publishing layer called Constellation that allows users to selectively share notes into a shared, attributed knowledge network. Domvault is licensed under PolyForm Noncommercial 1.0.0, prohibiting commercial use without permission.", "body_md": "A Markdown-native knowledge engine (Obsidian + Claude) with a repeatable ingestion pipeline, a self-synthesis loop that generates new connections while you sleep, and an\n\nopt-inpublishing layer that lets brains share knowledge into a shared galaxy —Constellation.\n\nDomvault is the *engine*, not the *content*. You bring your own notes; the repo ships the structure, the workflows, the scripts, and the agent instructions that make a plain folder of Markdown behave like a living, self-improving graph.\n\nMost \"second brain\" templates are just empty folders. Domvault adds three things on top:\n\n**An agent contract**(`CLAUDE.md`\n\n) — so Claude (Code, web, or Cowork) knows your conventions, origin-tracking scheme, and the exact repeatable workflows for ingesting screenshots, chats, and research.**A self-synthesis loop**— a scheduled job that generates cheap \"sparks\" (half-ideas linking two notes) and promotes the best into full \"neuron\" synthesis notes. Your graph compounds without you touching it.**Constellation (opt-in)**— you explicitly choose which notes/frameworks to publish. Published nodes form a shared,*credited*knowledge graph that others can browse and pull. This is the consensual substrate for a future marketplace — never a backdoor into anyone's private vault.\n\n```\n🌌  Universe        →  the whole Constellation network (all public knowledge)\n ✨  Galaxy          →  a topic cluster or an org (e.g. \"AI Engineering\", \"Acme Inc\")\n   ☀️  Solar system  →  one person's brain (their published nodes only)\n     🪐  Planet       →  a single published note / framework\n       🌙  Moon       →  a version or fork of a note\n```\n\nEverything inside a solar system is **owned and gated by its owner**. A planet only appears in the Universe if its owner published it. Pulling someone's planet into your own brain creates a *linked copy* that keeps attribution back to the origin star. That's the whole trust model: nothing moves without consent, and credit travels with the node.\n\n| Path | What it is |\n|---|---|\n`template/` |\n\n`plugin/`\n\n`registry/`\n\n**spec**+ manifest schema for Constellation.`constellation/`\n\n`frameworks/`\n\n**Publish Rubric**— example shareable content.`docs/`\n\n`scripts/`\n\n```\n# 1. clone\ngit clone https://github.com/<you>/domvault.git && cd domvault\n\n# 2. scaffold a brand-new brain wherever you want it\n./plugin/install.sh ~/my-brain\n\n# 3. open ~/my-brain in Obsidian, point Claude at it, start capturing\n```\n\nFull walkthrough: [ docs/03-getting-started.md](/dys5315/domvault/blob/main/docs/03-getting-started.md).\n\nDomvault **never** phones home. The base engine has no network calls. Constellation publishing is:\n\n**Opt-in per note**— nothing is shared unless you run`publish`\n\non it.**Explicit**— you see a diff of exactly what leaves your machine.** Attributed**— your name/handle travels with every published node.** Revocable**— unpublishing removes the planet from the Universe.\n\nThere is no telemetry, no silent sync, no analytics on your private notes. If you ever find code that violates this, it's a bug — open an issue.\n\nSource-available under ** PolyForm Noncommercial 1.0.0**: use it, study it, modify it, share it freely for any non-commercial purpose — but you may\n\n**not** sell it or build a commercial product on it without permission, and you must keep the attribution. The author retains all commercial rights. See\n\n[for plain-English details.](/dys5315/domvault/blob/main/docs/06-ip-and-licensing.md)\n\n`docs/06-ip-and-licensing.md`\n\nRequired Notice: Copyright (c) 2026 Dom Sadarangani (Domvault / Constellation)", "url": "https://wpnews.pro/news/show-hn-domvault-self-hostable-second-brain-with-consent-based-note-sharing", "canonical_source": "https://github.com/dys5315/domvault", "published_at": "2026-06-20 22:50:24+00:00", "updated_at": "2026-06-20 23:09:34.665036+00:00", "lang": "en", "topics": ["artificial-intelligence", "ai-tools", "developer-tools", "large-language-models", "ai-agents"], "entities": ["Domvault", "Obsidian", "Claude", "Constellation", "Dom Sadarangani", "PolyForm Noncommercial 1.0.0"], "alternates": {"html": "https://wpnews.pro/news/show-hn-domvault-self-hostable-second-brain-with-consent-based-note-sharing", "markdown": "https://wpnews.pro/news/show-hn-domvault-self-hostable-second-brain-with-consent-based-note-sharing.md", "text": "https://wpnews.pro/news/show-hn-domvault-self-hostable-second-brain-with-consent-based-note-sharing.txt", "jsonld": "https://wpnews.pro/news/show-hn-domvault-self-hostable-second-brain-with-consent-based-note-sharing.jsonld"}}