ECHO: Philosophy for Durable Personal Archives

Version: 1.0 Status: Specification

What ECHO Is

ECHO is a philosophy for creating durable personal data archives. It is not software, not a format, not a protocol — it's a set of principles that guide how to structure personal data so it survives time.

The name evokes what we're after: your voice, echoing forward through time.

Core Principles

1. Self-Describing

Every data collection must explain itself. A human or LLM finding your data in 50 years, with no context, should be able to understand what they're looking at.

The rule: Include a README.md (or README.txt) at the root of every data collection.

The README should answer: - What is this data? - Who created it? - When was it created/last updated? - What format is the data in? - How can someone explore it without special tools?

2. Durable Formats

Data must be stored in formats that: - Can be read without proprietary software - Have multiple implementations - Are documented (formally or informally) - Have proven longevity

Preferred formats: - Structured data: SQLite, JSON, JSONL - Documents: Markdown, plain text - Archives: ZIP (uncompressed or deflate) - Images: JPEG, PNG, WebP - Last resort: Plain ASCII text

Avoid: - Proprietary formats requiring specific software - Binary formats without documentation - Formats with single implementations - Anything that requires a network to decode

3. Graceful Degradation

An archive should remain useful as technology disappears. Design for the worst case, then add convenience layers.

If you have...	You can still...
Modern LLMs	Have conversations with the archive
Search/databases	Query and analyze structured data
A web browser	Navigate a beautiful website
A file browser	Explore organized directories
A text editor	Read plain text files
Paper and printer	Print and read physical copies
Only fragments	Understand each piece independently

4. Local-First

The archive must work entirely offline. No cloud dependencies, no API calls required to access your own data.

Cloud services can sync, backup, or enhance — but the archive is complete without them.

5. Trust the Future

Don't over-engineer. Future humans will be smarter. Future LLMs will be more capable. Focus on preserving content and context, not building complex infrastructure.

If you have to choose between: - A simple format that future tools can interpret - A complex format that's "more correct"

Choose simple.

ECHO Compliance

A data source is ECHO-compliant if it has:

A README.md or README.txt at the root explaining what the data is
Data stored in durable formats

That's it. No manifest files, no schema specifications, no version numbers, no special conventions.

Optional: Web Presentation

ECHO archives MAY include additional structure to support web-based browsing. This is entirely optional - an archive without these elements is still fully ECHO-compliant.

The site/ Directory

A site/ directory containing index.html provides a static, browsable representation of the data. This can be opened directly in any web browser without a server.

The site/ is a convenience layer - the raw data (SQLite, JSON, markdown) must still exist alongside it. The site/ does not replace the archive; it presents it.

The docs/ Directory

A docs/ directory containing markdown files provides human-readable documentation that tools can render. This is simpler than site/ - no HTML required.

The Manifest

A manifest.json or manifest.yaml at the archive root provides machine-readable metadata. This enables tools to generate unified sites, discover data sources, and present archives intelligently.

Minimal manifest:

{
  "version": "1.0",
  "name": "Conversation Archive",
  "description": "AI conversation history from ChatGPT, Claude, etc."
}

Extended manifest:

{
  "version": "1.0",
  "name": "Conversation Archive",
  "description": "AI conversation history",
  "type": "database",
  "browsable": true,
  "site": "site/",
  "icon": "chat"
}

The manifest is self-describing metadata - it follows the same ECHO philosophy as README.md, but for machines.

Hierarchical Archives

An ECHO archive MAY contain other ECHO archives as subdirectories:

my-archive/
├── README.md                # Top-level description
├── manifest.json            # Lists/configures sub-archives
├── conversations/           # Sub-archive (ECHO-compliant on its own)
│   ├── README.md
│   ├── manifest.json
│   ├── data.db
│   └── site/
├── bookmarks/               # Another sub-archive
│   ├── README.md
│   └── ...
└── site/                    # Unified presentation (optional)
    └── index.html

Each sub-archive is independently ECHO-compliant and can be extracted/copied standalone.

Example: ECHO-Compliant Conversation Archive

conversations/
├── README.md                 # What this is, how to explore it
├── conversations.db          # SQLite database
└── exports/
    ├── by-date/
    │   └── 2024-01/
    │       └── conversation-abc123.md
    └── all.jsonl

README.md contents:

# Conversation Archive

Alex Towell's AI conversation history (ChatGPT, Claude, etc.)
Created: 2023-2024

## Format

SQLite database: conversations.db

Key tables:
- conversations: id, title, created, source
- messages: id, conversation_id, role, content, timestamp

## Exploring

Open with any SQLite browser, or:
  sqlite3 conversations.db "SELECT title FROM conversations LIMIT 10"

Human-readable exports in exports/

Example: ECHO-Compliant Blog

blog/
├── README.md
├── content/
│   ├── posts/
│   │   ├── 2024-01-15-hello-world.md
│   │   └── 2024-02-20-second-post.md
│   └── pages/
│       └── about.md
└── static/
    └── images/

README.md contents:

# Alex's Blog

Personal blog, 2020-present.

## Format

Markdown files with YAML frontmatter.
Directory structure: content/{posts,pages}/

## Frontmatter

Each post has:
- title: Post title
- date: Publication date (YYYY-MM-DD)
- tags: List of tags

## Exploring

Open any .md file in a text editor.

Example: ECHO-Compliant Photo Archive

photos/
├── README.md
├── photos.db                 # SQLite with metadata
├── originals/               # Full-resolution photos
│   └── 2024/
│       └── 01/
│           └── IMG_1234.jpg
└── thumbnails/              # Quick preview
    └── 2024/
        └── 01/
            └── IMG_1234.jpg

What ECHO Is Not

ECHO is not software. There's no echo command, no ECHO library. It's a philosophy that any software can follow.

ECHO is not a schema. There's no required JSON structure, no mandatory fields. The README is the interface.

ECHO is not a sync protocol. It doesn't specify how to merge, replicate, or version data.

ECHO is not a standard body. There's no compliance certification, no governance, no committee.

Why This Matters

Personal data is fragile. Companies shut down. Formats become obsolete. Passwords are forgotten. Hard drives fail.

ECHO is a bet that with enough self-description and simple formats, your data can outlive the tools that created it.

Your photos, your conversations, your writings, your bookmarks — these are the traces of a life. They deserve to last.

LONGECHO.md — ECHO compliance validator
PERSONA-TK.md — Persona synthesis toolkit
STONE-TK.md — Plain text distillation toolkit

"Trust the future."