Questions & Answers

MyCapsul is a personal life dashboard that your AI maintains through conversation. You talk about your life — schedule, money, health, projects — and the dashboard stays current. It's a single HTML file that runs in your browser, powered by a knowledge system of local files that your AI reads and writes.

Not in the traditional sense. MyCapsul is a Cowork plugin — it installs into Claude Desktop and teaches Claude how to manage your dashboard. The dashboard itself is just an HTML file you open in your browser. No app store, no installer, no account creation.

No. MyCapsul is designed for people who don't code. You interact with your agent in plain language — "add a bill for $85 on the 15th" — and your agent handles the technical side. If you want to get deeper into customization, your agent can build custom features for you just by describing what you want.

MyCapsul currently runs on Claude (by Anthropic) through Cowork (Anthropic's desktop environment). MyCapsul works with both the current Sonnet and Opus models. MyCapsul doesn't build its own AI — it gives Claude a framework and knowledge system so it can act as your personal life assistant.

MyCapsul is available at mycapsul.com. You'll also need a Claude Desktop subscription from Anthropic, which is what powers the AI. MyCapsul has no recurring fees or subscriptions of its own.

Your agent uses a seed module system — a set of plain-text files in your folder that contain everything about your life (schedule, finances, health, etc.). When a new session starts, your agent reads these files and picks up where it left off. A session handoff file provides a quick briefing on what happened last time.

Yes — each Cowork session is a new conversation. But your agent reads the handoff file and seed modules to restore context, so it feels continuous. Think of it like shift changes: each shift starts with a briefing from the last one.

Just mention it in your next session. Say "I forgot to tell you — I paid the electric bill last Tuesday" and your agent will update the records retroactively. There's no penalty for delayed information.

Absolutely. Your agent detects how long it's been since the last session and adjusts its boot process. Same-day sessions do a Quick Resume (fast, minimal review). Sessions after a gap do a Full Boot (comprehensive review of all modules and data).

Your agent runs an end-of-session protocol: updates all seed modules with anything new learned during the conversation, syncs changes to the dashboard, and writes a handoff file for the next session. This is automatic — you don't need to ask for it.

Your agent writes changes to a push file (capsul-agent-push.json). When you open or refresh your dashboard, it reads this file and applies the updates. If changes aren't showing up, try refreshing the page.

Yes. Many tiles have interactive elements — you can check off Focus 3 items, mark bills as paid, toggle hobbies, edit journal entries, and more. Changes you make in the dashboard are saved to localStorage. Click the Sync button to export your dashboard state so your agent can pick up those changes next session.

MyCapsul ships with seven color palettes: MyCapsul (brand blue, default), Ocean (teal), Sunset (warm orange), Forest (green), Lavender (purple), Amber (gold), and Slate (blue-gray). The MyCapsul brand palette is the default — it uses the Clear Sky color foundation. Tell your agent "switch to sunset" to change palettes. You can also change palettes from the dashboard settings.

Yes. Tell your agent "hide the news tile" or "move budget to the top." Your agent adjusts the tile layout and sizing. You can also toggle visibility from the dashboard's tile manager. There are 17 built-in tiles, and you can add custom widgets on top of those.

The Ring is a 24-hour circular schedule planner. It shows your day as colored arcs — work blocks, personal time, appointments, sleep. Your agent generates it each session based on your schedule module. Click the Ring to edit blocks for any day. Each block has a category (work, build, family, admin, personal, break) that determines its color.

TimeCapsul is a year-in-review feature. Access it from the "View TimeCapsul" button on the Timeline tile. It generates a visual summary of your year — monthly highlights, goal progress, journal excerpts, and project completions. Your agent contributes milestone data throughout the year, so the more you use MyCapsul, the richer your TimeCapsul becomes.

Two JSON files handle communication between your dashboard and your agent. capsul-sync.json (dashboard → agent) exports all your dashboard data so your agent can read it. capsul-agent-push.json (agent → dashboard) carries commands from your agent — new messages, schedule updates, data changes. Both live in the _inbox/ folder. The sync flow: you click "Sync to Agent" in Settings to export, and your agent writes push commands that the dashboard loads on refresh.

Each tile has an info button that opens a quick overview — what the tile does, how to use it, and suggestions for things to tell your agent. It's a built-in mini-guide for every feature.

Everything stays on your computer. During setup, you select a folder in Cowork — MyCapsul creates a MyCapsul/ directory inside it. That's home base. Your seed modules are plain-text Markdown files in MyCapsul/seed/. There's a MyCapsul/_inbox/ folder where you can drop files for your agent to process. Your dashboard stores tile data in your browser's localStorage. Sync files are JSON files in the inbox folder. Nothing is uploaded to any server. There's no cloud, no account, no database.

Not by itself. Plain-text local files are the standard for local-first tools like Obsidian, Logseq, and even password managers (which store encrypted vault files locally). If someone has access to your files, they already have access to your browser passwords, email, photos, and everything else on your machine. The real protection layer is your operating system — your computer's login password and disk encryption (FileVault on Mac, BitLocker on Windows) are what keep your files safe from unauthorized access. MyCapsul doesn't add a second lock because it would add complexity without meaningful security gain — and it would break the ability for you and your agent to read and edit your own files freely.

Only if they have access to your computer and your MyCapsul folder. There's no sharing feature, no cloud sync, no remote access. Your data is as private as any other file on your machine. If you share your computer with others, make sure your user account is password-protected.

Be careful with this. If your MyCapsul folder lives inside a cloud-synced directory, your seed modules (which may contain financial info, health data, schedule details) are being uploaded to that provider's servers. This is the most common way local data accidentally becomes cloud data.

If privacy is a priority, keep your MyCapsul folder in a non-synced location on your machine — like your home directory or a dedicated local folder outside your cloud-synced areas. If you do use cloud sync for backup, make sure you trust the provider and understand their privacy terms.

Your conversations with Claude go through Anthropic's servers — that's how the AI works. During a session, your agent reads files from your folder to understand your context. The file contents that get read become part of the conversation. However, your local files themselves are not uploaded outside of what's read during a session. When the session ends, the conversation data is handled per Anthropic's privacy policy. Review Anthropic's privacy policy for details on retention and handling.

The dashboard stores tile data in your browser's localStorage, which is tied to the file path of the HTML file. Anyone who opens that same file in the same browser profile on your computer can see the dashboard data. This is standard browser behavior — not unique to MyCapsul. If you share your browser profile, be aware of this. Clearing browser data will erase dashboard state, but your seed modules are unaffected — your agent can repopulate the dashboard from them.

Copy your entire MyCapsul folder. That's it. Everything is files. Back up to a USB drive, an encrypted external disk, or wherever you keep important files. The dashboard, seed modules, widgets, and agent configs are all portable. For extra safety, export a sync before major changes.

The easiest way? Send them to mycapsul.com to download the most recent release. That way they get a clean, up-to-date version with no risk of your personal data tagging along.

If you want to share your specific setup, share the structure, not the content. The files safe to share: mycapsul.html (the dashboard), SKILL.md (the agent manual), and any custom widget files. The files you should not share: anything in the seed/ folder (your personal knowledge base), capsul-sync.json or capsul-agent-push.json (dashboard state snapshots), CLAUDE.md (may contain personal preferences and protocols), and session-handoff.md (session context). Think of it like sharing a blank journal vs. a filled-in one.

Three things that matter most: (1) Use a strong login password on your computer account. (2) Enable disk encryption — FileVault on Mac (System Settings → Privacy & Security → FileVault), BitLocker on Windows (Settings → Privacy & Security → Device encryption). This encrypts your entire drive so data can't be read even if the physical disk is removed. (3) Lock your screen when you walk away. These protections cover all your files, not just MyCapsul.

Check that the session-handoff.md file exists in your folder and has recent content. This is what your agent reads for context. If it's missing or empty, your agent is starting from scratch. You can tell your agent "read my seed modules and get caught up" to restore context from the knowledge base.

Three things to check: (1) Refresh the dashboard page — it reads the push file on load. (2) Check that capsul-agent-push.json exists in your _inbox/ folder — this is how the agent sends data to the dashboard. (3) Open browser dev tools (F12) and check the console for errors.

Dashboard UI data lives in localStorage, which is browser-specific. If you open the file in a different browser (or after clearing data), the tiles will be empty. To fix this: open a Cowork session, tell your agent to "sync from the dashboard" (if you have a recent capsul-sync.json), or ask your agent to repopulate from seed modules.

Ask your agent. If the change was made via an agent push, your agent can write a new push to revert it. If you edited something in the UI, you may need to manually fix it or ask your agent to reset that tile's data. For big changes, your agent should be making backup copies before editing — check for a mycapsul-template-backup-*.html file.

The Sync button exports your dashboard's localStorage to capsul-sync.json in your _inbox/ folder. If it's not working: (1) Make sure you opened the HTML file from your MyCapsul folder (not a copy elsewhere). (2) Some browsers restrict file system access from local HTML files — try Chrome, which is most permissive. (3) Check that the _inbox/ folder exists.

The architecture is AI-agnostic by design. Everything is local files — plain markdown and JSON. Any AI that can read and write local files could theoretically run MyCapsul. The SKILL.md and CLAUDE.md files would need to be adapted for the target AI's conventions, but the knowledge system and dashboard work the same regardless. Today, MyCapsul is optimized for Claude via Cowork.

Widgets are custom tiles that extend your dashboard. They're saved as .capsul-widget files and can be installed by dropping them in the widgets/ folder and telling your agent to install them. You can also ask your agent to build completely new widgets from scratch — just describe what you want.

If your Cowork session has connectors enabled (Gmail, Google Calendar, Google Drive, Slack, etc.), your agent can read from those services and route information into your seed modules. This is optional — MyCapsul works without any external connections. The connectors just add more awareness.

Yes. Seed files are plain markdown — open them in any text editor. If you make changes, your agent will see them on the next session. Just keep the structure intact (headings, formatting) so your agent can parse them correctly.

Edit your CLAUDE.md file, or tell your agent directly: "Be more casual," "Don't ask me so many questions," or "Change your name to Jarvis." Your agent writes these preferences to CLAUDE.md, which it reads at the start of every session. CLAUDE.md is your agent's operating manual — it defines personality, tone, protocols, and standing orders.

mycapsul-demo.html is a pre-populated version of the dashboard loaded with sample data from a fictional user named "Brodie." It shows you what a fully set up Capsul looks like — complete with budget, schedule, projects, goals, and journal entries. Great for exploring features before committing to setup. Just open mycapsul-demo.html directly — it's a separate file included alongside your main mycapsul.html dashboard.