Your Archive on Disk

Most apps keep your data hostage in a database. Ewig’s canonical store is a folder of files you can read, back up, sync, script, and keep after the app is gone.

The files-first model

The archive folder is the source of truth. The app keeps a search index on top, but that’s just a cache: delete it and Ewig rebuilds it from the files. Nothing about your data lives only inside the app.

This buys you three guarantees:

Longevity: HTML, Markdown and images will outlive any app, Ewig included.
Transparency: open the folder in Finder and see exactly what you have.
Interoperability: snapshots open in any browser; metadata is plain text that tools like Obsidian read happily.

Folder structure

The hierarchy mirrors your collections. Reveal any bookmark with Show in Finder (⌘⇧R).

Ewig Archive/
├── Tech/
│   └── Swift Concurrency Guide/
│       ├── bookmark.md        ← metadata (plain text)
│       ├── page.html          ← self-contained snapshot
│       ├── screenshot.heic    ← full-page screenshot
│       └── versions/          ← dated "Back Up Now" copies
├── Read/
└── Unsorted/

The metadata format

Each bookmark’s metadata is a Markdown file with a small frontmatter block: URL, title, dates, status, note. New app versions only ever add keys, so older builds (and third-party tools) keep working with newer archives. No forced migrations, ever.

iCloud vs local

Mode	Where files live	Sync
iCloud Drive	Your iCloud Drive, visible in Files & Finder	All devices, via your Apple account, never a third-party server
Local folder	A folder on your Mac	None; nothing leaves the machine

Both modes run the same code; the only difference is the folder Ewig points at.

Backing up

The archive is plain files, so any backup tool works: Time Machine, rsync, a cloud backup, or a drag to an external drive. Copy the folder and you’ve copied everything.