Meaning-aware organization on your Mac
Actium can suggest where a file belongs using classic text similarity or embedding-based semantic classification through a local Ollama model.
Mac, iPhone, and iPad
Actium
Own-your-files document management for people who want the power of a searchable knowledge library without handing their files to a closed database or a monolithic workflow.
Actium indexes real folders, writes readable metadata beside your files, and lets you keep choosing the tools that fit each job.
It's not for everybody.
A personal library for people who want files, tools, and AI-mediated file access to stay under their control.
Overview
A searchable personal library that does not ask you to give up your real files.
Point Actium at any folder and it becomes a tracked repository. Files are not imported, copied, or hidden away in a closed store. Actium builds an index around them, adds human-readable sidecar metadata, and gives you structured triage, rich previews, search, durable links, local AI, and catalogue workflows across Mac, iPhone, and iPad.
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I
Repositories, not imports
Register any folder as a repository while the files remain in iCloud Drive, local storage, or wherever you already keep them.
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II
Metadata you can inspect
Custom fields, annotations, IDs, and extracted context are stored as readable files beside the documents they describe.
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III
Discovery without uploading
Use full-text search, related items, semantic classification, concept catalogues, and an optional local MCP server for AI-assisted exploration.
Feature highlights
Built for a personal library that stays portable, searchable, and useful over time.
Reach an offline drive from your phone
Index a drive or archive as a portable `.actiumcatalog`, browse it on any device once it is unplugged, and request a file. A registered Mac copies it back into a synced folder for you.
Ask an AI about your own files
On macOS, Actium can expose a read-only local MCP server so compatible AI clients can search, browse, and read your document library without a cloud upload.
Workflow
From messy folders to a working document system.
Register a repository
Choose a folder. Actium indexes it in place and begins watching for changes on the Mac.
Triage the inbox
Route captured items into projects, research areas, or other inboxes from a dedicated triage flow.
Add meaning
Use custom fields, annotations, tags, previews, and related-item suggestions to build context around the files.
Find and connect
Search, copy durable item links, browse catalogues, verify references, or query the library through a local MCP-aware AI client.
Catalogues
The drive stays home. The index comes with you.
Scan an external disk or a deep archive into a portable `.actiumcatalog` index. Browse every file it holds from your Mac, iPhone, or iPad while the disk sits in a drawer. When you need one of those files, request it: the next time the source Mac is awake it copies the file into a repository, and an iCloud repository carries it back to the device you asked from.
Catalogue on iPhone
Request a file
Arrives via iCloud
Companion app
Fillet is the small companion at the edge of Finder.
Fillet helps macOS pause before opening supported Markdown and JSON files, so Actium can sit beside the other tools you might choose. The details live on the Fillet site.
FAQ
A few important boundaries.
Actium is intentionally personal, local-first, and file-system based. That is the product shape, not a temporary implementation detail.
Does Actium import files into a proprietary database?
No. Registered folders stay where they are. Actium indexes them and writes portable metadata sidecars alongside the files.
What does "It's not for everybody" mean?
It has two edges. Actium is personal in the literal sense: your files, your library, and local MCP file access for your own AI tools. It is also personal in taste: it favors portable files and user-chosen tools over a single all-in-one workspace.
How does sync work?
There is no Actium sync service. If a repository folder is in iCloud Drive, Apple syncs its files and their sidecar metadata across your devices under your own Apple ID, with iCloud's encryption and privacy. Keep a folder on local storage and it stays on one Mac. The sync explainer covers why it is built on iCloud rather than a cloud of Actium's own.
Does the AI run in the cloud?
The AI features described here run against a local Ollama model. Mobile devices can queue requests for a registered Mac to fulfill.
Can I get a file off a drive that is not plugged in?
If you catalogued that drive first, yes. Browse the catalogue from any device, request the file, and the next time the Mac that holds the drive is running it copies the file into a repository. An iCloud Drive repository then syncs it back to the device you asked from.
Coming from DEVONthink?
Actium reads a DEVONthink files-and-folders export and carries across tags, comments, URLs, and custom fields as an on-ramp. It is not a full database migration. The import guide is specific about what does and does not come over.
Is Actium a team collaboration platform?
No. The current positioning is single-user, own-your-files document management, not a multi-user shared workspace.