Knowledge Engine
Search across locally stored references, documents, manuals and curated information without depending on the cloud.
EARLY PROJECT · ARCHITECTURE IN DEVELOPMENT
PROJECT KELLAN
Your information should still be there when the Internet is not.
KELLAN is an offline-first local information system designed for households first and extendable to communities — keeping knowledge, files, media, maps, communications and long-term archives available locally while bringing proven tools together behind one coherent experience.
Designed for ordinary life first — and for outages, poor connectivity, infrastructure failures and long-duration disruptions when outside services may not be available.
LOCAL SYSTEM MODELMODULAR · REPLACEABLE · OFFLINE-FIRST
KKELLANLOCAL PLATFORM
KNOWLEDGEMEDIASEAMUSARCHIVETORCMAPPING / GISWHAT KELLAN IS
A household information system that belongs to the household.
KELLAN brings local knowledge, family services, archives, communications resources and replaceable open tools together into a system that remains useful even when outside infrastructure is unreliable or unavailable.
Family Server
Private household storage, media and services with real users, roles, permissions and protected areas.
Long-Term Archive
Preserve originals, normalized copies, checksums, installers, documentation, codecs, drivers and legacy environments.
Local Messaging
Chat, group spaces, announcements, requests and a unified community message board that can continue working locally when the public Internet is unavailable.
THE NAME
K · E · L · L · A · N
- K
- Knowledge
- E
- Engine
- L
- Local
- L
- Library
- A
- Archive
- N
- Network
HOW KELLAN FITS TOGETHER
One system.
Different deployment patterns.
KELLAN can stand alone in one household. TORC protects the system wherever trust or permissions matter. SEAMUS and IAN become important when separate systems, distant sites, mesh/radio paths or deployable communications are needed.
CROSS-CUTTING TRUST + SECURITY FRAMEWORK
TORC
Protects every deployment.
TORC handles identity, trusted users and devices, node authenticity, ownership, roles, permissions, credentials and sharing decisions wherever those checks are needed. Encryption can be one tool within TORC, but TORC is the broader trust and security framework.
USER IDENTITYDEVICE TRUSTNODE AUTHENTICITYOWNERSHIPROLES + PERMISSIONSSHARING RULES
01
THE FOUNDATION
Standalone Household KELLAN
The basic KELLAN deployment is one household using its own local server and services. Most ordinary use never needs IAN or a remote SEAMUS path.
PHONE / PC / TV
→
HOME LAN
→
KELLANKnowledge · Files · Media · Services
Typical use: family storage, Project NOMAD, media, local search, archives, maps, software, backups and other household services.
02
WHEN SEPARATE KELLAN SYSTEMS WORK TOGETHER
Connected KELLAN Systems + IAN
Two or more KELLAN installations can deliberately interconnect and form an IAN — Independent Area Network. SEAMUS — Self-contained Emergency Area Mesh Utility System provides the communications utility that carries traffic over whatever supported path is available.
HOUSE A
KELLAN A
SEAMUScommunications transport
IANIndependent Area Network
SEAMUScommunications transport
HOUSE B
KELLAN B
IAN
The independent network environment connecting sites without requiring the public WAN.
SEAMUS
The communications utility carrying traffic over Ethernet, Wi-Fi, mesh, radio data, Reticulum or other supported paths.
Typical use: neighbors, extended family, farms, churches, preparedness groups, radio organizations or community sites selectively sharing maps, libraries, bulletins, software, messaging or other designated resources.
03
COMMUNITY / FIELD COMMUNICATIONS
A deployable SEAMUS node extends the system.
A smaller field appliance does not need a separate architectural layer. A deployable SEAMUS node can provide temporary communications transport or local access while remaining part of the same KELLAN architecture.
PHONESTABLETSLAPTOPSRADIOS
→
SEAMUSDeployable communications node
→
KELLAN
IAN
LOCAL SERVICES
Typical use: church shelters, neighborhood hubs, CERT operations, temporary medical sites, community information points or other locations needing resilient local communications and access.
THE NAMES, PLAINLY
Each name describes a job — not a required step.
The local platform that holds information, presents services and coordinates the user experience.
Moves traffic over the supported wired, wireless, mesh, radio and resilient data paths that are available.
The independently operable local network environment connecting KELLAN systems and communications infrastructure.
The identity, trust, authorization, ownership, roles, permissions and credentials layer that applies across the system.
THE ARCHITECTURE PRINCIPLE
KELLAN should provide one coherent experience without turning every useful capability into one monolithic program. Proven tools remain modular, replaceable and independently maintainable underneath it.
SUPPORTING LAYERS UNDER DISCUSSION
Some specialized jobs may still deserve their own modules.
These concepts are retained as proposals rather than treated as required parts of the active core architecture.
FRIAR
Federated Replication, Integrity & Archive Reconciliation
Would handle synchronization, replication, integrity checking and reconciliation between KELLAN systems after they have been disconnected and reconnect.
SCRIBE
Storage, Checksums, Recovery, Integrity, Backup & Emulation
Would handle long-term preservation mechanics: storage, backups, checksums, recovery, original files and preserved legacy software environments.
THE ARCHITECTURE
KELLAN is the platform.
Built to bring proven tools together.
KELLAN is meant to provide a coherent local interface and orchestration layer while relying on strong existing projects wherever practical. The underlying services should remain modular enough to be upgraded, replaced or removed without rebuilding the entire system.
PLATFORMKELLANLocal interface · orchestration · discovery · service integration · recovery experience
PLANNED CORE SUBSYSTEM
Project NOMAD
A planned major component for offline knowledge, education, maps and local AI. KELLAN is designed to integrate with Project NOMAD rather than recreate its strengths.
Visit Project NOMAD ↗MAPPING + GIS
Offline Mapping
Local maps, GIS data, area-study tools, navigation layers and situational-awareness software can complement KELLAN without requiring any single mapping platform.
FAMILY SERVICES
Family + Media
Private files, photos, documents, movies, music and household resources, with planned support for local media serving and over-the-air television/DVR using compatible tuners.
MESSAGING + COMMUNICATIONS
Local Messaging + SEAMUS
KELLAN provides the local messaging experience — chat, group spaces, announcements, requests and message-board functions. SEAMUS carries that traffic across available wired, wireless, mesh, radio and resilient data paths, while TORC governs access and permissions.
DIGITAL PRESERVATION
Legacy + Recovery
Virtual machines, old operating environments, installers, drivers, documentation, checksums, recovery media and direct ingest from CDs, DVDs and Blu-ray discs.
LOCAL AI + INTERFACE
Replaceable Front Ends
Local AI, RAG and interfaces such as Open WebUI may provide an early implementation. They are tools KELLAN can use — not permanent definitions of KELLAN itself.
KELLAN is an independent project. Third-party projects and trademarks remain the property of their respective owners. Inclusion here describes planned interoperability, evaluation or recommendation — not ownership or endorsement.
WHY BUILD IT?
The cloud is useful.
It should not be your only copy.
Families increasingly depend on services they do not own: cloud storage, streaming catalogs, app stores, authentication servers, subscription software and vendor-controlled formats.
KELLAN is based on a simple idea: the things your family considers worth preserving should remain usable even if a company disappears, a service changes, an account is lost, the internet is unavailable, or the hardware around those files becomes obsolete.
OUTSIDE DEPENDENCIES
- Internet connection
- Cloud accounts
- Vendor authentication
- Streaming catalogs
- Remote licensing servers
- App-store availability
KELLAN PRIORITY
- Local ownership
- Offline access
- Open + recoverable formats
- Redundant copies
- Preserved software environments
- Documented recovery paths
RESOURCES
Use what already works.
KELLAN should point people toward proven projects, software, documentation and hardware instead of pretending every useful capability needs to be invented in-house.
PLANNED CORE RESOURCE
Project NOMAD
Offline knowledge, education, maps and local AI capabilities that fit naturally inside the broader KELLAN ecosystem.
projectnomad.us ↗COMMUNICATIONS
Mesh + Radio
Meshtastic, MeshCore, Reticulum, NomadNet, amateur-radio data tools, GMRS resources, JS8Call, Rattlegram and related systems.
Directory plannedMAPPING + GIS
Offline Mapping
Local maps, GIS datasets, area-study tools, route planning and situational-awareness resources.
Curating nowOFFLINE DOCUMENTATION
KELLAN Library
Installation notes, diagrams, recovery guides and downloadable copies of project documentation.
PlannedTHE HARDWARE LAB
Hardware selected for real-world use.
KELLAN will document practical build tiers, power needs, storage options and hardware evaluated for reliability, serviceability, value and backward compatibility. Standard, long-lived interfaces such as PCIe, SATA, USB and Ethernet are preferred so older peripherals, storage devices, optical drives, radios and adapters remain useful wherever practical.
Affiliate policy: recommendations come first. Any future affiliate relationships should be clearly disclosed and should not determine what gets recommended.
LEVEL 1BestHigh capability · high resilience
LEVEL 2CapablePrice-conscious · balanced
LEVEL 3Cheapskate ReliableUsed hardware · maximum practical value
COMMUNITY + COMMUNICATIONS
Household-first.
Community-deployable.
A KELLAN system should be independently useful in one home. The same architecture can also support a church, CERT team, neighborhood hub, radio group, shelter or other local organization — with private data staying private and selected resources shared deliberately.
CONCEPTUAL DEPLOYMENTLOCAL RESILIENCE NETWORK
HOUSEHOLDKELLAN APrivate family system
HOUSEHOLDKELLAN BPrivate family system
COMMUNITY HUBKELLANSelected shared resources
FIELD / RADIOSEAMUS NODEResilient communications transport
IANIANSEAMUSConcept only. Specific transports, routing, synchronization and trust policies depend on the deployment and technologies being used.
Selective Sharing
Public or community-designated material can be shared without exposing private family files, administrative controls or sensitive archives.
Transport Agnostic
SEAMUS can use conventional networking, mesh systems, Reticulum, radio data and other supported paths rather than assuming one transport.
Local Information Hub
A community deployment can host maps, reference libraries, local plans, software, forms, communications resources and other locally useful information.
Independent by Design
Interconnection adds capability, but an individual KELLAN installation should not become dependent on another node simply to remain useful.
POTENTIAL COMMUNICATIONS ECOSYSTEM
EthernetWi-FiMeshtasticMeshCoreReticulumNomadNetAmateur RadioGMRS ResourcesJS8CallRattlegramATAK-type toolsLocal Messaging
Inclusion reflects technologies KELLAN may support, document, bridge to or integrate with over time. It does not imply affiliation with or ownership of third-party projects.
BUILD IN PUBLIC
Where KELLAN is headed.
KELLAN is being developed in stages. The roadmap should document what is working, what changed, what failed, what is being tested and which ideas are still only ideas.
NOW · ARCHITECTURE
Define the modular system
Document KELLAN, TORC, SEAMUS and IAN; clarify module boundaries; keep proposed supporting functions separate from the active core.
NEXT
Reference hardware
Develop practical, expandable hardware configurations for different budgets, storage needs, power constraints and resilience goals — with strong backward compatibility and replaceable components.
THEN
Core services
Integrate knowledge, local AI, family storage, media, optical-media ingest, local messaging, permissions, backups, mapping and the first SEAMUS communications services.
LATER
IAN deployments
Test selective sharing, multi-node deployments, local messaging and resilient communications while keeping each KELLAN installation independently useful.
COLLABORATE
KELLAN will be better if more good nerds help build it.
This project needs people who understand pieces of the problem better than one person ever could. If you work in one of these areas, there may be a place to contribute — even if the contribution is simply telling us where the architecture is wrong.
LinuxSelf-hostingNetworkingCybersecurityDigital preservationLocal AIRadioMesh networkingReticulumOffline mappingPower systemsUX / UIDocumentationEmergency preparednessTesting
THE OPERATING PRINCIPLE
Preserve what matters locally so it remains yours, usable and recoverable regardless of what happens outside your home.
KELLAN should be useful on an ordinary Tuesday — and still useful when the internet is not, whether serving one household or a local resilience hub.