Sources
The original files you import. They are the evidence Maple reads from.
Maple guide
Sources, Ask Wiki, and Maintain
Maple turns local source material into a local wiki. This guide explains the current app words: AI connection, source preparation, Build wiki, Ask Wiki, Apply to wiki, Maintain, review, and undo.
Workspace
What is a Maple workspace?
A workspace is one local folder for one subject: a course, research topic, project, archive, or skill path. Maple keeps raw material, generated wiki pages, review state, and AI instructions in predictable local files.
Wiki pages
The readable layer Maple drafts: summaries, concepts, guides, links, and assets.
Workspace rules
schema.md and AGENTS.md tell AI how this wiki should be written and maintained.
.aiwiki metadata
Snapshots, reports, chat records, review state, and prepared source artifacts live here.
AI connection
How does Maple use AI?
Maple uses the AI subscription you already have. The app can guide setup for ChatGPT or Claude, check sign-in, and reuse that connection for Build wiki, Ask Wiki, Maintain, and Maple Guide.
No Maple billing
The MVP does not add Maple accounts, API-key billing, AI credits, or sync.
Connection card
If AI is not ready, Maple shows Connect AI, sign-in, install, or recheck actions.
Settings
Use Settings to switch app language, AI account, model, reasoning effort, or reading text size.
Skip for now
You can import and browse files without AI. Build, ask, apply, and maintain need AI later.
Sources
What are sources?
Sources are the original material you want Maple to learn from. They can be PDFs, PowerPoint, Word, Excel, Markdown, text, JSON, JSONL, CSV, TSV, HTML, images, notes, transcripts, papers, or saved web pages.
Sources should stay original
Maple treats source contents as immutable. It may read sources or create prepared artifacts, but it should not rewrite what the source originally said.
Pending source changes
When you add, remove, or replace files under Sources, Maple marks them as pending. Build wiki processes those changes into the wiki.
| Source state | What it means |
|---|---|
| New | A file was added and has not been built into the wiki yet. |
| Modified | A source changed after the last build. Maple treats this carefully because sources are meant to be stable. |
| Removed | A file that existed during the last build is no longer in Sources. |
| Unchanged | The source already matches the last known built state. |
Source preparation
What does source preparation mean?
Maple prepares readable artifacts before AI reads some files. The original source remains unchanged; extracted Markdown, page images, manifests, cache records, and readiness state are stored under .aiwiki.
Readable artifacts
PDFs and DOCX files can be converted to Markdown or page images. Office previews can be rendered through LibreOffice when available.
Build choices
For PDFs, Maple may show a Reading mode: Mostly text, Text with diagrams, or Mostly visual.
| Readiness | What it means |
|---|---|
| Ready | Maple has a readable source or prepared artifact. |
| Preparing | Maple is converting the source before AI can use it. |
| Needs prep | The prepared artifact is missing, stale, or not created yet. |
| Failed | Preparation failed. For Office files, check LibreOffice or the visible row error. |
Build wiki
What does Build wiki do?
Build wiki asks AI to read pending source changes and integrate them into the existing wiki. Maple may prepare sources first, then produces reviewable changes instead of silently treating AI output as final.
Context prompt
Tell Maple what the wiki is for: class, audience, detail level, outputs, and rules.
Source readiness
If sources are still preparing, use Build when ready or build only the ready sources.
Generated pages
AI drafts summaries, concept pages, guides, links, assets, index updates, and log entries.
Layered builds
Start with a small related batch, review the structure, then add more sources.
Existing wiki
If a workspace already has a wiki, Maple can keep it as the baseline instead of rewriting everything.
Operation report
Maple records what ran and shows changed files for review after the build.
Ask Wiki and Apply
Ask Wiki is different from Apply to wiki
Maple separates asking questions from changing the wiki. Ask Wiki is for learning from the current wiki or selected source. Apply to wiki is the deliberate step that turns useful answers into reviewable edits.
| Action | Use it when | What changes |
|---|---|---|
| Ask Wiki | You want to ask about the wiki, a selected source, or the current page. | Nothing by default. It is read-only. |
| Apply to wiki | A completed Ask Wiki answer is worth keeping for later. | Maple drafts reviewable edits to wiki pages, navigation, or logs. |
| Web search | Current or external context is needed and the selected provider supports search. | The answer may cite web-derived claims, but the local workspace remains the main source. |
Maintain
What are the Maintain functions?
Maintain is where you improve an existing workspace after the first build. Use it when the wiki needs cleanup, restructuring, better rules, source organization, or a source-grounded improvement pass.
Wiki healthcheck
A conservative check for broken links, stale index entries, weak pages, missing citations, and similar quality issues.
Use when the wiki feels messy or stale.Improve wiki
A user-directed improvement pass for creating guides, connecting pages, reshaping structure, or improving explanations. It can re-read selected sources when source grounding is on.
Use when you know what quality improvement you want.Organize sources
Moves or renames source files and folders without changing source contents. For example, group slides and transcripts by lecture.
Use when the source tree is hard to navigate.Update rules
Saves durable preferences for future wiki work. This is the app action behind updating the workspace rulebook.
Use when you want Maple to remember a convention.Rules
What are schema.md and AGENTS.md?
schema.md is the local rulebook for a workspace.
AGENTS.md carries workspace instructions for AI agents.
Together they tell AI what page types to use, how to cite sources, how
links should work, and what Maintain should check.
You usually do not need to edit these files directly.
In the app, use Update rules when you want Maple to remember a future preference, such as "make every guide beginner-friendly" or "always include practice questions in study guides."
One-time instruction
"For this build, focus on exam review." Maple uses it for the current operation and does not make it a permanent rule.
Durable rule
"From now on, add source citations to every formula." Maple should save this as a workspace rule for future operations.
Review and undo
How do reviewable changes work?
AI output is treated as a draft. After Build wiki, Apply to wiki, or a Maintain operation, Maple marks generated files so you can inspect what changed before moving on.
-
1
Open changed files
Review the generated summaries, concepts, guides, index updates, or rule changes.
-
2
Finish review
Click Done reviewing when the changed files look useful enough to keep.
-
3
Undo last operation
If the operation went in the wrong direction, restore the previous workspace state.
Maple Guide
What is Maple Guide?
Maple Guide is the lower-left help chat for using the app. It explains buttons, panels, connection setup, review, undo, imports, Build wiki, Ask Wiki, and Maintain. It is different from Ask Wiki.
Maple Guide
Use it for app usage help: what to click, what a status means, or what to do first.
Ask Wiki
Use it for your study content, source files, generated pages, and selected document.
Needs AI
Maple Guide uses the same connected AI account, so it may ask you to connect ChatGPT or Claude first.
Read-only help
Maple Guide cannot directly import files, edit the wiki, run builds, or sign in for you.