Build evidence · September 3, 2026
We rebuilt an Obsidian workflow in an empty vault—and tested the privacy boundary.
A folder of Markdown can still carry private notes, deleted history, attachments, workspace state, plugin settings, or credentials. Deletion was not a safe packaging strategy.
The source audit found real packaging failures
- Metadata mixed YAML, Dataview-style fields, and template syntax.
- The daily-note creation path and its navigation links disagreed.
- The procedure template was empty and the project template was missing.
- Installed plugins needed an explicit upgrade-and-test pass.
- Deleting visible notes from the source could still leave private content or Git history.
The working pattern was useful. The source vault itself was not a product, so the sampler was rebuilt in a new empty directory rather than sanitized in place.
The controls failed closed in two mutation tests
- The clean sampler passed its verifier.
- Adding an unexpected
private-note.mdin a temporary copy failed the file check. - Adding a fake credential-shaped value to an allowed file in another temporary copy failed the credential scan.
The mutations were disposable and are not in the release. The tests show that the named controls fire, not that a shell scan replaces human disclosure review.
Use the free sampler first
It contains normalized daily, meeting, person, project, task, and procedure templates; fictional linked examples; scoped agent instructions; migration, privacy, and removal notes; and the verifier.
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