BrainDrive Development Progress Updates

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Hi All,

Please find the recording of today’s Weekly Development Call Livestream followed by an AI powered summary below.

We’re really starting to pick up steam so some great demos in the video this week.

Questions, comments, ideas, concerns etc welcome a always. Just hit the reply button to join the discussion.

Thanks
Dave W.

Recording:

AI Powered Summary:

Roadmap Overview

  • Phase 0: MIT license (maximally permissive; “your AI, your rules”).
  • Phase 1: Foundations for ownership/control across interface, intelligence, memory, hosting (local). Finalizing one-click installers (Linux/Windows/Mac).
  • Phase 2 (Owner): Easy first local chat (“turn off internet, tell me a joke” works).
  • Phase 3 (Builder): Modular system; empower building on top of BrainDrive.
  • Phase 4 (Entrepreneur): Ecosystem & incentives for sustainable, competitive alternative; community acceleration.
  • Docs: docs.brainedrive.ai; aligned GitHub project page available.

Installer & Updater Progress (Windows focus)

  • Windows installer working ~99%; one edge case left (template var not replaced with localhost). Adding a safety catch.
  • Install time: ~5m30s on Windows 11 under heavy load (under 10-minute goal).
  • Update flow (beta): rebases/catches up code; only available when BrainDrive isn’t running.
  • Plan: spin up new repo for installer; separate mechanism to auto-update the installer itself when the manager launches.
  • Repo naming/structure improvements (with “Jimmy” AI assistant) to reduce user confusion.
  • Priority this week: ship Mac & Windows one-click installers; Ubuntu as a bonus (power users can terminal-install anyway).

Installer Settings & Advanced Options

  • Choose install directories (e.g., store DB on encrypted SSD while keeping code elsewhere).
  • Network/ports configurable (useful for builders/devs running multiple services).
  • Advanced tab seeds future debugging and BrainDrive configuration via .env/args.
  • All changes are local and require BrainDrive restart; “Privacy-Focused Pat” can accept defaults and skip settings.

Plugin System Demo — “BrainDrive Craft” (Infinite Craft-style game)

  • Built a working AI game plugin (“BrainDrive Craft”) on Llama-3-8B.
  • Auto-provisions:
    • Page on install (no manual setup).
    • Persona for the system prompt; editable by user (tweak output format/behavior without code).
    • Lifecycle: uninstall removes both page and persona (clean cleanup).
  • Gameplay: combine elements → new discoveries; includes “How to Play” and new-game flow; behaves like the original Infinite Craft concept.

Lifecycle Manager Refactor & Dev Ergonomics

  • Split Lifecycle Manager:
    • Keep only ~300 lines developers must touch in lifecycleManager.
    • Move ~900 lines of boilerplate to a helper (community.lifecycleManager).
  • Result: easier, less intimidating plugin authoring; examples included for page/persona creation and cleanups.

Build/Install Automation Scripts (for fast iteration)

  • Scripts created and used:
    • devInstall: installs plugin via same code paths as the UI.
    • devDelete: uninstalls plugin.
    • buildArchive: archives a build by plugin name & version.
  • Agentic loop with Codex:
    • Ran install/delete/fix iteratively until clean.
    • 62 cycles in <1 hour, replacing ~2 days of manual iteration.

Recommended Dev Workflow (Hello World → Ship)

  1. One-click install plugin template to BrainDrive to see how it wires in.
  2. Clone repos into a shared IDE workspace (VS Code): BrainDrive core + your plugin (e.g., plugin-build/your-plugin).
  3. Webpack/Build path tweak: point plugin’s dist output to the installed plugin’s backend path so npm run build hot-drops files without reinstalling.
  4. Hard refresh BrainDrive UI (DevTools open, disable cache; Ctrl/Cmd+Shift+R) to see changes.
  5. Version & release: create GitHub repo, initial commit/push; use buildArchive to package; provide GitHub URL for one-click installs.

Rules & Gotchas for Plugin Authors

  • Use class-based components (not React hooks from core):
    • Decouples plugin from core React version & prevents breaking changes.
    • Treat plugin as a self-contained micro-app (no cross-import of core hooks).
  • Unique names: plugin name ≠ module name (must differ).
  • AI prompting: provide rules upfront (class-based, naming, output formats) to keep the AI from going down the “99% React hooks” path.

“Code Concierge” / Codespaces Idea

  • Provide a pre-wired dev environment (BrainDrive core + plugin template + helper scripts).
  • Include a context/system prompt capturing rules and workflow so AI can reliably scaffold and iterate plugins.
  • Goal: non-developers can ship plugins by conversing with the AI.

Marketing & Growth Work

  • Persona: “Privacy-Focused Pat” (tech-forward, not necessarily a dev) now has tailored messaging—ownership, local AI, self-hosting, freedom.
  • Lead magnet: “How to Run AI on Your Computer” PDF (intro to local AI + step-by-step install).
  • Landing & capture: ConvertBox (one-time license) for opt-in; exit-intent on site; Brevo for free tier email automations.
  • Community integration: Working to fire exit-intent only for logged-out forum visitors; wiring forum signups to Brevo with a clean welcome sequence.
  • Docs: AI-assisted plugin concept doc to centralize technicals; plan to auto-generate/update READMEs across plugins.

Product/Content Updates in Flight

  • Model Match (choose best open-source model for a use-case):
    • 20-min high-level video done; “run it yourself” tutorial coming; all MIT and on GitHub.
  • Chat with Documents: working locally; ironing out issues on another machine.
  • Developer materials: short videos planned for unique BrainDrive tools and AI-assisted workflows.

Known Issues / Improvements List

  • Plugin state sync: browser storage not pushing to DB; fix to enable cross-device continuity.
  • Installer UI: move to a tabbed, single-view experience; reduce vertical scrolling.
  • Menu refresh: left menu should auto-update after plugin install (no manual refresh).
  • Update badge bleed-through: showing “update available” for plugins not installed on current user; needs scoping fix.
  • Caching/auto-reload: want automatic front-end reload on plugin build changes (reduce manual hard refreshes).
  • Naming/structure: clarify repos and update channels (“update BrainDrive” vs. “update installer”).

Multi-User Dev Setup

  • Use multiple users on a single BrainDrive instance to keep test environments isolated (e.g., one with all service bridges, one minimal for Builder testing).

This Week’s Priorities / Next Steps

  • Dave J.: Finish Mac & Windows installers (with auto-updater), possibly test Ubuntu.
  • Dave W.:
    • Finalize discourse lead capture + email hooks.
    • AI-generated READMEs for plugins.
    • Launch first persona-based use case (benefits from auto page/persona provisioning).
    • Create walkthrough where Dave W. builds a plugin live with guidance (developer onboarding video).

Positioning / Vision Reinforced

  • Thin, stable core designed for your vision, not joining someone else’s.
  • Modular plugins + page builder + personas → customize and extend without waiting on core changes.
  • Non-developers can build & ship with AI assistance.
  • Target: better than custom GPTs and other systems in flexibility, ownership, and speed to value.

Closing

  • No major challenges reported (short week).
  • Team energized; trajectory accelerating; focus on shipping installers and a compelling persona-based use case next.