Burrito’s Labs Indie Tech Outmost Studio
Small Intelligences
Active development
Cato mark with layered source sheets inside a dark capsule-shaped container.

Cato

A local preparation tool that turns selected files and images into a focused Capsule with a review brief, searchable passages, and cited answers on supported iPhones.

Category
Small Intelligences
Platform
iPhone · Mac
Status
Active development

What if an intelligence knew the sources you selected, and nothing else?

Cato prepares user-selected material locally, keeps retrieval inside one Capsule, and makes every generated answer conditional on supporting passages and on-device model availability.

User value

Prepare once. Carry what matters.

Build a focused offline Capsule for a meeting, trip, lecture, study session, or field task.

01

Review faster

Turn selected sources into a concise Preparation Brief with topics, concepts, coverage notes, and suggested review areas.

02

Find support under pressure

Retrieve relevant passages inside one Capsule and inspect the source behind each supported answer.

03

Keep the boundary visible

Work without an account, cloud sync, web search, analytics, or a fabricated answer when evidence is missing.

Cato on iPhone showing controls to create or import a Capsule and a list of ready, draft, and archived Capsules.View full size
CapsulesCurrent simulator fixture. Final release media remains under review.

Features

A complete local preparation loop.

The current build covers source intake, preparation, retrieval, citations, transfer, and deletion.

  1. 01

    Mixed source import

    Add PDF and TXT files, photos, and screenshots on iPhone. The Mac companion also accepts PNG and JPEG files.

  2. 02

    Local extraction and OCR

    Read embedded PDF text, decode text files, and recognize text in images without a custom server.

  3. 03

    Preparation Briefs

    Generate a deterministic overview, key topics, concepts, review suggestions, coverage notes, and limitations.

  4. 04

    Capsule-scoped retrieval

    Search only the prepared passages inside the active Capsule and preserve their source identity.

  5. 05

    Cited on-device answers

    Use Apple Foundation Models only when relevant evidence exists and the iPhone reports the model as available.

  6. 06

    Portable local packages

    Prepare larger source sets on Mac, export one validated .cato file, and import it on iPhone through a user-chosen route.

How it works

From selected material to useful support.

Each step remains attached to one concrete purpose and one explicit set of sources.

  1. 01

    Create the Capsule

    Name the meeting, trip, lecture, study session, or task you are preparing for.

  2. 02

    Add the sources

    Choose the files and images that should define the Capsule's knowledge boundary.

  3. 03

    Prepare locally

    Extract text, run image OCR, record source status, and build the Preparation Brief.

  4. 04

    Review and retrieve

    Read the brief or ask for a detail. Retrieval looks only inside the active Capsule.

  5. 05

    Check the evidence

    Open the cited source, page or passage label, and supporting text behind an answer.

  6. 06

    Archive or remove it

    Keep the Capsule for later, clear its conversation, export it, or delete its associated local data.

Workflow

Prepare on Mac. Carry on iPhone.

Cato Companion handles larger local source sets and exports one user-controlled package for the iPhone app.

Cato Companion dashboard on Mac showing the steps to create a Capsule, add sources, prepare locally, and export a .cato file.View full size
PrepareCreate a local workspace for the source set.
Cato Companion on Mac showing a prepared Conference Briefing workspace ready to export as a .cato package.View full size
TransferExport one validated package through a user-chosen system route.

Current interface

The preparation loop on iPhone.

Simulator fixtures show the implemented flow. Physical-device validation and final release captures remain pending.

Cato Capsule screen listing ready PDF and text sources with controls to add files, photos, or screenshots.View full size

Assemble the Capsule

See every selected source and its processing state in one place.

Cato Preparation Brief showing an overview, key topics, important concepts, and suggested review areas.View full size

Review the brief

Start with the overview, key topics, concepts, and suggested review areas.

Cato Ask Capsule screen showing a question, a supported response, and the sources used.View full size

Ask from the Capsule

Receive a response only when local retrieval finds support and on-device answering is available.

Cato Citation screen showing the source name, page number, and supporting passage.View full size

Inspect the citation

Open the source name, page number, and passage used to support the answer.

Product concept

One task. One bounded body of knowledge.

The Capsule defines what Cato stores, prepares, retrieves, cites, transfers, archives, and deletes.

01

Purpose-specific

A Capsule exists for one event or task instead of becoming a permanent archive of everything the user knows.

02

Sources before answers

Retrieval must find supporting passages before on-device generation is allowed to produce a response.

03

Temporary by design

A Capsule can be prepared, carried, checked, archived, exported, and removed when its purpose is over.

Architecture

Local preparation before model assistance.

Deterministic extraction, briefing, retrieval, citations, package validation, and deletion surround one optional on-device generation step.

  1. 01User-selected local sources
  2. 02Text extraction and image OCR
  3. 03Deterministic Preparation Brief
  4. 04Capsule-scoped lexical retrieval
  5. 05Evidence-gated on-device answer
  6. 06Citations, package, and lifecycle controls

Capsule isolation

Metadata, sources, extracted text, briefs, retrieval, citations, conversations, packages, and deletion retain the Capsule boundary.

Deterministic core

Preparation Briefs, lexical retrieval, citations, package checks, storage accounting, and deletion do not depend on a language model.

Explicit model boundary

If evidence is insufficient or Apple Foundation Models are unavailable, Cato reports the limitation instead of inventing a fallback answer.

Visible movement

The Mac companion exports a versioned package with path, byte-count, and checksum validation. Integrity checks do not imply encryption.

Technology

Apple-native and local-first.

Application

  • Swift
  • SwiftUI
  • iPhone and Mac targets

Persistence

  • SwiftData
  • CloudKit disabled
  • Application Support files
  • .cato packages

Preparation

  • PDFKit
  • Vision OCR
  • Deterministic brief generation

Retrieval and answers

  • Lexical retrieval
  • Source citations
  • Apple Foundation Models when available

Package integrity

  • Versioned contract
  • Safe relative paths
  • Byte counts
  • SHA-256 checksums

Development

The main local workflows are implemented.

The iPhone and Mac applications, local preparation pipeline, retrieval, citations, package transport, and lifecycle controls are working and automated tests pass. Physical-device validation, signed distribution, final privacy review, and release media remain open.

Stage
Active development
Automated suite
323 Swift tests
Answering
Supported iPhones only
Distribution
Not yet public

Implemented

  • Create, rename, archive, delete, import, and export Capsules on iPhone
  • Local PDF and text extraction, image OCR, source status, and deterministic Preparation Briefs
  • Capsule-scoped lexical retrieval, citation assembly, and evidence-gated Apple Foundation Models integration
  • Local persistence for metadata, sources, extracted content, briefs, and conversations with CloudKit disabled
  • Mac workspaces for larger source sets, local preparation, export readiness, and single-file .cato export
  • Version, path, file, byte-count, checksum, duplicate-ID, failed-import cleanup, storage, and deletion validation

Release focus

Validate supported and unavailable model states on physical iPhones, test real Mac-to-iPhone transfer and airplane-mode use, complete accessibility and deletion checks, resolve signing and App Store setup, and recapture final release media.

Cato lab notes

The project, over time.

Notes about the thinking, architecture, development, and decisions behind this work.

  1. Cato
    28 Jun 2026 · Draft

    The Focused Mac Companion

    Cato Companion took on heavier local preparation without expanding into a second general chat product.
  2. Cato
    26 Jun 2026 · Draft

    Making Capsules Portable

    A versioned .cato package created a visible, user-controlled alternative to account-based synchronization.
  3. Cato
    22 Jun 2026 · Draft

    From Sources to Cited Answers

    Local preparation, retrieval, and citations placed useful evidence before any model-generated answer.
  4. Cato
    20 Jun 2026 · Draft

    Defining the Capsule

    Cato began with one firm boundary: a temporary package for one purpose, not a general chatbot or permanent knowledge base.