Projects and files
How your writing and Chronal's dated project data stay portable in an ordinary folder.
Chronal projects are ordinary folders rather than hosted workspaces. Each note and data file has a path inside that folder, while readable titles and links keep the writing easy to navigate.
Markdown keeps your writing readable
Files ending in .md use Markdown, a plain-text format with simple marks for headings, links, lists, and emphasis. You can read or edit these notes in many other applications. Chronal does not hide your writing in a database.
Small data files hold approved facts
Optional .chronal.json files sit beside the Markdown notes they describe. JSON is a common text format for structured data. These companion files are sometimes called sidecars.
They hold the dated facts, events, knowledge, cause-and-effect links, and source history that you explicitly accept. Chronal Studio provides visual tools for this information, so you do not need to edit JSON by hand.
Local-first ownership
The project remains usable without a Chronal account or hosted workspace. You can read the Markdown directly, inspect the data files with ordinary tools, and keep the whole folder in your own backup or version-control workflow.
Backups and evolving formats
Treat any future preview project like important local work: keep versioned backups. Chronal includes recovery and external-edit workflows, but early formats and behavior may still change. Release-specific guidance will be published with each public build.