Getting started
What is Clawgnition?
It is a hosted home for your centraid vault: a durable, end-to-end-encrypted copy of your data that lives off your device, so a lost or dead machine never means a lost vault. See the overview.
Do I need to be technical to use it?
No. Setup is copying three values into centraid — there is no code to write and no plugin to install. See Guided setup.
Do I have to install a Clawgnition plugin or SDK?
No. Nothing of ours runs inside centraid or your app. You connect the two through centraid's own hosted-storage settings. See How it works.
What are the three values I paste into centraid?
The gateway endpoint (the Clawgnition address,
https://api.clawgnition.ai in production), an API key (your
sk-claw_… token), and the vault id (which vault to back up to). See
Guided setup.
My first backup has not appeared. What should I check?
Open centraid on the backing-up device and check its backup status and that the three connection values are correct. A brand-new vault that never completes a first backup gets a one-time reminder email after about 72 hours. See Staying fresh.
Keys & privacy
Can Clawgnition read my notes and files?
No. Your data is encrypted on your device before it is uploaded, and your key never reaches us. We hold sealed bytes we cannot open. See Privacy & security.
What can Clawgnition employees see?
That a vault exists, how many snapshots it has, and how much storage it uses — the bookkeeping needed to run the service. Not the contents: those are sealed with a key we never hold. See How it works.
What is the difference between my API key and my encryption key?
The API key (sk-claw_…) is a replaceable access token that lets centraid
talk to Clawgnition. The encryption key seals your actual data, never leaves your
device, and is irreplaceable. Confusing the two is the costliest mistake you can make —
read Your keys.
I lost my API key value. Is my data at risk?
No. Create a new API key, paste it into centraid, and delete the old one. Your stored data is untouched. See Your keys.
I lost my encryption key. Can you recover my data?
No. We never receive your encryption key, so we cannot unseal your backups — if every copy of the key is gone, we cannot recover your data. This is why keeping a safe copy of that key matters more than anything else. See Your keys.
Where is my data stored, and is it encrypted the whole time?
Your sealed bytes are stored as encrypted objects in cloud storage that Clawgnition manages. They are encrypted by your device before upload and stay sealed the entire time — at rest and in transit. See How it works.
Backups & restore
How far back can I roll?
Every version from the last 7 days, then a daily version out to 30 days — the same for everyone, on every plan. See Restoring.
How does restoring work?
Through centraid, not the dashboard — only your device can unseal your data. centraid pulls the sealed snapshot and decrypts it locally. See Restoring.
Does a restore cost anything?
No. Reads, restores, and exports are always free and never count against your storage allowance. See Billing & quota.
How do I restore to a new laptop?
Install centraid, point it at the same vault with the three connection values, provide your encryption key, and restore. You will need your encryption key to open the data — see Restoring.
Why did I get an email saying my backups have paused?
Because your vault went quiet for longer than expected. The most common cause is the backing-up device being offline, asleep, or no longer running centraid. Your existing backups are untouched — it is only a heads-up about new ones. See Staying fresh.
My device was off for days but I never got a freshness email. Why?
Usually because the client never declared a check-in cadence, so there was no baseline to measure silence against. Make sure centraid declares a cadence in its hosted-storage settings. See Staying fresh.
Billing & the beta
What does it cost during the beta?
Nothing. The beta is comped — up to 100 GiB across up to 10 vaults, with no card on file. See The private beta.
What happens if I go over my storage allowance?
New backups pause until you are back under the limit, but reads never pause — you can always restore and export. See Billing & quota.
What happens if I stop paying?
After the beta, writes pause first, then a weeks-long countdown with repeated reminders runs before anything is purged — and reads stay open the whole time so you can export. See Billing & quota.
Is my free beta allowance permanent?
It is free during the beta, and we do not promise it forever — that wording is deliberate. Beta users hear about pricing first when it is decided. See The private beta.
Will you offer unlimited storage?
No. We sell a clear allowance you can use up to, never "unlimited" — a clear ceiling is what keeps the price predictable and the promises honest. See Billing & quota.
Leaving
Can I take my data out any time?
Yes, at any time and for free, even if you stop paying. Reads stay open in every account state. See Leaving.
What if Clawgnition shuts down?
The design keeps your exit open at all times: while the service runs you can evacuate every vault for free, and your data is sealed with keys only you hold, so no wind-down could expose your contents. If that risk worries you, keep a current export. See Leaving.
What happens when I delete a vault?
It is soft-deleted first, with an undelete window, then a countdown before a final purge. Reads stay open until the purge, and a banner reminds you that you can still export. See Billing & quota.
Still stuck?
During the beta you can reply to your invite email or reach out however you were contacted — it goes straight to the operator. For security issues specifically, use the private reporting channel on Privacy & security.