Brio project · Rust · Linux · open source
Part of the Brio projectSillage
Launch an application or find a passage in your documents.
Sillage combines a native Slint launcher with a separately installable document search engine. The launcher opens applications and, once a folder is approved, retrieves excerpts from Markdown, DOCX and PDF files with their line or page.
At a glance
- Context
- Brio project · formerly Maestria
- My part
- Search engine · vector ingestion · visual-document evaluation
- Stack
- Rust · Slint · Tantivy · SQLite
- Status
- Development build on dev/sillage · no published release
From Maestria to Sillage
Work on dev/sillage separates two uses: launching applications from the keyboard and searching document contents. The engine can serve other clients without installing the launcher. The CLI, daemon and Studio remain available; the main launcher interface is now native, built with Slint.
My work
I contribute to the search engine, document processing for vector indexing, and experiments with OCR and visual-document retrieval.
From approved folder to excerpt
Choose a folder
Install the search component, then approve the folder in Preferences.
Index and search
Follow indexing progress, then search the text without loading a model.
Inspect the source
Read the excerpt and its position; open or copy after an access check.
01 · A launcher that works without document search
On first launch, the launcher searches installed applications. It also exposes registered commands and a calculator. Typed text is not evaluated as a shell command.
Closing the window hides the launcher without ending its process. The Slint interface uses software rendering, without embedding Node or WebKitGTK. Application search remains available when document search is disabled or unavailable.
02 · An engine that runs without the launcher
The sillage-search Debian package provides a headless search service. A local client can retrieve passages and inspect their sources over a Unix socket, without starting the launcher or loading a model.
In the launcher, document search requires installing this component, choosing a folder and explicitly enabling it. Preferences displays indexing progress and lets the user disable search.
03 · Inspectable excerpts, not just matching filenames
Document results show the matching passage, file and line or page. Before displaying evidence, copying or opening the source, the service checks access authorization again.
Lexical search works without a model. Semantic search and OCR are optional, not launcher defaults. Opening a file does not guarantee that the external viewer jumps to the cited line or page.
04 · What remains to be validated
Debian and AppImage packages are built and tested, but no release is published. Full Slint interface parity and release performance measurements remain open.
On X11, the global shortcut is configured in Preferences. On Wayland, it depends on the desktop portal; some systems still require a compositor-configured shortcut.
Extensions are opt-in. Installation and permission flows have been exercised, but the SDK and complete product validation are unfinished. OCR and semantic-search experiments do not establish general retrieval quality or memory usage.
Code and development status
- Sillage · dev/sillage
The repository retains the maestria name; the work described is on dev/sillage.
- Capabilities and installation
Available features, optional components and known limitations.
- Roadmap
Remaining launcher, engine and extension work.
- Development journal
Search engine, launcher and integration changes.