AIF-BIN Lite

Free & Open Source CLI for AI memory files.

Version	Extension	Full Name	Format
v1	.aimf	AI Memory Format	JSON
v2	.aif-bin	AI Formatted - Binary	Binary (MessagePack)

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Documentation

• Technical Whitepaper - Full specification and theory

What is AIF-BIN?

A file format specification with two versions:

• AIMF (.aimf) - AI Memory Format, v1 JSON encoding for simplicity
• AIF-BIN (.aif-bin) - AI Formatted - Binary, v2 binary encoding for performance

A single .aimf or .aif-bin file contains:

• Original document — The source file preserved
• Extracted content — Text parsed into searchable chunks
• Metadata — Title, timestamps, checksums

This is the free, open source implementation. For semantic search, batch processing, see AIF-BIN Pro.

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Format Versions

This repository contains both format versions:

Version	Extension	File	Full Name	Format
v1	.aimf	aifbin_v1.py	AI Memory Format	JSON
v2	.aif-bin	aifbin_v2.py	AI Formatted - Binary	Binary (MessagePack)

AIMF - AI Memory Format (v1)

Simple, human-readable JSON. Uses .aimf extension. Great for learning and debugging.

{
  "version": "1.0.0-lite",
  "format": "json",
  "metadata": {
    "source_file": "sample.md",
    "created_at": "2026-01-30T10:00:00"
  },
  "chunks": [
    {"id": 0, "content": "...", "type": "text"}
  ],
  "original_raw": "# Original content..."
}

AIF-BIN - AI Formatted - Binary (v2)

Compact binary format with MessagePack encoding. Uses .aif-bin extension. Used by AIF-BIN Pro.

[Header: 64 bytes]
  Magic: "AIFBIN\x00\x01"
  Version, Offsets, Size

[Metadata Section]
  MessagePack blob

[Original Raw Section]
  Preserved source file

[Content Chunks]
  Typed chunks with optional embeddings

[Footer]
  Index + CRC64 Checksum

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Installation

# Clone the repo
git clone https://github.com/Terronex-dev/aifbin-lite.git
cd aifbin-lite

Windows (PowerShell/CMD)

# Install dependencies
pip install -r requirements.txt

# v1 - No external dependencies needed, but included in requirements for simplicity
python aifbin_v1.py --help

# v2
python aifbin_v2.py --help

Linux / macOS / WSL

# Install dependencies
pip3 install -r requirements.txt

# v1 - No external dependencies needed, but included in requirements for simplicity
python3 aifbin_v1.py --help

# v2
python3 aifbin_v2.py --help

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Usage

AIMF Commands (aifbin_v1.py)

Windows:

python aifbin_v1.py migrate sample.md      # Convert to AIMF (JSON)
python aifbin_v1.py info sample.aimf       # View file info
python aifbin_v1.py chunks sample.aimf     # List chunks
python aifbin_v1.py extract sample.aimf    # Extract original content

Linux / macOS / WSL:

python3 aifbin_v1.py migrate sample.md      # Convert to AIMF (JSON)
python3 aifbin_v1.py info sample.aimf       # View file info
python3 aifbin_v1.py chunks sample.aimf     # List chunks
python3 aifbin_v1.py extract sample.aimf    # Extract original content

AIF-BIN Commands (aifbin_v2.py)

Windows:

python aifbin_v2.py migrate sample.md              # Convert to AIF-BIN (binary)
python aifbin_v2.py info sample.aif-bin            # View file info
python aifbin_v2.py chunks sample.aif-bin          # List chunks
python aifbin_v2.py extract sample.aif-bin         # Extract original content
python aifbin_v2.py upgrade sample.aimf            # Upgrade v1 to v2

Linux / macOS / WSL:

python3 aifbin_v2.py migrate sample.md              # Convert to AIF-BIN (binary)
python3 aifbin_v2.py info sample.aif-bin            # View file info
python3 aifbin_v2.py chunks sample.aif-bin          # List chunks
python3 aifbin_v2.py extract sample.aif-bin         # Extract original content
python3 aifbin_v2.py upgrade sample.aimf            # Upgrade v1 to v2

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Troubleshooting

error: externally-managed-environment (Debian/Ubuntu/WSL)

This error occurs when pip tries to install packages system-wide in environments where Python packages are managed by the OS.

Solution 1: Use the --break-system-packages flag:

pip3 install -r requirements.txt --break-system-packages

Solution 2 (Recommended): Use a Python virtual environment:

python3 -m venv .venv
source .venv/bin/activate
pip install -r requirements.txt
python3 aifbin_v2.py --help
# Deactivate when done:
deactivate

python3 not found on Windows

On Windows, use python instead of python3:

python aifbin_v1.py --help

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Migrating from AIMF to AIF-BIN

Why Migrate?

• 50% smaller files — Binary format is more compact
• Faster parsing — Fixed-offset headers enable direct seeks
• Checksums — CRC64 verification for data integrity
• Embeddings — AIF-BIN supports vector embeddings for semantic search
• Typed chunks — TEXT, TABLE, IMAGE, AUDIO, VIDEO, CODE

How to Migrate

Option 1: Using the CLI (Recommended)

# Windows
python aifbin_v2.py upgrade sample.aimf -o sample.aif-bin

# Linux / macOS / WSL
python3 aifbin_v2.py upgrade sample.aimf -o sample.aif-bin

Option 2: Programmatically

from aifbin_v2 import migrate_from_v1

migrate_from_v1('sample.aimf', 'sample.aif-bin')

See examples/migrate_v1_to_v2.py for a complete migration script.

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Examples

File	Description
examples/quickstart_v1.py	Basic v1 usage
examples/quickstart_v2.py	Basic v2 usage
examples/migrate_v1_to_v2.py	Migration script

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Related Projects

Project	Description
AIF-BIN Lite	Free CLI (this repo)
AIF-BIN Pro	Pro CLI + Inspector

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Lite vs Pro

AIF-BIN Lite (this repo) handles the format — converting your documents into portable, structured files.

AIF-BIN Pro adds the intelligence — AI-powered semantic search that lets you query your documents by meaning, not just keywords.

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                        Your Documents                        │
│                    (Markdown, notes, docs)                   │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
                              │
                              ▼
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                      AIF-BIN Lite (Free)                     │
│                                                              │
│   ✓ Convert to .aimf (JSON) or .aif-bin (binary)            │
│   ✓ Chunking and metadata extraction                         │
│   ✓ Portable files you own                                   │
│   ✗ No search — just format conversion                       │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
                              │
                              ▼
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                      AIF-BIN Pro (Paid)                      │
│                                                              │
│   ✓ Everything in Lite, plus:                                │
│   ✓ AI embeddings (text → vectors)                           │
│   ✓ Semantic search ("What did I decide about X?")           │
│   ✓ Plugins (LangChain, Obsidian, VS Code, etc.)             │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Why This Architecture?

• Your data stays portable. Lite files work anywhere, with or without Pro.
• No vendor lock-in. The format spec is open (MIT). Build your own tools if you want.
• Pay for intelligence, not storage. Lite is free forever. Pro adds the AI layer.

Ready to Upgrade?

AIF-BIN Pro includes:

• Semantic search — Find by meaning, not keywords
• Batch processing — Convert entire directories
• Watch mode — Auto-sync on file changes
• Web Inspector — Visual file analyzer
• 5 embedding models — OpenAI, Cohere, local options

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Legal

Document	Description
LICENSE	MIT License — free to use, modify, distribute
NOTICE	Patent, trademark, and Lite vs Pro details
TERMS	Terms of use
PRIVACY	Privacy policy (TL;DR: no data collection)
SECURITY	Security policy and vulnerability reporting

Patent Pending: The AIF-BIN format and methods are subject to a pending patent application. This open-source implementation is provided under the MIT License.

Trademark: "AIF-BIN" is a trademark of Terronex.dev. You may use it to describe format compatibility.

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Links

• Website: terronex.dev/aifbin
• Pro: github.com/Terronex-dev/aifbin-pro
• Support: support@terronex.dev

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Contributing

Contributions welcome! See CONTRIBUTING.md.

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(c) 2026 Terronex.dev. All rights reserved.