overlayoverlayManifesto
Overlay exists because the best models, tools, files, and workflows should meet in one open interface that people and institutions can actually control.
The interface closest to your work should respect where that work lives. Data flows, model access, and retention should be visible and configurable — not hidden behind a vendor's roadmap.
Teams should be able to inspect, self-host, extend, and change the system they depend on. Open source is not a licensing detail; it is the architectural basis for sovereignty.
Model choice, data flow, and workflow policy should be configurable, not dictated by one vendor. The organization decides what intelligence can access and where the results are stored.
The product should feel like a tool you use every day, not a maze of disconnected AI accounts. One workspace, one context, one interface — understandable and adaptable.
— LayerNorm
