Create a daily work report without a cloud AI key

You do not need a cloud AI key to make a useful daily work report in CiteSilo. Local mode can produce counted reports from available activity and return source excerpts. You supply the interpretation: what changed, what is finished and what needs attention.

That distinction matters. A count of recorded activity is evidence about the log. It is not an automatic explanation of your accomplishments.

Check the selected mode

Open Settings and check the provider selection. Fresh installations of CiteSilo 0.1.7 start in Local mode with automatic background summaries off. An upgraded installation can retain an earlier provider choice, so verify your current settings rather than assuming an update changed them.

Local search, OCR, project tags and counted reports require no cloud key. AI-written interpretations require an optional provider or a separately installed compatible local model.

Choose a day with recorded activity

Open the day you want to review and use the report action. The output depends on what CiteSilo actually recorded. Paused tracking, excluded applications, missing permissions and work on another device can leave gaps.

If the day is mostly empty, do not turn a sparse log into a confident report. Add a manual note about work you remember and identify it as your own recollection. Enabling capture now will not recreate earlier screens.

Read the evidence before writing the update

Inspect the activity groups and any useful source references. Confirm filenames, document passages and dates against the originals. A session in a presentation app could represent drafting, reviewing or simply leaving the window open.

Use a small reporting structure in your own notes:

• Completed: an outcome you can verify, such as a saved revision or sent deliverable.
• In progress: work that advanced but is not finished.
• Blocked: the specific dependency preventing the next step.
• Next: one concrete action for tomorrow.

For example, replace “worked on the proposal” with “revised the scope section; budget approval is still pending”. That statement should come from your review of the proposal, not from app activity alone.

Keep estimates separate from outcomes

If you display activity durations, label them as estimates. They are not verified billable hours, and reading without keyboard or mouse input can be classified as idle. A long session does not necessarily imply more progress.

Project tags can help you inspect the day, but they are not automatically inserted into AI prompts. Corrected project durations also do not rewrite existing AI reports or attention statistics.

Share only the useful summary

Before sending a daily update, remove private window titles, unrelated work and source excerpts that the recipient should not receive. CiteSilo does not need to be a monitoring report for your colleagues; it can simply help you prepare an accurate note.

Read the workday reconstruction guide for a broader evidence review, or local storage and controls to understand the processing choices.