The "Zero-Knowledge" AI Patent Attorney
VibePatent is a local-first desktop application that uses autonomous AI agents to draft adversarial, legally-defensible Provisional Patent Applications (PPAs) in ~18 minutes. It replaces the $15k law firm retaining fee with a $4 AI run.
- Local-First Privacy - All data stays on your machine. No cloud storage.
- BYOK (Bring Your Own Key) - Use your own API keys for AI services
- Multi-Source Prior Art Search - USPTO, Google Patents, academic databases
- USPTO-Compliant Output - Proper formatting, paragraph numbering, claim structure
- Cross-Platform - macOS, Windows, Linux
| Component | Technology |
|---|---|
| Type | Local-First Desktop App (Right to Repair / Privacy Focused) |
| Shell | Electron 35 + React 18 + Vite + TypeScript |
| Core | Claude API (@anthropic-ai/sdk) with specialized agents |
| Mechanism | "Kill Chain" - Swarm of hostile agents (Examiner, Architect, Investigator) |
| Security | Zero-Knowledge. Direct API calls from your machine (BYOK) |
vibepatent-app/
├── app/ # Main Electron application
│ ├── electron/ # Electron main process
│ │ ├── main.ts # App entry, window management, IPC
│ │ └── preload.ts # Secure bridge between main/renderer
│ │
│ ├── src/ # React frontend (renderer process)
│ │ ├── App.tsx # Main UI component, workflow views
│ │ ├── App.css # Styles (dark theme)
│ │ └── main.tsx # React entry point
│ │
│ ├── agent-srv/ # Agent sidecar (Node.js subprocess)
│ │ ├── index.js # Sidecar entry, stdin/stdout IPC
│ │ └── services/ # Core services
│ │ ├── kill-chain.js # Main workflow orchestrator
│ │ ├── orchestrator.js # Claude API wrapper
│ │ ├── architect.js # Claims drafting agent
│ │ ├── examiner.js # Hostile USPTO examiner agent
│ │ ├── investigator.js # Prior art search agent
│ │ ├── gemini.js # Gemini API for large context
│ │ ├── vault.js # Local filesystem storage
│ │ └── state-machine.js # Workflow state management
│ │
│ ├── package.json # Dependencies
│ ├── vite.config.ts # Vite bundler config
│ └── tsconfig.json # TypeScript config
│
├── docs/ # Documentation
│ ├── 1-universal/ # General references
│ │ └── ai-coding-sdlc.md # AI coding methodology
│ │
│ └── 3-project/ # Project-specific docs
│ ├── UNIFIED_ROADMAP.md # Active development roadmap
│ ├── FSD_VIBEPATENT_v2.md # Functional Specification
│ ├── TSD_VIBEPATENT.md # Technical Specification
│ ├── VALIDATION_PROTOCOL.md # Testing protocol
│ ├── PRIVACY_ARCHITECTURE.md # Security requirements
│ ├── PRODUCT_SHAPE_DECISION.md # Architecture decisions
│ ├── ULTIMATE_VIBEPATENTING_GUIDE.md
│ ├── *_REMEDIATION_PLAN.md # Implementation guides
│ └── archive/ # Superseded documents
│
└── README.md # This file
The main orchestrator that runs the 7-phase patent drafting process:
| Phase | Description | Agent |
|---|---|---|
| 1. THESIS_INTAKE | Analyze user's invention description | Orchestrator |
| 2. KILL_QUERY_GENERATION | Generate adversarial search queries | Examiner |
| 3. SEARCH_EXECUTION | Triple-tap search (Web, Academic, Patents) | Investigator |
| 4. THREAT_ANALYSIS | Analyze prior art threats | Gemini/Orchestrator |
| 5. CLAIM_DRAFTING | Draft patent claims v1 | Architect |
| 6. VALIDATION_LOOP | 7-Strike adversarial validation | Examiner + Architect |
| 7. DOCUMENT_COMPILATION | Generate specification + abstract | Architect |
| Agent | File | Role | Model |
|---|---|---|---|
| Orchestrator | orchestrator.js |
Workflow coordination | Claude Sonnet 4 |
| Architect | architect.js |
Claim construction specialist | Claude Sonnet 4 |
| Examiner | examiner.js |
Hostile USPTO examiner | Claude Sonnet 4 |
| Investigator | investigator.js |
Prior art search | Perplexity API |
Each draft goes through 7 examination strikes with different angles:
| Strike | Angle | Focus |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | §102 Anticipation | Find single references disclosing all elements |
| 2 | §103 Obviousness | Find obvious combinations |
| 3 | §112 Indefiniteness | Find unclear terms, missing antecedent basis |
| 4 | Aggressive §103 | Assume PHOSITA combines any references |
| 5 | Re-examination | Fresh perspective on passed claims |
| 6 | Final §102/§103 | Last chance sweep |
| 7 | Comprehensive | Synthesize all findings |
| Signal | Meaning | Action |
|---|---|---|
| GREEN_LIGHT | White space - no prior art threat | Proceed to next strike |
| YELLOW_LIGHT | Near miss - close prior art | Refine claims + retry |
| RED_LIGHT | Direct hit - fatal conflict | Pivot to new draft |
All project data is stored locally in ~/Documents/VibePatent_Vault/{projectId}/:
{projectId}/
├── 00_input/ # User input
│ └── thesis.md # Original invention description
├── 01_active_draft/ # Working claims
│ ├── claims_v1.json # First draft
│ ├── claims_v2.json # After pivots
│ └── claims_final.json # Validated claims
├── 02_analysis/ # Research artifacts
│ ├── thesis_analysis.json
│ ├── kill_queries.json
│ ├── search_results.json
│ └── threat_matrix.json
├── 03_validation/ # Examiner reports
│ ├── strike_1_report.json
│ └── ...
├── 04_submission/ # Final output
│ └── ppa_draft.json
├── 99_logs/ # Audit trail
│ └── agent_thoughts.log
└── manifest.json # Project metadata
- Node.js 18+
- Anthropic API key
- Perplexity API key (optional, for real prior art search)
cd app
npm installSet API keys in the app Settings page, or via environment:
export ANTHROPIC_API_KEY=sk-ant-...
export PERPLEXITY_API_KEY=pplx-...cd app
npm run devThis launches:
- Vite dev server (React frontend)
- Electron main process
- Agent sidecar subprocess
| Document | Description |
|---|---|
UNIFIED_ROADMAP.md |
Active development roadmap (MVP Week 3) |
FSD_VIBEPATENT_v2.md |
Functional Specification - features, agents, workflow |
TSD_VIBEPATENT.md |
Technical Specification - architecture, IPC, security |
VALIDATION_PROTOCOL.md |
Testing protocol for quality validation |
| Document | Description |
|---|---|
PRIVACY_ARCHITECTURE.md |
Zero-Knowledge security requirements |
PRODUCT_SHAPE_DECISION.md |
Architecture decision: Desktop vs SaaS |
ULTIMATE_VIBEPATENTING_GUIDE.md |
Patent strategy and methodology |
| Document | Description |
|---|---|
PRIVACY_REMEDIATION_PLAN.md |
Security implementation (safeStorage, CSP) |
PRODUCT_SHAPE_REMEDIATION_PLAN.md |
UI components (Claims Tree, Heatmap) |
VIBEPATENTING_GUIDE_REMEDIATION_PLAN.md |
LaTeX/PDF generation |
| Document | Description |
|---|---|
archive/ROADMAP.md |
Original roadmap (superseded by UNIFIED_ROADMAP) |
archive/ULTIMATE_REMEDIATION_PLAN.md |
Merged into UNIFIED_ROADMAP |
archive/PRIORITY_DECISION_MATRIX.md |
Scoring analysis (complete) |
archive/CLAUDE_AGENT_SDK_REFERENCE.md |
Described non-existent SDK |
CORE ENGINE ████████████████████ 95% COMPLETE
├─ Kill Chain ████████████████████ 100%
├─ 7-Strike Loop ████████████████████ 100%
├─ Agents ████████████████████ 100%
└─ Prior Art Search ████████████████░░░░ 80% (No Google Patents yet)
SECURITY ████████████████████ 100% COMPLETE
├─ Local-First ████████████████████ 100%
├─ Key Storage ████████████████████ 100% (safeStorage encryption)
└─ Network Guard ████████████████████ 100% (CSP + navigation guards)
OUTPUT PIPELINE ████░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░ 20% INCOMPLETE
├─ JSON Export ████████████████████ 100%
├─ LaTeX Generation ░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░ 0% (In progress)
└─ PDF Compilation ░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░ 0% (In progress)
Roadmap (see UNIFIED_ROADMAP.md)
| Week | Focus | Key Deliverables |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Foundation | Google Patents, Smoke Tests, Cost Guardrail |
| 2 | Security | OS Keychain (safeStorage), CSP, Linux Build |
| 3 | Output | LaTeX Generator, PDF Compiler → MVP READY |
| 4-5 | Validation | Test Types A/B/C, Quality Metrics |
| 6 | Polish | Entity Selector, Documentation |
Approximate costs per patent application run (2026 pricing):
| API | Calls | Est. Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Anthropic (Claude Sonnet 4) | ~15-25 | $2-4 |
| Perplexity (Sonar Search) | ~10-15 | $0.30-0.50 |
| Gemini (Threat Analysis) | ~1-2 | $0.05-0.10 |
| Total | $2.50-5 |
Usage is tracked in real-time and displayed in the UI.
VibePatent is an AI tool, not a lawyer. It produces drafts for review. Always consult a qualified patent attorney before filing non-provisional applications.
See CONTRIBUTING.md for development setup and guidelines.
See SECURITY.md for the security model and vulnerability reporting.
Apache License 2.0 — see LICENSE.
Last updated: February 6, 2026