# v4.5.1 Product Reimagining Report

Release date: 2026-06-13

## Objective

v4.5.1 treats the previous desktop product surface as non-authoritative. The
goal was not to polish the v4.5.0 recovery UI; it was to relaunch Lattice AI as
a premium local-first Digital Brain while preserving all capabilities,
workflows, data contracts, storage, FastAPI APIs, Tauri shell behavior, Brain
Core, model runtimes, backup/restore, and portability.

## Product Decision

The product is now organized around six user-facing rooms:

- Home: the living shape of what Lattice knows.
- Ask: thinking with remembered context.
- Add: files, folders, and pages entering memory.
- Automate: supervised goals, runs, workflows, approvals, hooks, and tools.
- Library: models, skills, marketplace, and tool connections.
- Care: account, spaces, backups, devices, settings, and admin safety.

Legacy hash routes still resolve into the SPA, but they no longer dictate the
visible product model.

## What Changed

- Replaced the fixed left rail with compact desktop chrome and a centered
  navigation dock.
- Added a command palette and responsive mobile drawer.
- Added an ambient brain canvas so the first viewport reads as a thinking
  environment rather than a dashboard.
- Replaced the first-run checklist with a first-session journey.
- Reworked route labels and page hero copy across Brain, Ask, Capture, Act,
  Library, and System.
- Rebuilt global styling around calmer surfaces, fixed responsive type sizes,
  and restrained accents.

## What Was Preserved

- FastAPI and generated OpenAPI client.
- Tauri desktop shell and sidecar behavior.
- `lattice_brain` package boundary.
- StorageEngine, SQLite default, optional PostgreSQL scale mode.
- Backup/restore and `.latticebrain` portability.
- Model recommendation, prepare/load stream, and consent-gated downloads.
- Knowledge graph, hybrid search, chat, capture, workflow, agent, system, and
  admin APIs.

## Self Review

The redesigned first viewport immediately reads as a different product:
Lattice branding, Home/Ask/Add/Automate/Library/Care navigation, first-session
journey, and premium desktop chrome replace the old dashboard hierarchy.

## Evidence

- Desktop screenshot: `output/audits/v4.5.1-reimagining/screenshots/home-desktop.png`
- Mobile screenshot: `output/audits/v4.5.1-reimagining/screenshots/home-mobile.png`
- Walkthrough GIF: `output/audits/v4.5.1-reimagining/gifs/v4.5.1-reimagining-walkthrough.gif`
