> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.bowerlabs.ai/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Artifacts

> Understand the different artifact types in Bower — notes, attachments, and protocols.

Everything in Bower is an **artifact** — a piece of content in your workspace. There are three types: notes, attachments, and protocols. Which type gets created depends on how you capture or import your data.

## Notes

A note is an editable text document. It's the primary unit of content you work with — fully searchable, taggable, and accessible to Bird.

Notes are created when you:

* Record a voice note (the transcript becomes the note)
* Capture a photo that contains text (the extracted text becomes the note)
* Import a document (the extracted content becomes the note)
* Type directly in the editor
* Ask Bird to create one

Think of a note as your editable scientific record. It's what you search, organise, and build on.

## Attachments

An attachment is a file — the raw audio, photo, PDF, Word document, or any other file you bring into Bower.

When you capture or import, Bower typically creates **both** a note (with the extracted content) and an attachment (the original file), linked together. This means you always have the source alongside the editable version.

Attachments are also independently useful:

* **PDFs** — Bower extracts all text content, making the full document searchable even as a standalone attachment.
* **Images** — Bower generates an AI description, so you can search for images by what's in them. For photos taken on a phone, the attachment panel also shows capture time, GPS location, and device model when that data is embedded in the file.
* **Audio** — the original recording is preserved so you can listen back if the transcript missed something.

You can store a file as an attachment only (without creating a note) if you don't need Bower to extract or process its content.

## Protocols

A [protocol](/organisation/protocols) is a step-by-step lab procedure — structurally the same as a note, but stored as a distinct type so it appears in the protocol library rather than your notes list. Use protocols for standard operating procedures, experimental methods, and repeatable workflows.

## How artifact type is determined

When you import a file, Bower decides what to create based on the file and the option you choose:

| What you do                   | What Bower creates                                      |
| ----------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------- |
| Record a voice note           | A note (transcript) + attachment (audio file)           |
| Capture a photo with text     | A note (extracted text) + attachment (image)            |
| Import a document (PDF, Word) | A note (extracted content) + attachment (original file) |
| Import an image without text  | An attachment with AI-generated description             |
| Type a new note               | A note only                                             |
| Create a protocol             | A protocol only                                         |

In every case, the original file is preserved. Bower never discards your source material.

## Quick reference

|                    | Note                 | Attachment                                          | Protocol                        |
| ------------------ | -------------------- | --------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------- |
| Content            | Editable text        | Original source file                                | Editable step-by-step procedure |
| Searchable         | Full text            | Full text (PDFs), AI description (images), filename | Full text                       |
| Accessible to Bird | Yes                  | Yes                                                 | Yes                             |
| Use when           | Working with content | Preserving the source                               | Documenting a procedure         |