chore: preserve initial reconstruction prototype

README.md

@@ -0,0 +1,88 @@
+# Confidence Engine
+
+An experimental prototype that tests whether an LLM can build and maintain an evidence-based reconstruction of a situation over multiple turns.
+
+## Purpose
+
+This is Milestone 1 — a technical vertical slice only. It demonstrates:
+
+- Sending a scenario to a local Ollama model via a Next.js server route
+- Receiving structured JSON output
+- Validating the result with Zod schemas
+- Displaying the reconstruction and diagnostic information in a plain UI
+
+## Prerequisites
+
+- **Node.js 18+** (LTS recommended)
+- **npm** (or equivalent package manager)
+- **Ollama** installed and running on your local network, with a model pulled (e.g., `ollama pull llama3`)
+
+## Installation
+
+```bash
+cd confidence-engine
+npm install
+cp .env.example .env.local
+```
+
+Edit `.env.local` and set:
+
+- `OLLAMA_BASE_URL` — your Ollama server address (e.g., `http://192.168.1.100:11434`)
+- `OLLAMA_MODEL` — the model name (e.g., `llama3`)
+
+## Development Commands
+
+```bash
+npm run dev        # Start development server on localhost:3000
+npm run build      # Production build
+npm run start      # Run production server
+npm run lint       # ESLint check
+```
+
+## Testing Commands
+
+```bash
+npm test           # Run all tests (one-shot)
+npm run test:watch # Run tests in watch mode
+```
+
+Tests mock the Ollama network request. No real Ollama server is needed to run them.
+
+## Verifying Ollama Connectivity
+
+1. Start the dev server: `npm run dev`
+2. Open http://localhost:3000/api/health
+3. You should see JSON with `"reachable": true` and your model name
+
+## Current Limitations
+
+- **Single-turn only** — no conversation memory or multi-turn dialogue
+- **No persistence** — results are not saved between requests
+- **Ollama only** — the provider abstraction exists but only Ollama is implemented
+- **JSON mode reliance** — output quality depends on the model's ability to produce valid structured JSON
+- **No question generation** — no follow-up questions or uncertainty resolution yet
+- **No real-time streaming** — waits for full response before displaying results
+- **Plain UI** — no animations, theming, or responsive polish beyond basic layout
+
+## Deliberately Not Implemented
+
+- Authentication / user accounts
+- Billing / rate limiting
+- Database or file storage
+- Vector databases or embeddings
+- Deployment configuration (Docker, Vercel, etc.)
+- External cloud LLM providers (OpenAI, Anthropic, etc.)
+- Agent frameworks or tool use
+- Complex state management (Zustand, Redux, etc.)
+- Multi-turn conversation history
+- Question generation or ranking
+
+## Architecture Notes
+
+The application uses a **provider abstraction** in `lib/llm/provider.js`. The server routes call the provider, which hides the Ollama-specific implementation. To add a new provider, implement the same interface:
+
+```js
+{
+  generateReconstruction(scenario, modelName): Promise<Reconstruction>
+}
+```READMEEOF