Turn a changing brief into confirmed fields
Keep corrections, missing values and permission to act visible before paying for streaming extraction.
A fictional brief, a versioned field sheet, three review cases and an explicit handoff that authorises no automatic action.
Original FreeStack editorial exercise checked 9 November 2026. Start with typed synthetic text; no microphone, client recording or model account is needed.
About this guide & its examples
The illustration is a fictional output, not a Sage2 screenshot or a tested extraction result.
Illustrations are FreeStack concepts, not provider screenshots. Check the free limits below and test your own files before delivery.
Free boundaries before you start
What’s free, whether you need an account, and when we last checked.
Visual Studio Code · checked 2026-11-09
VS Code remains free for private and commercial use. Microsoft's distribution uses its product licence; the published source is MIT-licensed. Extensions, Settings Sync, Copilot, remote services and deployment infrastructure have separate terms and limits.
No Microsoft account is required for core local editing. Optional sync, Copilot, marketplace or hosted services can require accounts.
LibreOffice · checked 2026-11-09
Free desktop office suite with no licence fees for personal or business use; MPL 2.0 core with separately licensed components. Writer supports local editable documents and PDF export; no subscription or numeric export quota indicated. Embedding permitted fonts can improve source-file portability and increases file size. Professional support and third-party templates are separate.
No hosted account is part of the described local document workflow. The checked FAQ offers direct free downloads and optional donations.
Git · checked 2026-11-09
Free GPLv2 distributed version-control software for local repositories, with no provider project or history quota. Remote hosting, backup, access control and large-file storage are separate services.
No account is required for a local Git repository. Any remote host or sync service can require an account.
A small example to aim for
“Twelve cards. Actually, twenty. Date to confirm.”
Source phrase → proposed field → reviewer decision.
Illustration only · not a Sage2 screenshot, tested extraction or customer result.
Illustrative example · adapt it to your project.
Jump to a step
Choose three fields and one boundary
Use a fictional print request: “Twelve cards, collection Friday. Actually, make it twenty; I still need to confirm the date.” Define quantity as an integer, collection date as a confirmed date or unknown, and action as review only. Twenty supersedes twelve; Friday remains unconfirmed. Do not infer an actual calendar date from the weekday. This is a proposed interpretation for practice, not a validated model result.
Preserve the source and its corrections
Save the synthetic brief in VS Code beside a JSON draft containing quantity 20, collection_date null and status needs_review. Add a field-level evidence note quoting only the relevant phrase from your invented input. Keep the original text unchanged and store any corrected version separately. Exclude real names, addresses, commercial terms, API keys and recordings.
Check shape separately from meaning
Use jq locally to inspect the JSON and confirm that quantity is numeric, date is null and status is the intended string. A successful JSON parse establishes syntax, not truth. Write checks for absent fields, wrong types and conflicting values. Stop the workflow on a failed check rather than repairing a value silently. Review the actual jq command against its manual before running it.
Make a review sheet with explicit unknowns
Create a LibreOffice Calc sheet with field, proposed value, evidence phrase, confirmed by and next step columns. Enter unknown for the date and request confirmation as the next step. Keep proposed and approved values separate. Add two further fictional cases: an unchanged quantity and two conflicting quantities with no correction phrase. Mark the latter ambiguous; do not invent a winning value.
Version the decision before taking action
Use Git to checkpoint the synthetic source, JSON, review notes and a short change log. Record what changed and why. No email send, calendar booking, invoice, file deletion or production API call is part of this exercise. A reviewer must compare the proposed fields with the source before a separate action is authorised. Git history is not an independent backup or access-control system.
Save the kit and define an upgrade trigger
Use Save this toolkit to keep the four catalogue links in a private account stack; guest saves remain in that browser. FreeStack editorial upgrade triggers: a measured need for live partial updates, a volume that manual review cannot handle, or governed team audit history. Define the error budget and approval rules before evaluating a hosted API. Do not buy a membership just to replace four rows of manual review.
Your workflow, connected.
Follow the steps and carry the output into the next stage. These are suggested handoffs, not automatic integrations.
Provider information
Check current plans and documentation before committing to a workflow.
A couple of useful questions
What stays free?
VS Code core source (MIT), jq core (MIT with separately licensed components), LibreOffice (MPL 2.0 plus components) and Git (GPLv2) support ongoing local work. No provider export, watermark, storage or seat allowance meters these core source workflows. Hardware, disk, extensions, binary distribution terms, hosting and imported assets are separate.
Do I need an account?
The local source-file exercise needs no hosted model account. Package downloads, optional sync and extensions may have their own requirements. A private FreeStack account stack requires sign-in; it stores tool links rather than the brief.
Can I use Sage2 instead?
You can evaluate its documented APIs separately. Its current Free plan includes $1 usage per month, shared across decisions, extraction and streaming; unused usage does not roll over and exhausted requests return 402 until renewal or upgrade. That is a metered service, not unlimited extraction. Review current terms before sending data.
Does null mean the model is safe?
No. An explicit unknown creates a review opportunity. You still need your own checks, source comparison, permission boundary and an authorised person to decide the next step.
What would you try?
Share your result or ask a specific question about this workflow.
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