$ cat ~/blog/building-depostack-in-public.md
Building DepoStack in Public: What Court Reporting Software Should Be
A build-log on the principles behind DepoStack — vendor-neutral, on-device, professional-first. What's broken in legacy court reporting software, and what I'm doing differently.
I’m building DepoStack in the open because the alternative — disappearing for a year and emerging with a logo and a launch video — is exactly the playbook that gave court reporting the software it has now. I’d rather show the work.
Here’s the thesis, and the principles I’m holding myself to.
What’s broken
Legacy court reporting software optimizes for the vendor, not the reporter. Proprietary formats that lock your own recordings away. Cloud dependencies that turn sensitive testimony into someone else’s liability. Pricing that scales with your firm’s success instead of its needs. AI features bolted on as a race to remove the human — which misunderstands what the human is for.
None of that is inevitable. It’s just what happens when the people building the tools have never had to stand behind the record.
The principles
- Vendor-neutral. Your workflow shouldn’t be hostage to one model, one format, or one company — mine included. Portable methods over proprietary lock-in.
- On-device by default. Testimony stays on infrastructure you control unless there’s a real reason for it to leave.
- Professional-first. Every feature makes the reporter, paralegal, or attorney faster and more capable — never optional. The professional is the product; AI is the multiplier.
- Free where it should be free. Some plumbing is just plumbing. DepoAudio is free and open source on purpose, and it won’t be the last thing I give away.
Why public
Because the field can tell me where I’m wrong faster than I can find out alone, and because trust is built in the open. The reporters and attorneys who produce the record know things no product manager does. I’d rather build with them than at them.
DepoStack is opening early access — the home for vendor-neutral, on-device, accountable tools for the people who produce the record. If that’s you, come kick the tires and tell me what’s missing.
What’s the one piece of court reporting software you wish existed? I’m taking notes — literally.