diff --git a/lib/api.ts b/lib/api.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..1cae2dd
--- /dev/null
+++ b/lib/api.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,121 @@
+const API_BASE = process.env.NEXT_PUBLIC_API_URL || 'https://api.aaronnelson.studio';
+
+async function request<T>(path: string, options?: RequestInit): Promise<T> {
+  const res = await fetch(`${API_BASE}${path}`, {
+    credentials: 'include',
+    headers: { 'Content-Type': 'application/json' },
+    ...options,
+  });
+  if (!res.ok) throw new Error(`API error: ${res.status}`);
+  return res.json();
+}
+
+export const api = {
+  // Settings
+  getSettings: () => request<Settings>('/api/settings'),
+  updateSettings: (s: Partial<Settings>) =>
+    request<Settings>('/api/settings', { method: 'POST', body: JSON.stringify(s) }),
+
+  // Conversations
+  getConversations: () => request<Conversation[]>('/api/conversations'),
+  newConversation: (title = 'New conversation') =>
+    request<Conversation>('/api/conversations', { method: 'POST', body: JSON.stringify({ title }) }),
+  getMessages: (id: string) => request<Message[]>(`/api/conversations/${id}/messages`),
+  renameConversation: (id: string, title: string) =>
+    request<Conversation>(`/api/conversations/${id}`, { method: 'PATCH', body: JSON.stringify({ title }) }),
+  deleteConversation: (id: string) =>
+    request<{ deleted: string }>(`/api/conversations/${id}`, { method: 'DELETE' }),
+  clearAllConversations: () =>
+    request<{ cleared: boolean }>('/api/conversations', { method: 'DELETE' }),
+
+  // Chat
+  sendMessage: (message: string, conversation_id: string) =>
+    request<ChatResponse>('/api/chat', { method: 'POST', body: JSON.stringify({ message, conversation_id }) }),
+
+  // Memory
+  getMemory: () => request<{ content: string }>('/api/memory'),
+  updateMemory: (content: string) =>
+    request<{ saved: boolean }>('/api/memory', { method: 'POST', body: JSON.stringify({ content }) }),
+
+  // Status
+  getStatus: () => request<Status>('/api/status'),
+
+  // Reindex
+  reindex: () => request<{ started: boolean }>('/api/reindex', { method: 'POST' }),
+
+  // Transcribe
+  transcribe: async (audio: Blob): Promise<{ text: string }> => {
+    const form = new FormData();
+    form.append('audio', audio, 'recording.webm');
+    const res = await fetch(`${API_BASE}/api/transcribe`, {
+      method: 'POST',
+      credentials: 'include',
+      body: form,
+    });
+    if (!res.ok) throw new Error(`Transcribe error: ${res.status}`);
+    return res.json();
+  },
+
+  // Capture
+  capture: async (data: CapturePayload): Promise<{ saved: boolean }> => {
+    const form = new FormData();
+    if (data.audio) form.append('audio', data.audio, 'capture.webm');
+    if (data.image) form.append('image', data.image);
+    if (data.text) form.append('text', data.text);
+    if (data.project) form.append('project', data.project);
+    const res = await fetch(`${API_BASE}/api/capture`, {
+      method: 'POST',
+      credentials: 'include',
+      body: form,
+    });
+    if (!res.ok) throw new Error(`Capture error: ${res.status}`);
+    return res.json();
+  },
+};
+
+// Types
+export interface Settings {
+  theme: 'light' | 'dark';
+  font_size: 'small' | 'medium' | 'large';
+  web_search: boolean;
+  show_sources: boolean;
+}
+
+export interface Conversation {
+  id: string;
+  title: string;
+  created_at: string;
+  updated_at: string;
+  message_count: number;
+}
+
+export interface Message {
+  role: 'user' | 'assistant';
+  content: string;
+  sources: string[];
+  timestamp: string;
+}
+
+export interface ChatResponse {
+  response: string;
+  sources: string[];
+  conversation_id: string;
+}
+
+export interface Status {
+  aaron_ai: string;
+  watcher: string;
+  chunk_count: number;
+  file_count: number;
+  last_indexed: string;
+  conversation_count: number;
+  model: string;
+  nextcloud_path: string;
+}
+
+export interface CapturePayload {
+  audio?: Blob;
+  image?: File;
+  text?: string;
+  project?: string;
+}
diff --git a/lib/markdown.ts b/lib/markdown.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..8c256e8
--- /dev/null
+++ b/lib/markdown.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,11 @@
+import { marked } from 'marked';
+
+marked.setOptions({
+  breaks: true,
+  gfm: true,
+});
+
+export function renderMarkdown(text: string): string {
+  if (!text) return '';
+  return marked.parse(text) as string;
+}
diff --git a/lib/store.ts b/lib/store.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..c8a13fd
--- /dev/null
+++ b/lib/store.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,74 @@
+import { create } from 'zustand';
+import { persist } from 'zustand/middleware';
+import type { Conversation, Message, Settings, Status } from './api';
+
+interface AppState {
+  // Conversations
+  conversations: Conversation[];
+  currentId: string | null;
+  messages: Message[];
+  setConversations: (c: Conversation[]) => void;
+  setCurrentId: (id: string | null) => void;
+  setMessages: (m: Message[]) => void;
+  addMessage: (m: Message) => void;
+
+  // Settings
+  settings: Settings;
+  setSettings: (s: Partial<Settings>) => void;
+
+  // Status
+  status: Status | null;
+  setStatus: (s: Status) => void;
+
+  // UI
+  settingsOpen: boolean;
+  setSettingsOpen: (open: boolean) => void;
+  sidebarOpen: boolean;
+  setSidebarOpen: (open: boolean) => void;
+  isLoading: boolean;
+  setIsLoading: (loading: boolean) => void;
+}
+
+export const useStore = create<AppState>()(
+  persist(
+    (set) => ({
+      // Conversations
+      conversations: [],
+      currentId: null,
+      messages: [],
+      setConversations: (conversations) => set({ conversations }),
+      setCurrentId: (currentId) => set({ currentId }),
+      setMessages: (messages) => set({ messages }),
+      addMessage: (m) => set((s) => ({ messages: [...s.messages, m] })),
+
+      // Settings — defaults
+      settings: {
+        theme: 'light',
+        font_size: 'medium',
+        web_search: true,
+        show_sources: true,
+      },
+      setSettings: (s) =>
+        set((state) => ({ settings: { ...state.settings, ...s } })),
+
+      // Status
+      status: null,
+      setStatus: (status) => set({ status }),
+
+      // UI
+      settingsOpen: false,
+      setSettingsOpen: (settingsOpen) => set({ settingsOpen }),
+      sidebarOpen: false,
+      setSidebarOpen: (sidebarOpen) => set({ sidebarOpen }),
+      isLoading: false,
+      setIsLoading: (isLoading) => set({ isLoading }),
+    }),
+    {
+      name: 'aaronai-store',
+      partialize: (state) => ({
+        settings: state.settings,
+        currentId: state.currentId,
+      }),
+    }
+  )
+);
diff --git a/types/index.ts b/types/index.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..283670c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/types/index.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,8 @@
+export type Theme = 'light' | 'dark';
+export type FontSize = 'small' | 'medium' | 'large';
+export type DreamMode = 'nrem' | 'early-rem' | 'late-rem' | 'lucid';
+
+export interface Project {
+  name: string;
+  path: string;
+}