Privacy & data handling

Overwire is local-first: workflows, logs, secrets, mock contracts, and the entire run store live on your machine and are never uploaded. This page is the practical engineering view; the formal policy is at overwire.io/privacy.

What stays local

Everything you work with: workflow files, .overwire/ config (including secret values, which never leave the machine), run records under ~/.cache/overwire/runs/, logs, and captured API traffic. Mock-mode runs make no network connections at all.

What can leave the machine

Three narrow channels exist, each with a defined trigger and off switch:

Channel	When	What	Off switch
Crash reporting	Only after you make a choice in the first-launch consent dialog — nothing is sent before that. Packaged builds only.	Crash stack traces, app version, OS version. Home-directory paths are scrubbed.	Settings → Privacy
License validation	On activation, then periodic revalidation while Pro is active.	Your license key and an activation identifier, to Polar’s license API. Transient network failures never deactivate you (14-day offline grace).	Don’t activate a license (the CLI and free app surfaces never call it)
Update checks	The desktop app checks for updates.	A version query to the release server; no personal data.	Settings → Updates

Live-mode runs additionally fetch what your workflows reference — action sources, container images, and whatever your steps download — exactly as CI would. That traffic is your workflow’s, not telemetry.

Diagnostic bundles

overwire doctor --bundle (or Settings → Support in the app) builds a support bundle you send — nothing is transmitted automatically. It contains environment info, a names-and-sizes-only file inventory, and failed-step run summaries, with home-directory paths scrubbed. Inspect the archive before sharing it; see Troubleshooting.