AI writes the steps. Your team does the work. QID keeps the proof.

Give your AI your notes, manuals or drawings. QID turns them into step-by-step guides your team follows and signs off, in a record nobody can secretly change.

Download for Windows Download for macOS

Free. Runs on your own computer, works offline, and your data stays yours.

Try it on three real jobs.

Each job is one .qid file. Pick one, open a step, enter a reading, accept or reject it, and ask the AI what to do next.

Interactive demo · click a step, press Accept, ask the AI anything about QID
S. Lee
FileEditViewHistoryHelp
Dining table T-140 · AssemblyChecklist Signed in as S. Lee QID-2026-00318

Direction

Drafted by Claude (AI) from the T-140 CAD files · reviewed by J. Carter

Ask QID anything.

Or try

Questions are saved anonymously to help us improve QID.

Instructions get lost. Records get changed.

The procedure, the evidence and the sign-off usually live in three different places. QID puts them in one file.

The PDF procedure
Long documents get skimmed. Operators find the one value they need and miss the warning two pages earlier.
The spreadsheet
Results go into cells anyone can overwrite. Nobody can tell which reading was typed on the day and which was fixed later.
The expert's memory
The real method lives in one person's head. When they move on, it leaves with them.
Chat and email
A good idea from the floor gets lost in a thread and never reaches the instruction.
Two inspectors with clipboards checking the inner wings of cargo planes lined up in a factory yard.
Inspectors checking cargo-plane wings on paper, Long Beach, 1942.
A technician in a work jacket kneels in the snow beside an aircraft and checks the procedure on a rugged laptop.

Op. 1 · Step 1.3

Log the hydraulic pressure

  1. Gauge connected to port A
  2. Read system A: 3000 ± 100 psi
  3. Accept or reject the step
Checking the procedure on a rugged laptop, out in the field.

How it works: write, run, prove.

First, hand the AI your notes.

Turn the P-301 installation manual into steps, one picture per step. Mark anything that's missing.

Op. 2 · Step 2.2

Align pump and motor

  1. Clamp the dial indicator on the pump hub, tip on the motor hub.
  2. Turn both shafts together. Read at 0°, 90°, 180° and 270°.
  3. Shim the motor feet until both values are in tolerance.

Tolerance: angular ≤ 0.05 mm/100 mm, offset ≤ 0.05 mm

Shim set size [to confirm]

Drafted by Claude (AI) · waiting for review by J. Carter

Then your team runs the step.

Leg gap measured: 0.40 mm, maximum 0.20 mm.

2.2 Attach the legsRejected
2.2.1 Rework: use a spare legOpened
2.3 Turn upright & levelLocked

Finally, QID keeps the proof.

S. Lee accepted 2.3 · gap 0 mm#5b2d94 ← #e71c0a
S. Lee accepted 2.2 · 4/4 legs tight#e71c0a ← #9c1e33
S. Lee accepted 2.1 · bracket replaced, 4/4#9c1e33 ← #41aa07
S. Lee rejected 2.1 · bracket B bent#41aa07 ← #d0f6b2

Also in every file: a project graph and a Gantt timeline of the whole job, a reading feed, three ways to share a copy (full, like new, or checklist), a supplier's file embedded as a layer, tool libraries, and improvement notes from the floor.

Bring the AI you already pay for.

QID is free. The AI is yours: switch on the ways you want to use it and see what each one costs.

Use the AI app you already have.

Claude Desktop, Claude Code or Cursor connect over MCP with one click. Extra cost: $0, your plan covers it.

Chat with the AI inside QID.

Claude, ChatGPT, Grok or any OpenAI-compatible API, with your own key. You pay the provider for what you use.

Run a local model for free.

Ollama or LM Studio on your own machine. No key, no bill, and nothing leaves the building.

Let the AI sign off the work.

Not possible. Accept and Reject belong to named people, and every AI edit is logged as “name (AI)”.

The right access for every role.

Roles decide what each person can change. Labels decide which steps each role can sign.

Roles with their own permissions

Start with Admin, Engineering, Operational and QA, or create your own. Each role has a colour and its own switches: write the instructions, edit the Gantt and graph, export and share, manage issue tickets.

Labels on every step

Tag a step Production activity, Quality activity or any label you invent. A step with two labels needs a role that holds both, which builds a four-eyes release into the process.

A password per role

Lock a role with a password and hand it out as a short code. Only a hash is stored in the file, so sharing the document doesn't share the access.

Name and role on every action

Every change and sign-off is logged with the person's name and role colour. Audits show who did what, and with which rights.

Roles

Steps · who can run this

Pick a role to see which steps it can sign.

Records nobody can secretly change.

Every entry in a .qid file is sealed with SHA-256 over its content and the hash before it. Edit one in a text editor and every link after it stops matching, so QID shows a tamper warning at the first altered entry.

Entry 2, as signed

The same entry, one word changed

Try to bend it.

Change "rejected" to "accepted" in entry 2, the way someone might in a text editor, and watch QID catch it. Restore it and the chain verifies again.

The file checks itself, so you can email it, archive it and open it years later.

History › ActivityT-140 Assembly.qidChain verified

Any job with steps.

  • ServiceInstallation, troubleshooting, service report
  • MaintenanceLockout and tagout, seal swaps, return to service
  • AssemblyKitting, torque sequences, end-of-line test
  • InspectionFirst article, dimensional readings, rework
  • OnboardingStation training, safety walk, skills sign-off
A crew welding a water main in a street trench.
A welder in a mask and leather gloves welding a boiler seam in a shower of sparks.
Welding ship boilers, Chattanooga, 1942.
An aircraft worker wearing an inspector armband checking the ends of a bundle of wiring.
An inspector checking a wiring harness, Burbank, 1942.

Questions, answered.

What is QID? QID (Quality ID) is free desktop software for digital work instructions and quality records. An AI agent turns your notes, manuals or CAD drawings into step-by-step instructions, your team follows them and signs off each step with readings and photos, and every change is saved in a tamper-evident, SHA-256 hash-chained history inside one .qid file.

Who is QID for? Teams that do work in steps and need to prove it: manufacturing and assembly lines, maintenance and MRO crews, field service and commissioning engineers, power plants and utilities, and quality inspectors doing first-article, dimensional or NDT and weld inspection. It also works for onboarding and skills sign-off.

How is QID different from Word, Excel or paper checklists? Documents hold instructions but can't prove what was done, and they are easy to edit afterwards. QID keeps the instructions, the results and the proof in one file, with a named sign-off on every step and a history nobody can secretly change. It doesn't replace your ERP or MES; your AI agent can read those and bring data in over MCP.

What does QID cost? Nothing. QID is free. The only cost is the AI you choose to connect: the AI app you already pay for, your own API key, or a local model that costs nothing.

Where is my data stored? In .qid files on your own disk or network share. QID is a desktop app and works offline. Nothing leaves your machine unless you connect an online AI.

Which AI can I use? Claude, ChatGPT, Grok, or a local model through Ollama or LM Studio for the in-app chat. Any MCP app, such as Claude Desktop, Claude Code or Cursor, can connect to QID directly.

Do I need an API key? Only for the in-app chat with an online provider. Linking your own AI app over MCP uses the subscription you already have, and local models need no key at all.

What can my team ask the AI? Anything about the work in the file: where the job stands, what's blocked, which value to use, how to do the current step. It answers from your documents and says where it found it.

Can the AI approve work? No. It can write, illustrate, reorganise and search instructions. Accepting, rejecting and reopening steps is reserved for people.

How long does it take to learn? Operators only see their steps: read, enter the values, press Accept. Authors start from an AI draft instead of a blank page. A realistic first goal: one procedure this week.

Who can change what? Roles and step labels decide it. Operators sign production steps, QA signs quality checks, and a step with both labels needs a role that holds both.

What does tamper-evident mean here? Each history entry is hashed together with the one before it. If anyone edits the log outside QID, the hashes stop matching and QID points to the first altered entry.

Will the AI make up numbers? No. Torques, temperatures and part numbers come from your documents. Anything missing is marked [to confirm], and every AI edit is logged as “name (AI)”.

Can AI drawings use our brand? Yes. Set your colours and logo once per document, and every infographic the AI draws uses them and stays editable.

How do I connect Claude Desktop, Claude Code or Cursor? One click links Claude Desktop. For any other MCP app, add this to its settings:

"qid": {
  "command": "QID.exe",
  "args": ["resources/mcp/server.mjs"],
  "env": { "ELECTRON_RUN_AS_NODE": "1" }
}

Does it need IT to install? No. QID runs on Windows 10 and 11 and macOS. The Windows installer runs per user, needs no admin rights, and opens .qid files with a double-click.

Free to use. Yours to prove.

Put your first procedure into QID this week. You only pay for the AI you already use.

Download for Windows Download for macOS