The binder
The binder, and the file it came from
If you’re holding a printed Nestbound binder, or you’ve found a file whose name ends in .nestbound, this page is for you. Nothing on it asks you to buy anything.
What a binder is, and what it’s not
A Nestbound binder is a record of where things are and who to call. It isn’t a will and it doesn’t stand in for one. If there’s a will, it’s a separate document held somewhere else, and the binder should tell you where and who drew it up.
The paper works on its own
Start at the first tab. It’s a list of what needs doing rather than an inventory of what there is. Every page is numbered, so you can tell at a glance whether any are missing, and all of it is typed. You don’t need a computer, an account, or this app to read it.
The file, if you want to open it
Every binder was printed from one file on somebody’s Mac, with a name ending in .nestbound. It holds the same information as the paper, plus the photographs of the documents at full size rather than reduced to fit a page.
On a Mac it looks like this. If you’re searching somebody else’s computer, look in Documents and in iCloud Drive first.
That file is an ordinary zip archive. Make a copy, rename the copy so it ends in .zip instead of .nestbound, and open it the way you’d open any zip. Inside are a manifest, one file of the records called dossier.json, and a folder of the photographs. Any computer can do this, Mac or Windows or Linux, with nothing installed and nobody’s permission.
If you want to know exactly what every field in that file means, the complete description is published here.
If the file asks for a passphrase
Some files are locked. If this one is, the zip will hold a file called dossier.enc instead of dossier.json.
We can’t unlock it. Neither can Apple, and neither can a recovery service. There’s no master key anywhere and there never was. Four things are worth trying before you give up.
- Open the file in Nestbound and read the hint, if one was written. The hint is stored unlocked and shows on the screen that asks for the passphrase.
- Look for it written down. Somebody who locks a file this important usually writes the passphrase down, with the papers, in a safe, in a wallet, or with whoever else was trusted with things like this.
- Try the Mac the file was made on, signed in as the person who made it. If “remember on this Mac” was ever ticked, that Mac can still open it.
- Look for a printed binder. Most of what’s in the file is on those pages, so it’s worth checking shelves and desks before assuming the file is the only copy.
If the passphrase is genuinely gone, the file can’t be opened by anybody. We would rather tell you that today than have you wait on an answer that can’t come.
If you’d rather write to a person
hello@nestbound.app reaches a person, not a queue. If you’re trying to get something out of one of these files and it isn’t working, say so and we will help you do it. There’s nothing to buy and nothing to sign up for.