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ARK companion

An offline field guide for ARK, Survival Ascended. Ask in plain English, get taming, crafting, boss and artifact answers from a hand-checked knowledge base.

details

status
live
group
live tools
stack
Python (standard library only), installable PWA, Markdown knowledge base
since
2026-07

readme

Questions like "how do I tame a raptor?" or "no kibble for a therizino, what's next best?" get an instant answer from a local knowledge base instead of a search through guides written for the older version of the game.

How it's built

  • The knowledge base is the product. It's one Markdown file per creature, item, boss, artifact or cave, with structured frontmatter and a prose body. The files open in Obsidian. The app is just a reader over them.
  • Types are config, not code. _types.json defines each type's required fields, the rows on its answer card and its quick-question chips. Adding a new type touches no server code.
  • Answer routing: the longest matching name wins (so "Rex Saddle" beats "Rex"), wording breaks ties ("craft" leans toward items, "tame" toward creatures), and a keyword can focus one row of the card.
  • A linter validates the vault before and after bulk edits.
  • An installable PWA: add it to a phone's home screen and it works with no signal. A service worker caches the app shell.

Accuracy

Every entry is checked against the community wiki before it's marked verified, and nothing is added from memory. The interface flags any entry that hasn't been verified yet, so the guide never presents a guess as a fact.

Where it's at

42 releases: every map's bosses, tributes and artifact caves (Island, Scorched Earth, Aberration, Extinction, Valguero and Ragnarok), cave walkthroughs with photo carousels, and a tribute stockpile tracker that counts what a lower tier will use up.