ctxfile
ctxfile
One context, every agent, all local.
Website · Docs · Quickstart · The .ctxfile convention · Security
You work with more than one AI agent. Claude Code in the terminal, Cursor in the editor, a chat tab for thinking. Each one starts cold, because your working state (the plan, the key files, the git state, what you decided an hour ago) lives in your head and in scrollback.
ctxfile is a local-first MCP server that snapshots your project's working state into one structured context object, and hands it to any MCP agent in a single call. Save a session in one agent, continue it in another. Nothing leaves your machine.
you → ctxfile → the same context, in every agent
30-second quickstart
Claude Code
claude mcp add ctxfile -- npx -y ctxfile
Cursor (.cursor/mcp.json in your project, or ~/.cursor/mcp.json globally)
{
"mcpServers": {
"ctxfile": { "command": "npx", "args": ["-y", "ctxfile"] }
}
}
Claude Desktop: download ctxfile.mcpb from releases and drag it into Settings → Extensions.
Any other MCP client: it is a standard stdio server. npx -y ctxfile is the whole command.
Then, in your agent: "load my context" (or call get_context). Requires Node ≥ 20 (≥ 22 on Windows).
Private by default
This is the part we care about most, so it goes first:
- The default path makes zero network calls. Files and git only.
- Secret-looking content (cloud keys, tokens, private keys, JWTs,
password=assignments) is redacted before it enters the snapshot..env*, key files, and credential files are never read at all. - Core is read-only over your project. It never writes to your repo, your git state, or anything else.
- No telemetry by default. An anonymous weekly install ping exists, and it is opt-in only.
- Network connectors (Notion, local Ollama summarization, Sync) activate only when you explicitly configure them.
The full model, including what Pro and Sync add and what they can never see, is documented at ctxfile.dev/security.
What it does
| Snapshot | get_context returns one structured ContextObject: plan docs, ranked key files fitted to a token budget, git state, optional Notion pages and local-LLM summary. |
| Save and resume | save_session stores an agent-written summary of the current conversation. continue_thread hands the merged, provenance-labeled history to the next agent. Different harness, different provider, cold start: it picks up where you left off. |
| Threads | Durable identities for a piece of work ("Q3 campaign"), spanning agents and machines. handoff: true enforces a complete takeover package: state, decisions with rationale, ordered open items, gotchas. |
| Universal ingest | ingest_context is the schema-enforced door for any harness without a native parser. The prompt is the adapter, so every MCP-speaking agent is supported, including ones that do not exist yet. |
| Cloud agents | ctxfile export writes a static, repo-safe artifact for agents that never touch your machine (hosted coding agents, CI). The format is an open spec: the .ctxfile convention. |
| Dashboard | ctxfile ui: a local cockpit on 127.0.0.1. Run snapshots, watch connectors, browse context, inspect git state. |
| Sync (optional) | An end-to-end encrypted vault through a relay you can self-host. Argon2id key derivation, XChaCha20-Poly1305 per blob. The relay stores ciphertext only. |
The monorepo
| Package | What | License |
|---|---|---|
packages/core | ctxfile on npm: the MCP server, snapshot engine, threads, ingest, export, Sync client, dashboard host | Apache-2.0 |
packages/relay | @ctxfile/relay on npm: the self-hostable Sync relay and team hub (encrypted vaults, /mcp endpoint, federation, audit log). One Docker image | Apache-2.0 |
packages/dashboard + packages/ui-kit | The local instrument UI served by ctxfile ui | Apache-2.0 |
apps/web | ctxfile.dev: site and docs | Apache-2.0 |
Open core, honestly
Everything in this repo is Apache-2.0 and works standalone, forever. The paid Pro add-on (a separate, closed package) adds session connectors that read your recent sessions from Claude Code, Cursor, Codex CLI, OpenCode, Gemini CLI, Aider, OpenClaw, and Hermes Agent, plus encrypted cross-session memory, multi-provider consult, and local voice capture. Licensing is an Ed25519-signed key verified offline. No phone-home, ever. Pro funds the open-source work.
Contributing
We want your issues, your PRs, and your weird harness reports. Start with CONTRIBUTING.md. Every ingested format, every MCP client quirk, every redaction gap you find makes the whole thing better.
- Bugs and features: issues
- Questions and show-and-tell: discussions
- Security reports: SECURITY.md (please do not open public issues for vulnerabilities)
git clone https://github.com/ctxfile/ctxfile.git && cd ctxfile
npm install
npm run build && npm test # the whole gate: lint, typecheck, tests
Star history
If ctxfile saves you a cold start, a star is how other people find it.
License
Apache-2.0. "ctxfile" and the ctxfile logo are trademarks of ctxfile; the license covers the code, not the name.