Black Orchid: An Extendable Collaborative Environment Framework

Delivered as an MCP server, it allows dynamic creation of tools and skills for working with AI through Claude Code or any system that accepts MCP It's a hot-reloadable MCP proxy server for custom Python tools, a hub for global (not project bound) skills. Uses safe module loading usingimportlib (not exec). And auto-discovers tools from Python modules with collision detection.

Dynamic collaboration, hackable scripting, extensions on the fly

Add your own skills, and use them with any project, add your own tools.

This is both a collaborative space and a platform to extend capabilities.

Still highly experimental. Feedback and contributions are welcome!

Features

• Hot-reloadable MCP proxy server

• Safe module loading (importlib, not exec)

• Auto-discovers tools from Python modules

• Collision detection for duplicate function names

• Public and private module support

• Claude skills with auto discovery

Installation

Please see requirements.txt, below are a couple ways to set it up.

Quick setup:

claude mcp add --transport stdio Black_Orchid python "absolute/path/to/black_orchid.py"

Note: Requires absolute path to black_orchid.py and fastmcp installed globally, otherwise you will need to change the command. you will also need python-toon and pyyaml. This will only intall Black Orchid per folder.

For a global install:

Please note Claude stores the GLOBAL MCP servers in a top level mcpServers property inside the /Users/USERNAME/.claude.json.

That is where you must add the command, and note you can use the fastmcp runner, UV, or simply run it with a venv you create if you wish to isolate dependencies.

How It Works

Black Orchid lets you separate your skills, extension modules, and anything else into private and public folders, this is so if you fork the repo you can simply gitignore the private folder. Use this for personal things, sensitive data, etc.

More publicly available default modules will continue to be added.

For skills:

• Scans modules/skills/ (public) and private/modules/skills folders.

• Lets Claude list the available skills

• Embody skill: Claude has the skill and uses it

• Spawn agent: Claude sets up an agent with that skill then assigns them a task.

For tools:

• Scans modules/ (public) and private/modules/ (private) folders

• Loads all .py files as tools

• Each public function (not starting with _) in a module becomes an MCP tool

• Hot reload without restarting server

• Path validation and syntax checking for security

Available Built-in Tools

Working with Skills

Skills are portable collaboration modes - ways of thinking and working that travel with you across projects.

• list_skills() - see what modes are available (from both modules/skills/ and private/skills/)

• use_skill(skill_name) - embody a skill in your current session

• spawn_subagent_with_skill(skill_name, task) - create a specialized agent with a skill as their context

Want a new skill? Just create a markdown file in

Built-in Skills

Black Orchid comes with public skills to get you started:

documentation-optimizer - Transform verbose documentation into LLM-friendly, token-efficient markdown

• Marks human/AI scope boundaries clearly (🚫 human required, ✅ AI can handle, ⚠️ collaboration needed)

• Optimizes for token efficiency while preserving essential information

• Structures docs for quick lookup without repeated fetching

• Provides templates and guidelines for different doc types

Especially useful when integrating new frameworks or APIs - fetch the docs once, optimize them, and reference them across sessions without re-fetching.

project-estimator - Collaborative project scoping and time estimation

• Breaks down complex projects into estimable components

• Considers uncertainty and dependencies

• Provides ranges rather than false precision

• Helps surface hidden complexity early

Use this when planning new features or projects - it helps turn "I want to build X" into "here's what X actually involves and how long it might take."

documentation-state-reviewer - Systematic documentation auditing

• Examines actual code to understand what exists

• Reads current documentation

• Asks clarifying questions about intent and priorities

• Identifies gaps (features that exist but aren't documented)

• Identifies staleness (documentation that's outdated)

• Provides unbiased assessment of what needs updating

Use this when you suspect your docs are out of sync with reality - it helps catch the gaps between "what we built" and "what we documented."

Managing Your Session

Keep context alive across the conversation without bloating your context window.

Session Memory (ephemeral - lives only in current session):

• remember(key, value) - store data for this session

• recall(key) - retrieve stored data

• forget(key) - remove specific memory

• list_memories() - see all stored keys

• clear_all_memories() - wipe the slate clean

Working Preferences (persistent - survives across sessions):

• load_working_preferences() - load your collaboration preferences

• save_working_preference(key, value) - save a preference for future sessions

• get_preference(key) - lookup specific preference

Session memory is for "remember this API response for the next few turns." Preferences are for "I always want dark mode" or "my preferred code style is X."

Semantic Memory & Knowledge Management

Persistent, hierarchical memory system for technical knowledge, reference libraries, and custom domains.

Black Orchid includes a semantic memory system that lets you build searchable knowledge bases from markdown documents. Unlike simple file storage, semantic memory uses embeddings to enable intelligent search - ask questions in natural language and get relevant results with full provenance.

Core Functions:

• initialize_semantic_memory() - Set up ChromaDB and create collections

• ingest_document(file_path, domain) - Add a markdown file to memory

• query_memory(text, domain, n_results) - Search semantically with natural language

• rebuild_domain(domain) - Batch process all files in a domain

• get_collections() - See stats for all memory collections

How It Works:

1. Hierarchical Structure - Documents are parsed into L0 (document), L1 (sections), L2 (subsections)

2. Provenance Tracking - Every result shows exactly where it came from (book > chapter > section)

3. Domain Organization - Separate collections for different knowledge types

4. Semantic Search - Query with questions, not keywords

Example Usage:

Configurable Domains:

Domains are configured via YAML (see Configuration section below). Public config defines default domains (technical, library), while private config can add custom domains.

Storage:

• Documents: sources/{domain}/ - Your markdown files

• Database: db/chroma/ - Embeddings and metadata (gitignored)

• Uses ChromaDB with sentence-transformers/all-MiniLM-L6-v2 embedding model

• Runs locally, no external APIs needed

Perfect for building personal knowledge bases, documenting technical decisions, or creating queryable reference libraries.

Configuration

Customize Black Orchid behavior through YAML config files.

Black Orchid uses a two-tier configuration system:

• Public config (config.yaml) - Settings committed to git

• Private config (private/config.yaml) - Personal settings (gitignored)

Domain Configuration Example:

Domains from both configs merge at runtime, enabling extensibility without modifying public code.

Config Functions:

• get_config(scope, key_path) - Read config value

• set_config(scope, key_path, value) - Update config

• reload_config(scope) - Hot reload config from disk

• get_enabled_domains() - List all enabled memory domains

System Information

Know your environment so you can write cross-platform code.

• get_os_info() - cross-platform OS detection and system information

Returns platform, version, architecture - useful for conditional logic in your modules.

Hot Reloading & Debugging

Made changes? See them instantly. Something broken? Find out why.

• reload_all_modules() - reload all modules from scratch (tools and skills)

• reload_module(module_name) - reload just one specific module

• list_rejected_modules() - see which modules failed to load and why

This is the magic - edit a Python file, call reload, and your changes are live. No server restart, no cache clearing, just instant feedback.

Creating Your Own Modules

You can create modules and have your own custom utilities, wrap APIs, whatever you can imagine.

Here's how:

1. Create a .py file in modules/ folder

2. Write functions with docstrings

3. Call reload_all_modules() to load new tools

4. Functions become available as MCP tools

Example simple module:

Example with arguments:

When called via Black Orchid: use_proxy_tool("greet_person", {"name": "Alice", "enthusiasm": 3}) returns "Hello, Alice!!!"

Error Handling: If a tool is called with incorrect arguments, Black Orchid returns a clear error message:

• Missing required argument: "Error calling tool 'greet_person': missing required argument 'name'"

• Wrong argument type: "Error calling tool 'greet_person': argument 'enthusiasm' must be int, not str"

• Unexpected argument: "Error calling tool 'greet_person': unexpected keyword argument 'volume'"

Important Notes:

Helper Functions: Functions starting with _ (underscore) are treated as private helpers and won't be exposed as tools. Use this for internal utilities.

Classes: Classes are not directly exposed as tools. To expose class methods, instantiate the class and call methods in a function.

Module Structure

• modules/ - public tools (committed to git)

• private/modules/ - private tools (gitignored)

• Collision handling: automatic _modulename suffix when function names conflict

Usage Examples

Talking to Claude Code

When you want Claude to use your Black Orchid tools, ask naturally:

Or more specifically:

If you already have mentioned Black Orchid you might not need to do much of this.

Claude will use the use_proxy_tool function automatically. You don't need to know the exact MCP function names - just reference "Black Orchid proxy tools" and describe what you want.

Common Commands

• List available tools: list_proxy_tools()

• Call a tool: use_proxy_tool(tool_id, kwargs)

• Reload after changes: reload_all_modules()

• Check rejected modules: list_rejected_modules()

Example Workflow

1. Create a new module in modules/my_tools.py

2. Ask Claude: "Using Black Orchid, reload all modules"

3. Ask Claude: "List the available Black Orchid proxy tools"

4. Ask Claude: "Use the my_function tool from Black Orchid"

Security

Black Orchid is designed with security in mind, but follows a "trust but verify" approach:

What it does:

• Path validation: All module paths are validated against approved directories (modules/ and private/modules/)

• Prevents directory traversal attacks - modules outside approved directories are rejected

• Safe module loading: Uses importlib (Python's standard module loader), not

• Syntax validation: All modules are parsed with ast.parse() before loading to catch syntax errors

• Rejected modules tracking: Use list_rejected_modules() to see what failed to load and why

What you should do/Best practices:

• Only load modules you trust - Black Orchid executes Python code from your modules

• Review any modules before placing them in modules/ or private/modules/

• Keep your private/modules/ folder truly private (it's gitignored by default)

• Be cautious with third-party modules - verify the code before using

Trust but verify: You're ultimately responsible for what code you choose to load.

Contributing

Contribution and feedback is always welcome. Skills, Tools, whatever you decide to add or create. Thank you for reading, please tell me of any feature requests, bugs, or anything else.

Licensing stuff

Copyright 2025 AJ Gonzalez

Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License"); you may not use this file except in compliance with the License. You may obtain a copy of the License at

Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS, WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied. See the License for the specific language governing permissions and limitations under the License.