Workbrain

Your personal operating layer for AI-assisted work.

Workbrain is a local Model Context Protocol (MCP) server for Claude Code. It gives Claude persistent context about how you work, what you're focused on this week, and what you've shipped — without sending that data to the cloud or sharing it with your team.

Overview

Most AI coding setups tell the model how to behave (rules, prompts). Workbrain tells it what you're doing — and lets it keep that picture up to date as you work.

Everything lives on your machine in ~/.workbrain/. Nothing is committed to project repos unless you choose to.

Related MCP server: Melchizedek

Features

• Unified context — get_context returns playbook, agenda, work log, and commits in a single call

• Living weekly board — Claude can add, update, and complete agenda items during a session

• Automatic work logging — marking an agenda item done creates a linked work log entry

• Local-first & private — SQLite + markdown on disk; no accounts, no cloud sync required

• Cross-project — registered at user scope; follows you across every repo

• Git integration — optional post-commit hook records commits automatically

• CLI — check your week from the terminal without opening Claude

Requirements

• Node.js 22+ (uses built-in node:sqlite — no native dependencies)

• Claude Code CLI or extension (Cursor, VS Code, or terminal)

Quick start

git clone https://github.com/himanshu-sharma-55/work-brain.git
cd work-brain
npm install
node bin/install.js

Register the MCP server (server name is workbrain; repo folder is work-brain):

claude mcp add --scope user workbrain -- node /absolute/path/to/work-brain/src/index.js

Add to your shell profile (~/.zshrc or ~/.bashrc):

export WORKBRAIN_ROOT=/absolute/path/to/work-brain

Verify in Claude Code: type /mcp and confirm workbrain is connected.

Edit your playbook: ~/.workbrain/playbook.md

How it works

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                     Claude Code                         │
│              (Cursor / VS Code / CLI)                   │
└────────────────────────┬────────────────────────────────┘
                         │ MCP (stdio)
                         ▼
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                  Workbrain Server                       │
│  get_context · get_agenda · log_work · get_commits …   │
└────────────────────────┬────────────────────────────────┘
                         │
          ┌──────────────┼──────────────┐
          ▼              ▼              ▼
   playbook.md       data.db      git hook (optional)
   (how you work)   (agenda,       (commit capture)
                     work log,
                     commits)
          └──────────────┴──────────────┘
                         │
                    ~/.workbrain/
                    (or WORKBRAIN_HOME)

Claude calls Workbrain tools on demand — your rules aren't loaded into every message, keeping context lean until it's needed.

MCP tools

Recommended session flow

Add this to your personal Cursor or Claude rules:

At the start of a work session, call get_context. When we finish a clear task, update the agenda and log work. Marking an agenda item done is enough — it auto-logs.

Example prompts

CLI

Check status without Claude:

node bin/workbrain.js status     # current week at a glance
node bin/workbrain.js summary    # full week recap
npm run status                   # shortcut via package script

Configuration

Environment variables

Data directory layout

~/.workbrain/
├── playbook.md    # How you work (markdown)
├── data.db        # Agenda, work log, commits (SQLite)
└── git-template/  # Git hook template (created by install)

Custom data directory

export WORKBRAIN_HOME=/path/to/shared/workbrain-data
claude mcp add --scope user workbrain -- \
  env WORKBRAIN_HOME=/path/to/shared/workbrain-data \
  node ~/work-brain/src/index.js

Git integration

node bin/install.js configures a global git template so new repositories automatically include the post-commit hook.

For an existing repository:

export WORKBRAIN_ROOT=/path/to/work-brain   # in ~/.zshrc
node /path/to/work-brain/bin/setup-git-hook.js /path/to/repo

Each commit records hash, repo, branch, message, and files changed into ~/.workbrain/data.db.

Multi-machine setup

Clone and register on each machine:

git clone https://github.com/himanshu-sharma-55/work-brain.git ~/work-brain
cd ~/work-brain && npm install && node bin/install.js
claude mcp add --scope user workbrain -- node ~/work-brain/src/index.js

Each machine maintains its own ~/.workbrain/ by default. To sync data:

Cursor setup

Workbrain uses Claude Code MCP, not Cursor's ~/.cursor/mcp.json.

1. Install the Claude Code extension in Cursor

2. Open the integrated terminal

3. Run claude mcp add (see Quick start)

4. In the Claude panel: /mcp → enable workbrain

Privacy & scope

Workbrain is designed for individual use:

• MCP is registered with --scope user — not tied to any project repo

• Personal data never leaves your machine unless you sync it yourself

• Do not commit .mcp.json to shared team repositories

Troubleshooting

Development

npm install
npm start              # run MCP server (stdio)
npm run install:local  # install + init data dir + git template
npm run status         # CLI status check

For local development with a global CLI alias:

cd work-brain && npm link
claude mcp add --scope user workbrain -- workbrain

Naming

License

LICENSE