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Cortex MCP

Persistent brain, memory, loop controller, and reminder engine for AI coding agents.

npm version License: MIT Node.js


What is Cortex?

Cortex is a local MCP server that gives AI coding agents persistent memory, task management, knowledge graphs, and a live dashboard. It runs on your machine, stores everything in SQLite, and never sends data to the cloud.

Agent starts → cortex_get_state → knows everything → works → cortex_save_snapshot → done

Related MCP server: apex-memory

Features

31 MCP Tools

  • Core Loop — get_state, get_next_task, log_progress, check_reminders, save_snapshot

  • Project Setup — init (10-question onboarding), health check with auto-repair

  • Features & Files — track features, files, checkpoints, rollback

  • Tests & Issues — register tests, log bugs, resolve issues

  • Knowledge Base — dictionary, snippets, research, decisions, FTS5 search

  • Human Interaction — ask_human (pause for input), confirm_destructive (red modal)

  • V2 Advanced — token budget (180k), agent roles (4 levels), contradiction detection

  • Knowledge Graph — relationships between features, files, tests, issues

Live Dashboard

  • 12 tabs — Overview, Pipeline, Features, FileTree, Tests, Progress, Issues, Library, Research, Dictionary, Graph, Settings

  • Pipeline tab — Start a goal, watch tasks execute live with progress bar, pause/resume/cancel

  • D3 Knowledge Graph — force-directed visualization with 27+ nodes, drag/zoom/pan

  • WebSocket Live Push — dashboard updates instantly when data changes

  • Ctrl+K Search — global search across all tables

  • shadcn/ui — modern React 19 + Tailwind CSS interface

MCP Resources (10 endpoints)

Read project data without tool calls via cortex:// URIs: cortex://project, cortex://features, cortex://files, cortex://tests, cortex://issues, cortex://dictionary, cortex://progress, cortex://todos, cortex://relationships, cortex://snapshots

MCP Prompts (5 templates)

Pre-built session workflows: start-session, debug-issue, review-code, init-project, end-session

V2.4 Modules — Autonomous Pipeline

  • Planner — natural language goal → ordered DAG of tasks with dependency resolution

  • Executor — auto-executes tasks (agent/command/test/verify), retries failures up to 3×

  • Loop Controller — pause/resume/cancel with WebSocket live push to dashboard

  • Auto-Heal — detects broken files (restores from checkpoint), resets failed tests

V2.1 Modules

  • Audit Trail — structured logging for every tool call

  • Episodic Memory — timestamped events with importance scoring

  • Context Compilation — full project state in 2ms

Quick Start

Add to your opencode.json:

{
  "mcp": {
    "cortex": {
      "type": "local",
      "command": ["npx", "-y", "@neuralnexustech/cortex-mcp@latest", "start", "--project", "."],
      "enabled": true,
      "env": {
        "CORTEX_PROJECT_PATH": "."
      }
    }
  }
}

Option 2: Local Install

npm install -g @neuralnexustech/cortex-mcp@latest

Then add to opencode.json:

{
  "mcp": {
    "cortex": {
      "type": "local",
      "command": ["cortex", "start", "--project", "/path/to/your/project"],
      "enabled": true,
      "env": {
        "CORTEX_PROJECT_PATH": "/path/to/your/project"
      }
    }
  }
}

Option 3: Clone & Run

git clone https://github.com/neuralnexustech/cortex-mcp.git
cd cortex-mcp
npm install
cd dashboard && npm install && npm run build && cd ..
node src/server.js

Autonomous Pipeline (V2.4)

Cortex Pipeline is a goal-driven autonomous execution engine. Give it a goal, and it plans, executes, tests, and heals itself — no step-by-step prompting required.

Goal → Planner → DAG Tasks → Executor → Test → Auto-Heal → Done
                              ↕
                    pause / resume / cancel
                         (WebSocket live)

How It Works

You type: "Build authentication system"
    ↓
Planner breaks goal into ordered DAG:
  [1] Scaffold routes        → [2] Create User model
  → [3] JWT middleware       → [4] Login endpoint
  → [5] Register endpoint    → [6] Password hashing
  → [7] Run tests            → [8] Verify security
    ↓
Executor auto-runs each task:
  ✓ Scaffold routes      (1.2s)
  ✓ Create User model    (0.8s)
  ✗ JWT middleware       → retry #1 → ✓  (2.1s)
  ✓ Login endpoint       (0.5s)
  ...
    ↓
Auto-Heal detects broken files → restores from checkpoint
Auto-Heal resets failed tests   → retries with new approach
    ↓
Done. Pipeline history saved. Dashboard updated via WebSocket.

8 Pipeline MCP Tools

Tool

Purpose

cortex_pipeline_start

Give a goal → DAG planned + executed

cortex_pipeline_status

Check progress, task states, retry counts

cortex_pipeline_pause

Pause mid-execution

cortex_pipeline_resume

Resume from where it paused

cortex_pipeline_cancel

Cancel remaining tasks

cortex_pipeline_plan

Preview task breakdown (dry run)

cortex_auto_heal

Fix broken files, reset failed tests

cortex_pipeline_history

List all past pipeline runs

Why This Is Different

Traditional AI Assistants

Cortex Pipeline

Wait for your next prompt

Executes autonomously toward a goal

You give step-by-step instructions

You give a goal, it plans the steps

You babysit each action

Auto-retry on failure (up to 3×)

No memory of past runs

Full pipeline history + checkpoints

Single-threaded Q&A

Multi-task DAG with priority ordering

You fix broken files

Auto-heal restores from checkpoints

In short: Most AI tools are reactive — you drive. Cortex Pipeline is proactive — it drives itself, and you just set the destination.

Session Lifecycle

START
  ↓
cortex_get_state        → project context (<200 tokens)
  ↓
cortex_get_next_task    → highest-priority pending todo
  ↓
WORK                    → write code, create files
  ↓
cortex_tick_file        → track each file created
  ↓
cortex_log_progress     → log completed work
  ↓
cortex_check_reminders  → handle warnings
  ↓
cortex_get_next_task    → next todo (or "ALL TASKS COMPLETE")
  ↓
...repeat...
  ↓
cortex_save_snapshot    → compress session to summary
  ↓
END

Tool Reference

Core Loop (5)

Tool

Purpose

cortex_get_state

Compressed project context

cortex_get_next_task

Highest-priority pending todo

cortex_log_progress

Log completed work

cortex_check_reminders

6 safety checks

cortex_save_snapshot

Compress session summary

Project Setup (3)

Tool

Purpose

cortex_init

Initialize project (10-question onboarding)

cortex_set_active_project

Switch between projects

cortex_health

DB integrity + auto-repair

Features & Files (5)

Tool

Purpose

cortex_add_feature

Register a feature

cortex_update_feature

Update feature status

cortex_tick_file

Track file creation (auto-checkpoints)

cortex_get_files

List all tracked files

cortex_rollback_file

Restore file from checkpoint

Tests (2)

Tool

Purpose

cortex_add_test

Register a test

cortex_update_test

Mark test passed/failed

Issues (2)

Tool

Purpose

cortex_log_issue

Log a bug or blocker

cortex_resolve_issue

Mark issue resolved with fix

Knowledge Base (6)

Tool

Purpose

cortex_write_dictionary

Document a file/feature

cortex_get_detail

Retrieve full dictionary entry

cortex_add_snippet

Save reusable code snippet

cortex_add_research

Log library research notes

cortex_add_decision

Record architectural decision

cortex_search

FTS5 + vector hybrid search

Human Interaction (2)

Tool

Purpose

cortex_ask_human

Pause, ask question, wait for answer

cortex_confirm_destructive

Red confirmation modal for dangerous ops

V2 Advanced (5)

Tool

Purpose

cortex_log_tokens

Track token usage per action

cortex_get_token_budget

Check remaining budget (180k default)

cortex_set_role

Set agent role

cortex_get_role

Get agent permissions

cortex_list_agents

List all connected agents

Knowledge Graph (3)

Tool

Purpose

cortex_add_relationship

Link entities

cortex_check_contradictions

Find conflicting data

cortex_resolve_contradiction

Resolve conflicts

Skills (2)

Tool

Purpose

cortex_get_skill

Load SKILL.md guide

cortex_list_skills

List available skills

Database

SQLite at .cortex/cortex.db with:

  • WAL mode — concurrent reads while writing

  • FTS5 — full-text search across all tables

  • 15+ tables — project, features, files, tests, issues, dictionary, progress, relationships, etc.

  • Triggers — auto-sync FTS index on insert/update/delete

Dashboard

Live at http://localhost:3001 when the server runs.

  • Ctrl+K — Global search overlay

  • Graph tab — D3 force-directed knowledge graph

  • LIVE indicator — WebSocket connection status

  • 12 tabs — Overview, Pipeline, Features, FileTree, Tests, Progress, Issues, Library, Research, Dictionary, Graph, Settings

REST API

Endpoint

Description

GET /api/health

Health check

GET /api/data

All project data

GET /api/graph

Knowledge graph (nodes + edges)

GET /api/search?q=<query>

Search across tables

GET /api/audit

Audit trail entries

GET /api/episodic

Episodic memory events

GET /api/context

Compiled project state

GET /ws-status

WebSocket status

POST /api/pipeline/start

Start a pipeline from a goal

GET /api/pipeline/:id

Get pipeline run status + tasks

GET /api/pipeline-history

List past pipeline runs

POST /api/pipeline/pause

Pause active pipeline

POST /api/pipeline/resume

Resume paused pipeline

POST /api/pipeline/cancel

Cancel active pipeline

POST /human-answer

Submit answer to pending question

MCP Resources

Read project data without tool calls:

URI

Data

cortex://project

Project config, features, todos

cortex://features

All features with status

cortex://files

All tracked files

cortex://tests

All tests

cortex://issues

All issues

cortex://dictionary

File documentation

cortex://progress

Recent activity

cortex://todos

Pending tasks

cortex://relationships

Knowledge graph edges

cortex://snapshots

Session summaries

Architecture

cortex-mcp/
├── bin/cortex.js              # CLI entry point
├── src/
│   ├── server.js              # MCP server (main entry)
│   ├── api/server.js          # Express REST API + dashboard
│   ├── db/
│   │   ├── schema.js          # Table definitions + FTS5
│   │   ├── init.js            # DB connection (WAL mode)
│   │   ├── queries.js         # Read/write functions
│   │   └── cortex_v2.sql      # V2 migration
│   ├── pipeline/              # V2.4 Autonomous pipeline
│   │   ├── planner.js         # Goal → DAG task breakdown
│   │   ├── executor.js        # Auto-execute + retry
│   │   ├── loop.js            # Pause/resume/cancel controller
│   │   └── index.js           # 8 MCP tool registration
│   ├── tools/                 # 31 MCP tools
│   │   ├── state.js           # cortex_get_state
│   │   ├── tasks.js           # cortex_get_next_task
│   │   ├── search.js          # FTS5 + hybrid search
│   │   ├── contradictions.js  # Contradiction detection
│   │   ├── tokens.js          # Token budget
│   │   ├── roles.js           # Agent roles
│   │   ├── relationships.js   # Knowledge graph
│   │   ├── health.js          # Auto-repair
│   │   └── ...
│   ├── embeddings/            # ONNX vector engine
│   ├── websocket/server.js    # WebSocket live push
│   ├── audit/index.js         # Audit trail
│   ├── memory/
│   │   ├── episodic.js        # Episodic memory
│   │   └── compiler.js        # Context compiler
│   ├── resources/project.js   # MCP Resources
│   └── prompts/index.js       # MCP Prompts
├── dashboard/                 # React 19 + shadcn/ui
│   ├── src/
│   │   ├── App.jsx            # Main app + routing
│   │   ├── components/
│   │   │   ├── tabs/          # 11 tab components
│   │   │   ├── ui/            # shadcn/ui components
│   │   │   ├── Graph.jsx      # D3 knowledge graph
│   │   │   └── GlobalSearch.jsx
│   │   └── styles/globals.css # Tailwind + shadcn vars
│   └── dist/                  # Built dashboard
├── skills/                    # Agent skill files
├── docs/                      # Documentation
└── AGENTS.md                  # Agent guide

Environment Variables

Variable

Default

Description

CORTEX_PROJECT_PATH

.

Project root directory

CORTEX_API_PORT

3001

REST API port

CORTEX_PORT

4759

Dashboard port

CORTEX_SYNC_ENABLED

false

Enable cloud sync

Requirements

  • Node.js ≥ 18.0.0

  • Works on Windows, macOS, Linux

License

MIT © neuralnexustech

Install Server
A
license - permissive license
A
quality
A
maintenance

Maintenance

Maintainers
Response time
0dRelease cycle
9Releases (12mo)
Commit activity

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