Fishbowl

Why Fishbowl

Engineering teams often solve the same problem twice: the important context is trapped in terminal scrollback, issue threads, and someone’s memory. Fishbowl keeps a project-local, reviewable record without pretending that every note is a proven fact.

Related MCP server: UseCortex MCP Server

What You Get

• fishbowl CLI for registering projects, querying context, recording cases, and checking integrity.

• Persistent local daemon that owns one authenticated SQLite connection and local cache.

• stdio MCP server for compatible coding agents.

• Trace Bench, a read-only local browser for inspecting project activity.

• Worktree-aware project aliases so parallel branches still share the right engineering context.

• Bounded disk observations for regenerable artifact metadata. Fishbowl never deletes files automatically.

Quick Start

macOS / Linux

git clone https://github.com/nimocat/fishbowl.git
cd fishbowl
npm install
npm run build
npm link

fishbowl daemon install
fishbowl daemon doctor

Windows (PowerShell)

Install Node.js 22 or newer and Git, then run:

git clone https://github.com/nimocat/fishbowl.git
Set-Location fishbowl
npm install
npm run build
npm link

fishbowl daemon install
fishbowl daemon doctor

The daemon runs only for the current user. No administrator account is required.

Register a Project

cd /absolute/path/to/your-project
fishbowl project register \
  --root "$PWD" \
  --name "My Project" \
  --description "Local engineering knowledge"

Copy the returned project ID and use it in the normal loop:

fishbowl query --project "<project-id>" "export failure"
fishbowl checkpoint \
  --project "<project-id>" \
  --task "Fix export failure" \
  --outcome succeeded \
  --summary "Moved composition work off the main actor and passed focused verification."

Give Fishbowl to an Agent

Copy the Agent Quick Start Prompt into a coding agent. It tells the agent to:

1. Install Fishbowl locally and start its daemon.

2. Register or resolve the current repository.

3. Query relevant history before substantive work.

4. Save a concise, redacted checkpoint when the task ends.

For persistent integration, start the stdio MCP bridge:

node /absolute/path/to/fishbowl/dist/cli/main.js mcp --stdio

See the ready-to-copy MCP client configurations. The process writes protocol frames to stdout, so do not wrap it in commands that print banners.

The Engineering Loop

Preflight -> Query prior knowledge -> Implement -> Verify -> Record a redacted checkpoint

Fishbowl keeps records distinct so the graph remains useful under review:

Local-First by Design

CLI / MCP client
       |
       v
Fishbowl daemon (current user, authenticated)
       |
       +-- SQLite knowledge store
       +-- bounded raw command-log references
       +-- Trace Bench on 127.0.0.1 only

• No account, hosted service, cloud sync, or telemetry is required.

• Durable graph text is recursively secret-redacted and bounded.

• Raw command logs remain local, retention-bounded, and excluded from graph exports.

• Existing repositories are never modified merely by being registered.

Read SECURITY.md before sharing any data directory or raw log collection.

Upgrade from Engineering Knowledge Graph

The first Fishbowl launch migrates the legacy local database, WAL files, token, and raw logs into the Fishbowl data directory. Existing graph exports remain import-compatible; newly created exports use the fishbowl format marker.

Run once after upgrading:

fishbowl daemon install

Development

npm install
npm run typecheck
npm test
cargo test --workspace
npm run build

See CONTRIBUTING.md for the contribution workflow and docs/ for architecture, protocol, migration, and recovery notes.