@ghostpaw/grimoire

A procedural knowledge engine for Node.js, built on Git, SQLite, and the filesystem.

Grimoire treats spells (learned procedures), evidence, versioning, and health as one coherent model instead of separate systems. It ships as a single prebundled blob with zero runtime dependencies, designed for two audiences at once: human developers working directly in code, and LLM agents operating through a structured soul / tools / skills runtime.

MCP server

claude mcp add ghostpaw-grimoire -- npx -y @ghostpaw/grimoire mcp
/plugin marketplace add GhostPawJS/grimoire
/plugin install ghostpaw-grimoire@ghostpaw-grimoire

Codex CLI (~/.codex/config.toml):

[mcp_servers.ghostpaw-grimoire]
command = "npx"
args = ["-y", "@ghostpaw/grimoire", "mcp"]

Cursor, Claude Desktop, or a project .mcp.json:

{"mcpServers":{"ghostpaw-grimoire":{"command":"npx","args":["-y","@ghostpaw/grimoire","mcp"]}}}

Download server.mcpb from releases for clients supporting MCP Bundles. Build the supplied Dockerfile with docker build -t ghostpaw-grimoire . and mount /data for persistence.

Supports MCP 2026-07-28 and initialize-based protocol versions (2025-11-25, 2025-06-18, 2025-03-26, 2024-11-05). The database defaults to ~/.ghostpaw/grimoire.db; --db overrides GHOSTPAW_GRIMOIRE_DB. Spells default to ~/.ghostpaw/grimoire/; set GHOSTPAW_GRIMOIRE_ROOT to choose another directory. No credentials are required for local tools.

Related MCP server: AAS Core MCP Server

CLI

npx -y @ghostpaw/grimoire tools
npx -y @ghostpaw/grimoire call drop_note '{"source":"practice","content":"Verify the build before release."}'
npx -y @ghostpaw/grimoire call search_grimoire '{"query":"release"}'

Agent Skill: see SKILL.md or install the skills/grimoire directory with its references.

Install

npm install @ghostpaw/grimoire

Requires Node.js 24+ (uses the built-in node:sqlite module).

Quick Start

import { DatabaseSync } from 'node:sqlite';
import { init, read, write } from '@ghostpaw/grimoire';

const db = new DatabaseSync(':memory:');
const root = '/path/to/my-grimoire';

// Bootstrap: filesystem + SQLite tables + bare git repo with initial commit
init(root, db);

// Inscribe a new spell (content is a spec-compliant SKILL.md string)
const { spell } = write.inscribe(root, db, {
  name: 'deploy-service',
  chapter: 'engineering',
  content: '---\nname: deploy-service\ndescription: Deploy a service to production\n---\n\n# deploy-service\n\n## Steps\n\n1. Run `npm run build`\n2. Push to registry\n3. Apply manifests\n',
});

// Drop an observation note as evidence
write.dropNote(db, {
  source: 'practice',
  content: 'Build step fails if DOCKER_REGISTRY is not exported first.',
});

// Seal the improvement into a git commit, advancing rank
write.seal({ root }, db, [`engineering/${spell.name}`], 'Fix: document required env var for build step');

// Read back the enriched spell
const detail = read.getSpell(root, 'engineering/deploy-service', db);
const chapters = read.listChapters(root);

The Model

Eight concepts, strict separation of concerns:

The model means each kind of truth has its own home:

State is derived, not hand-toggled. Tier, resonance color, staleness, dormancy, and health scores are computed from evidence and commit history at read time, never stored as caller-written flags.

Tier progression at a glance

Grimoire computes tier markers on every read. They advance as spells accumulate sealed improvements:

 

Inscription

$\color{Gray}{\textsf{◎}}$	deploy-service	uncheckpointed · no seals yet
	↓   seal a validated improvement

Honing

$\color{SteelBlue}{\textsf{◎}}$	deploy-service	apprentice · rank 1–4
$\color{MediumSeaGreen}{\textsf{◎}}$	deploy-service	journeyman · rank 5–14
$\color{Goldenrod}{\textsf{◎}}$	deploy-service	expert · rank 15–29
$\color{Orchid}{\textsf{◎}}$	deploy-service	master · rank 30+

Attention signals

$\color{OrangeRed}{\textsf{●}}$	deploy-service	resonance · hone now
$\color{Gray}{\textsf{●}}$	deploy-service	dormant · low return on effort

 

Rank is the only experience counter. Tier boundaries gate real capabilities (history, diff, rollback), not badges.

Two Audiences

Human developers

Use the read and write namespaces for direct-code access to the domain:

import { read, write } from '@ghostpaw/grimoire';

// Inscribe and evolve a spell
write.inscribe(root, db, { name: 'lint-fix', chapter: 'general', content: '---\nname: lint-fix\ndescription: Run lint with autofix\n---\n\n# lint-fix\n\nRun `npx biome check --fix .`\n' });
write.dropNote(db, { source: 'practice', content: 'Biome needs --unsafe for some rules.' });
write.seal({ root }, db, ['general/lint-fix'], 'Add note about unsafe flag');

// Read derived state
const spell = read.getSpell(root, 'general/lint-fix', db);
const resonance = read.allResonance(db);
const catalogue = read.readCatalogue(db);

See HUMAN.md for the full direct-code guide with worked examples and modeling boundaries.

LLM agents

Use the tools, skills, and soul namespaces for a structured runtime surface designed to minimize LLM cognitive load:

import { tools, skills, soul } from '@ghostpaw/grimoire';

// 10 intent-shaped tools with JSON Schema inputs and structured results
const allTools = tools.grimoireTools;
const searchTool = tools.getGrimoireToolByName('search_grimoire')!;
const result = await searchTool.handler({ root, db }, { query: 'deploy' });

// Workflow skills for common multi-step scenarios
const allSkills = skills.grimoireSkills;

// Thinking foundation for system prompts
const prompt = soul.renderGrimoireSoulPromptFoundation();

Every tool returns a discriminated result with outcome: 'success' | 'no_op' | 'needs_clarification' | 'error', structured entities, next-step hints, and actionable recovery signals.

See LLM.md for the full AI-facing guide covering soul, tools, and skills.

Tools

Eleven tools shaped around operator intent, not raw storage operations:

Each tool exports runtime metadata, JSON Schema inputs, and structured outputs so harnesses can wire them without parsing vague prose.

Key Properties

• Zero runtime dependencies. Only node:sqlite (built into Node 24+) for the SQLite layer.

• Single prebundled blob. One ESM + one CJS entry in dist/. No subpath exports, no code splitting.

• Three storage backends. Filesystem for spell content, git for versioning and rank, SQLite for metadata. Each is optional — the package degrades gracefully without any of them.

• Evidence-first progression. Rank is earned by sealing validated improvements. Speculative edits do not count as experience. Tier gates real capabilities, not badges.

• Derived health signals. Resonance, staleness, dormancy, and health scores are computed at read time from evidence and commit history — never stored as flags.

• Intention-shaped writes. inscribe, seal, hone, dropNote, distill, adoptSpell: operations that say what happened, not generic CRUD.

• Additive AI runtime. soul for posture, tools for actions, skills for workflow guidance — layered over the same direct-code API.

• Colocated tests. Every non-type module has a colocated .test.ts file. The documented behavior is backed by executable coverage.

Package Surface

import {
  init,                  // bootstrap: filesystem + SQLite setup
  initGrimoireTables,    // SQLite schema only
  read,                  // all query functions
  write,                 // all mutation functions
  tools,                 // LLM tool definitions + registry
  skills,                // LLM workflow skills + registry
  soul,                  // thinking foundation for system prompts
} from '@ghostpaw/grimoire';

All domain and runtime types are also available at the root for TypeScript consumers:

import type {
  GrimoireDb,
  GrimoireToolDefinition,
  GrimoireSkill,
  GrimoireSoul,
  GrimoireErrorCode,
} from '@ghostpaw/grimoire';

Documentation

Development

npm install
npm test            # node:test runner
npm run typecheck   # tsc --noEmit
npm run lint        # biome check
npm run build       # ESM + CJS + declarations via tsup
npm run demo:serve  # build and serve the browser demo

The repo is pinned to Node 24.14.0 via .nvmrc / .node-version / .tool-versions / mise.toml / Volta. Use whichever version manager you prefer.

Support

If this package helps your project, consider sponsoring its maintenance:

Anonyfox • MIT License