Recap

Your AI project manager. Plain markdown. Local-first. Open source.

Recap is an MCP server that gives Claude persistent memory of your ongoing projects. Job searches, side projects, learning goals, writing efforts, anything you work on over weeks or months. Your data lives as plain markdown files in a folder you own.

Why Recap

Claude forgets between conversations. You spend the first five minutes of every chat re-explaining what you're working on, what you decided last time, and what's pending. Recap fixes that.

• Local-first: your workspace is a folder of markdown files. Nothing leaves your machine.
• Plain markdown: open it in VS Code, Obsidian, vim, anything.
• Open source: MIT licensed, no vendor lock-in.
• Project-shaped, not blob-shaped: structured around projects, tasks, sessions, and notes, not opaque memory dumps.
• Eleven focused tools: no kitchen sink, no bloat.

Install

Requires Node.js 18+.

npx recap-mcp init

That single command:

1. Creates a workspace folder at ~/recap-workspace/
2. Adds Recap to your Claude Desktop config
3. Backs up any existing Claude config to .bak

Then quit Claude Desktop, reopen it, and say "hi". Recap will guide you through your first project.

The eleven tools

Tool	Purpose
briefing	Run at session start. Loads workspace status, active projects, recent activity.
project_list	List projects, filter by status.
project_create	Start a new project, optionally seeded from a template.
project_brief	Load full context for one project (description, open tasks, recent sessions).
task_add	Add a task with optional priority, due date, notes.
task_list	List tasks for a project, filterable by status.
task_update	Change status, priority, due date, notes, or title.
task_delete	Remove a task.
session_log	Save a structured session entry: worked on, decisions, next steps.
quick_note	Drop a timestamped note into a project.
search	Fuzzy ranked search across the entire workspace.

Templates

Recap ships with six starter templates:

• generic (clean slate)
• job-search
• side-project
• learning
• writing
• moving

Pass --template to project_create (or have Claude do it) to seed a project with starter tasks and a knowledge file.

Workspace structure

~/recap-workspace/
├── .recap/
│   └── config.json
├── projects/
│   └── job-search-2026/
│       ├── project.md
│       ├── tasks.md
│       ├── notes.md
│       ├── sessions/
│       │   └── 2026-05-20.md
│       └── knowledge/
│           └── starter.md
└── archived/

Plain markdown with YAML frontmatter. You can cd into it and git init if you want version control. Open it in Obsidian if you want a nice viewer.

Configuration

The workspace path defaults to ~/recap-workspace/. Override it with:

export RECAP_WORKSPACE_PATH=/path/to/your/workspace

Or pass --workspace to recap-mcp init.

Other settings live in .recap/config.json:

{
  "version": "0.1.0",
  "briefing": { "recent_days": 14, "max_active_projects": 5 },
  "search": { "max_results": 10 }
}

Troubleshooting

Run npx recap-mcp doctor for diagnostics.

If Claude Desktop doesn't see Recap after install:

1. Make sure you fully quit Claude Desktop (not just closed the window).
2. Check ~/recap-workspace/ exists.
3. Check your Claude Desktop config has mcpServers.recap entry.

Privacy

Recap runs entirely on your machine. There is no telemetry, no analytics, no remote calls. Your projects, tasks, notes, and session logs never leave your computer.

License

MIT. See LICENSE.

Status

v0.1.0. Early. Feedback and issues welcome at https://github.com/shivam-singh-git/recap-mcp/issues.