mindbase-llm-wiki

# MindBase — Karpathy's LLM Wiki, as a product [](https://www.npmjs.com/package/mindbase-mcp) [](https://www.npmjs.com/package/mindbase-mcp) [](https://github.com/frankchu91/mindbase-llm-wiki/actions) [](LICENSE) [](https://frankchu91.github.io/mindbase-llm-wiki/) [](https://glama.ai/mcp/servers/frankchu91/mindbase) > **An open-source implementation of Andrej Karpathy's LLM Wiki idea: an AI that builds and maintains a wiki from your sources.** Not RAG-in-a-vector-DB. A real markdown wiki on your disk, that an LLM gardens for you between conversations. ```bash npx mindbase-app ``` One command: starts the local server, opens the web app, and walks you through picking a **free local model** that fits your RAM. No API key, nothing leaves your machine. (Node 20+) <p align="center"> <img alt="Demo: /contribute in the MindBase web UI — the AI shows takeaways and a checkbox plan, and writes to the LLM wiki only after approval" src="docs/assets/contribute.gif" width="880"> </p> MindBase implements Andrej Karpathy's [LLM-Wiki pattern](https://x.com/karpathy/status/1911080091498963196): you feed it sources (papers, articles, thoughts); the LLM reads, cross-references, flags contradictions, and writes structured wiki pages. Later, when you ask a question, the wiki already has the synthesized answer — no vector-search re-derivation at query time. **Status:** Early access, actively developed. What's new: [CHANGELOG](CHANGELOG.md) · [Releases](https://github.com/frankchu91/mindbase-llm-wiki/releases) --- ## Why MindBase You read a lot. Papers, articles, tweets, docs. You want to remember them, connect them, form opinions from them. Today you have two bad options: - **Notion / Obsidian / Roam:** Passive containers. You do all the organizing. AI features are bolted-on generation, not maintenance. - **NotebookLM / Perplexity Pages / ChatGPT search:** RAG-based. Nothing accumulates. Every question re-derives the answer from raw sources. **MindBase is the third option:** the LLM actively maintains a persistent, structured wiki as you feed it sources. Knowledge compounds. Your `context.md` gets sharper every time you contribute. The AI *remembers you across sessions* because your beliefs are written down in markdown files — not stored in a chat history that gets summarized away. Think of it as **a personal Wikipedia that an AI intern writes for you**, kept up to date, cross-referenced, and honest about what it doesn't know. ## How it works (30 seconds) Three physical layers on disk (Karpathy's model): <p align="center"> <picture> <source media="(prefers-color-scheme: dark)" srcset="docs/assets/hero-dark.svg"> <img alt="MindBase: you feed sources, the LLM gardens them into a wiki that compounds — plain markdown on your disk" src="docs/assets/hero-light.svg" width="920"> </picture> </p> | Layer | Who owns it | What lives there | |---|---|---| | `sources/` | **You** — append-only, the AI never rewrites it | Quick captures, full notes, PDFs, URLs | | `context.md` + `sources/research/` | **The AI** — every change human-approved | The maintained wiki: synthesis, concept pages, `[[wikilinks]]` | | `state/` · `logs/` · `artifacts/` | Derived — always rebuildable | Search index, snapshots, lint findings, op history | Three operations run the loop: **ingest** (AI reads a source, discusses takeaways, you approve the wiki updates), **build** (regenerate `context.md` from everything unbuilt), **lint** (the AI audits its own wiki for contradictions, stale claims, and orphans). ## What makes it different - **The AI asks before writing.** Every ingest shows takeaways + a checkbox plan; only what you approve gets written. No black-box edits to your knowledge. - **You can watch the wiki absorb your notes.** Every note carries a status chip — ✨ *Add to wiki* until digested, ✓ *In wiki* after. - **It audits its own knowledge.** One command re-reads the whole wiki and reports contradictions with the exact conflicting sentences quoted. Notion and NotebookLM structurally cannot do this. - **Free and local by default.** Hardware-detect wizard installs the best Ollama model for your RAM. Cloud keys optional. - **Plain markdown on disk.** Grep it, git it, open it in Obsidian, leave anytime. ## Install **Browser (fastest):** `npx mindbase-app` — shown above. Everything runs locally at `localhost:4321`. **Claude Code (flagship):** the full Karpathy 8-step ingest with sub-agents, slash commands, and per-agent tool boundaries: ``` /plugin marketplace add frankchu91/mindbase-llm-wiki /plugin install mb@mindbase ``` Restart when prompted, then type `/` — you should see `/mb:contribute`, `/mb:build`, `/mb:ask`, `/mb:lint` and 8 more. You get 5 sub-agents with strict tool allowlists (the builder has no file-write tool at all — only an atomic-write MCP call), plus a SessionStart hook that auto-injects your project context. <p align="center"> <img alt="The core flow in Claude Code: /mb:contribute with an arXiv link — download, archive, discuss takeaways, approve, commit" src="docs/assets/terminal-contribute.png" width="880"> </p> <details> <summary><b>Cursor</b></summary> Add to `~/.cursor/mcp.json`: ```json { "mcpServers": { "mindbase": { "command": "npx", "args": ["-y", "mindbase-mcp"] } } } ``` Restart Cursor — the tool picker should list `mindbase_contribute` and 48 others. Recommended: add a conventions block to `~/.cursor/rules.md` so the LLM reliably routes "add to mindbase X" to the tools — copy it from the [guide](docs/guide.md#the-llm-in-cursorwindsurf-ignores-my-add-to-mindbase-request). </details> <details> <summary><b>Windsurf</b></summary> Cascade settings → MCP → add: ```json { "mcpServers": { "mindbase": { "command": "npx", "args": ["-y", "mindbase-mcp"] } } } ``` Same rules-file approach as Cursor works for Cascade. </details> <details> <summary><b>Cline (VSCode)</b></summary> Cline settings → **MCP Servers**: ```json { "mcpServers": { "mindbase": { "command": "npx", "args": ["-y", "mindbase-mcp"] } } } ``` Cline auto-detects; every tool call gets a confirmation dialog by default. </details> <details> <summary><b>Continue.dev</b></summary> `~/.continue/config.json`, under `experimental.modelContextProtocolServers`: ```json { "experimental": { "modelContextProtocolServers": [ { "transport": { "type": "stdio", "command": "npx", "args": ["-y", "mindbase-mcp"] } } ] } } ``` MCP tools appear under `@` in chat. </details> <details> <summary><b>Any other MCP client</b> (Zed, Aider, Goose, Claude Agent SDK…)</summary> Point it at `npx -y mindbase-mcp` as a stdio server. See your client's MCP docs for the config location. </details> **Next:** create your first project and learn the four daily workflows in the **[Guide →](docs/guide.md)** ## The web UI Since 0.3 the browser app stands on its own — write notes in a full WYSIWYG editor (`Cmd+N`), quick-capture from anywhere (`Cmd+I`), and run the AI operations with approval cards: `/contribute`, `/build`, `/lint`, `/research`. Live demos on the **[website](https://frankchu91.github.io/mindbase-llm-wiki/)**. <p align="center"> <img alt="MindBase web UI — category tree on the left, the LLM-maintained context.md in the center, chat starters on the right" src="docs/assets/webui.png" width="920"> </p> **Free local models:** the setup wizard detects your hardware and installs what fits — `llama3.2:3b` (8GB), `qwen3:14b` (24GB+), or Meta's **Muse Glimmer 30B** (32GB+ Apple Silicon, Ollama ≥ 0.32.7). Measured guidance: qwen3:14b for interactive work (~30s), Glimmer for background lint/build — slower, but its findings quote the exact conflicting sentences. The model switcher on the chat composer flips between them in two clicks. <details> <summary><b>Feature matrix by editor</b></summary> | Feature | Claude Code | Cursor / Windsurf / Cline / Continue | Web UI | |---|---|---|---| | Slash commands (`/mb:*`) | ✅ | ❌ (use natural language) | ✅ (`/contribute`, `/build`, `/lint`, `/research`) | | MCP tools directly | ✅ | ✅ | ❌ | | Karpathy 8-step ingest with approval | ✅ (sub-agents) | ⚠️ Manual via prompt | ✅ (approval cards) | | Contribute / ingest PDF & URL | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ (upload + ✨ Process) | | Ask wiki with cited answers | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | | Build / health check | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | | Wiki tree browsing + rich editor | ❌ | ❌ | ✅ | | `-p project-id` routing | ✅ | ⚠️ natural language | ✅ (switcher) | </details> ## Where your data lives Everything is plain markdown under `~/mindbase-data/` (override: `MINDBASE_DATA_DIR`): ``` ~/mindbase-data/projects/my-research/ ├── README.md # Ops manual — you edit, LLM reads ├── context.md # Synthesized truth — LLM writes, you approve ├── index.yaml # Auto-generated catalog ├── sources/ │ ├── contributors/<you>/ # Your dated entries + notes (append-only) │ ├── research/ # LLM-authored wiki pages │ └── raw/ # PDFs, HTML captures ├── logs/ # Chronological operation log ├── artifacts/ # Briefs, exports, lint findings └── state/builder/snapshots/ # context.md snapshots for rollback ``` No proprietary database — what you see on disk is what MindBase knows. `git init` it, back it up with anything, delete a project with `rm -rf`. ## Architecture at a glance ``` Claude Code / Cursor / any MCP editor Web UI (npx mindbase-app) │ MCP · sub-agents with │ /commands · │ per-agent tool allowlists │ approval cards └─────────────┬─────────────────────────┬──────┘ ▼ ▼ ┌──────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ One ops engine: gather context → single │ │ constrained JSON completion → human │ │ approval → whitelisted executors → log │ └─────────────────────┬────────────────────────┘ ▼ ~/mindbase-data/ · plain markdown (LLM: Ollama local models or any cloud key) ``` Monorepo: `packages/core` (TS strict library) · `apps/mcp` (49-tool MCP server) · `apps/server` + `apps/web` (Express + React UI) · `apps/app` (npx launcher) · `apps/plugin` (Claude Code bundle). ## Docs & help - **[Guide](docs/guide.md)** — first project, the four daily workflows, multi-project routing, troubleshooting - **[Website](https://frankchu91.github.io/mindbase-llm-wiki/)** — live demos - **[CHANGELOG](CHANGELOG.md)** · **[Issues](https://github.com/frankchu91/mindbase-llm-wiki/issues)** — I reply to every issue same-day during beta - **The idea:** [Karpathy's LLM Wiki gist](https://gist.github.com/karpathy/442a6bf555914893e9891c11519de94f) ## Roadmap **Next:** browser extension for one-click page capture · audio input via Whisper · unified meta-tool for Cursor/Windsurf slash-like UX. **Later:** team projects with human-in-the-loop review · audio digests · desktop app · mobile capture. ## Feedback Beta through 2026-Q4. If you tried MindBase and gave up — please tell me why: [issues](https://github.com/frankchu91/mindbase-llm-wiki/issues) or [haobing0304@gmail.com](mailto:haobing0304@gmail.com). The blockers you hit are gold. ## License [MIT](LICENSE) — do what you want, no warranty. If you build something interesting on top, I'd love to hear about it. --- **Built with the belief that AI's most valuable gift is not "generation on demand" but "gardening of a persistent artifact you own."**