# stateark

**Category:** 💻 Developer Tools  
**Repository:** https://github.com/Askrion/stateark  
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**Installs:** 0  
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**Directory Page:** https://allmcps.com/mcp/stateark

## Description
Local-first version control for AI work. Savepoint and resume your project state across chats.

## Claude Desktop Quick Installation
Heuristic fallback — verify the package name and runner against the repository README before running it. Uses `npx` (confidence: low):

```json
"mcpServers": {
  "stateark": {
    "command": "npx",
    "args": ["-y","stateark"]
  }
}
```

## Documentation & README

# StateArk

**Never explain your project to an AI twice.**

Your chat is a workspace, not an archive. StateArk turns a working session into a
versioned, portable project state that any new chat can pick up. Open terminal and write:

```bash
npx stateark
```

Then quit Claude Desktop completely (Cmd+Q) and reopen it. That is the whole install.

*(Prefer to install from source? `npm install && npm run build && npm run setup` —
see `INSTALL.md`. Undo any time with `npx stateark remove`.)*

Here what we had in mind developing stateark - we address a problem millions of users have...

```
You:  ...three hours of work...
You:  Savepoint
      -> my-project v0.3 written to ~/StateArk

      (next day, new chat, empty context)

You:  Resume my-project
      -> decisions, constraints, rejected approaches, open questions,
         and the actual files - all current, none of the detours
```

**Local by default.** Savepoints are ordinary folders of Markdown, JSON and your real
files. Nothing is uploaded. If StateArk disappears tomorrow, you still have everything.

```text
~/StateArk/projects/my-project/v0.3/
  state.md        <- the canonical state, readable in any editor
  state.json
  manifest.json   <- every artifact with its SHA-256
  artifacts/
    app.py
    schema.sql
```

## Commands

| In the chat | What happens |
| --- | --- |
| `Savepoint` | consolidate the session into a new version |
| `Resume <project>` | load the latest state into a fresh chat |
| `History <project>` | list the versions |
| `Diff <project>` | what actually changed between two savepoints |

| In the terminal | |
| --- | --- |
| `npx stateark` | register with Claude Desktop |
| `npx stateark report` | anonymised local usage summary, printed for you only |
| `npx stateark remove` | unregister; savepoints are kept |

## What makes it more than a summary

- **Carry-forward.** Files you do not re-submit are copied into the new version with
  their original hash, so a forgetful model cannot silently lose your schema.
- **Integrity checks.** StateArk cannot see your chat - so it checks what it *can*:
  truncation markers (`// ... rest unchanged`), files that collapsed in size, files the
  state describes but never handed over, savepoints identical to their predecessor.
  It warns, it never blocks: the savepoint is always written.
- **Journal.** Between savepoints the model quietly records turning points, so a
  Savepoint at the end of a long session does not depend on a degraded context.
  Only for projects you already saved once - scratch conversations are never touched.

## Requirements

Node 20+. Claude Desktop, or Claude Code (`claude mcp add --transport http ...`).
It also runs under other local MCP hosts — users have it working with Codex and
Hermes against the same store.

Hosted clients that dial your server from the vendor's cloud (Claude web,
ChatGPT web) cannot reach `localhost`. See `INSTALL.md`.

## Several agents at once

Supported, and worth saying plainly because it is the setup that broke first.
Writes to a project are serialised across processes, so two agents cannot claim
the same version number. If a savepoint reports that another process is busy,
repeat it in a moment — nothing is lost. A process that dies mid-write releases
its lock automatically.

If your store lives in Dropbox, OneDrive or iCloud Drive: several agents on **one**
machine are fine. Two **machines** writing the same store simultaneously is a sync
conflict, which the sync client resolves and StateArk cannot.

| Variable | Default | |
| --- | --- | --- |
| `STATEARK_LOCK_WAIT_MS` | `60000` | how long to wait for another process before giving up |
| `STATEARK_LOCK_STALE_MS` | `120000` | when a lock is assumed to belong to a dead process |
| `STATEARK_FS_RETRIES` | `6` | retries when a sync client holds a file open |

## Licence

[Elastic License 2.0](https://www.elastic.co/licensing/elastic-license). Use it for
anything including commercially, read and modify the source, share the package. You may
not offer it to third parties as a hosted or managed service. Your savepoints are yours
and are not covered by this licence.

---

## Architecture

```text
ChatGPT / Claude / Gemini-capable MCP client
                 |
                 v
          StateArk Local Agent      <- 127.0.0.1 only, by default
                 |
                 v
        ~/StateArk/projects         <- SOURCE OF TRUTH
                 |
                 | optional
                 v
             Supabase               <- mirror / backup / transport
```

A Savepoint is an ordinary directory, not a proprietary database:

```text
StateArk/projects/my-project/
  journal.ndjson      # entries recorded since the last savepoint
  project.json        # index (self-healing: rebuilt from disk if corrupt)
  v0.3/
    state.md          # human- and LLM-readable canonical state + integrity warnings
    state.json        # the same state, structured
    meta.json         # version, lineage, platform, sync status, warnings
    manifest.json     # artifacts with SHA-256, stored/pending, carried_forward_from
    journal.ndjson    # the entries this savepoint consolidated
    artifacts/
      app.py
      schema.sql
      prototype.zip
```

If StateArk disappears, those files remain usable.

## Install

Requires Node 20+.

```bash
npm install
npm run typecheck
npm test          # 97 checks against a throwaway store — run this first
npm start
```

No `.env` is needed for local-only mode. Copy `.env.example` to `.env` only if you want
to change the port, the store location, or enable the Supabase mirror.

On first run StateArk generates a random access key and stores it in
`~/StateArk/.access-key` (mode 0600). The startup banner prints your endpoints:

```
MCP:         http://localhost:8787/mcp/<key>
Upload page: http://localhost:8787/upload/<key>
Health:      http://localhost:8787/health
```

## Security model

The HTTP entrypoint is a local server on your own machine, so StateArk assumes any web page
you visit is hostile:

| Control | Default |
| --- | --- |
| Bind address | `127.0.0.1` (`STATEARK_BIND` to change) |
| Access key | random per install, in `<root>/.access-key`, constant-time compared |
| `Origin` header | loopback only, plus `STATEARK_ALLOWED_ORIGINS` |
| `Host` header | loopback only, plus `STATEARK_ALLOWED_HOSTS` (DNS-rebinding guard) |
| CORS | echoes the validated origin, never `*` |
| Upload form | single-use CSRF token, capped body size |
| Non-loopback bind | refuses to start unless the access key is ≥ 24 chars |

Before exposing the agent over HTTPS: set a long `STATEARK_ACCESS_KEY`, set
`STATEARK_ALLOWED_HOSTS` to your tunnel hostname, and put a real reverse proxy in front.

## Platform reality

Local-first and hosted LLMs are different networking environments. Claude Desktop/Code and
other local MCP clients can talk to the local agent directly. A hosted ChatGPT/Gemini
client generally cannot reach `localhost` on your computer. For those you would need a
secure HTTPS route to your running local agent — remote access is on the roadmap and does
not exist yet.

If you are setting this up, in this order:

1. run StateArk locally;
2. test Savepoint and Resume from a local MCP client;
3. enable Supabase sync only if you actually want a mirror;
4. expose the agent over HTTPS only after the three steps above work.

## Local-only mode — the default

Leave `SUPABASE_URL`, `SUPABASE_SECRET_KEY` and `STATEARK_OWNER_ID` unset. Cloud sync stays
off and files never leave the machine. Default store: `~/StateArk`
(override with `STATEARK_LOCAL_ROOT`).

This is what you get out of the box. The Supabase section below is opt-in.

## Local + Supabase sync

Run the migrations in the Supabase SQL editor, in order:

1. `supabase/migrations/001_stateark.sql`
2. `supabase/migrations/002_artifacts.sql`
3. `supabase/migrations/003_hardening.sql`

Then set `SUPABASE_URL`, `SUPABASE_SECRET_KEY` (server-side **Secret** key, never a
publishable key), `STATEARK_OWNER_ID`, and `STATEARK_STORAGE_BUCKET`.

Cloud is a mirror, not the master:

- the local savepoint is committed first and a cloud failure cannot invalidate it;
- cloud deletion does not delete local data;
- sync status lives in `meta.json` (`disabled` / `pending` / `synced` / `failed`);
- retry a failed push with the `sync_savepoint` tool.

Text/code artifacts up to 2 MB are mirrored inline in Postgres; everything else goes to the
private Storage bucket. **The mirror is not end-to-end encrypted** — the Supabase project
can read what it stores. Sync is off by default for exactly that reason; turn it on only
for a project you would be comfortable putting in any hosted database.

## Savepoint behaviour

When you say `Savepoint`, the host LLM should:

- reconstruct the latest valid state rather than summarise chronology;
- retain governing decisions, requirements and constraints;
- keep rejected approaches only when the reason matters;
- send exact text/code as `transfer=text`;
- send binary bytes as `transfer=base64` only when truly available;
- otherwise mark the artifact `transfer=pending` instead of fabricating it;
- **omit** files that have not changed — they are carried forward automatically;
- **never** abbreviate a file with `... rest unchanged`.

Local creation is atomic: StateArk writes a temporary bundle and renames it only when
complete. Artifact names are sanitised; if a name had to be changed, `manifest.json`
records the original under `original_name`.

## Integrity checks

Every savepoint is compared against its predecessor. Findings are returned in the tool
result and rendered at the top of `state.md`. **The savepoint is always written** — a
check never costs you work, it only tells the model to come clean.

| Code | Meaning |
| --- | --- |
| `artifact_carried_forward` | file was not re-submitted and not declared deleted, so it was copied from the previous version |
| `artifact_became_pending` | content that was stored is now only pending |
| `artifact_shrank` | file collapsed to under 50% of its previous size |
| `truncation_marker` | stored text contains `... rest unchanged`, `[...]`, `… gekürzt` and similar |
| `no_change` | this savepoint is identical to the previous one |
| `journal_not_reflected` | decisions were journalled but the submitted state lists none |
| `artifacts_mentioned_but_missing` | the state text names a file (`schema.sql`, `app.py`, …) that was never handed over as an artifact |

The last one is the check that matters most in practice. StateArk cannot read your chat,
so a filename appearing in the prose is the only available clue that the model *described*
a file instead of preserving it. The warning is phrased as a question, because a named file
may legitimately be planned or live outside the conversation.

## Journal

`note_event` records one short line per turning point, silently, and only for projects
that already exist in StateArk. Untracked projects return `tracked: false` and nothing is
written — that is the filter that keeps scratch conversations out.

At the next Savepoint the journal is consolidated into the new version and cleared. It is
never cleared before the savepoint is durably on disk.

Inspect pending entries with the `journal` tool. Nudging is based on entry count
(`STATEARK_JOURNAL_NUDGE_AT`, default 20), never on a timer.

## Diff

`diff_savepoints` with no version arguments compares the latest savepoint against its
predecessor: LCS line diff on the text fields, set diff on the lists, SHA-256 comparison on
the artifacts, plus an `attention` block for anything that looks like silent loss.

## Artifacts

Every stored artifact has a SHA-256. Pending files are explicit in `manifest.json` and in
the `resume_project` output, so the LLM cannot quietly pretend a file exists.

If a binary cannot travel through MCP, open the local upload page printed at startup and
attach it to the existing project/version. This resolves the pending manifest entry.

## Resume

`Resume My Project` returns `state.md` plus the artifact manifest. The LLM calls
`get_artifact` for exact text only when needed. For binaries it gets the verified local
path and hash rather than invented content.

## MCP clients

- **Claude Desktop** — `npx stateark` registers the stdio entrypoint for you.
- **Claude Code** — point it at the local Streamable HTTP endpoint:
  `claude mcp add --transport http ...`
- **Codex, Hermes and other local MCP hosts** — point them at the same store root and
  they share your savepoints. Each client is configured separately; there is no shared
  setting. StateArk writes a `README.md` into the store explaining the layout, which most
  coding agents will read on their own.
- **ChatGPT web/mobile, Gemini, and other hosted clients** — these dial your server from
  the vendor's cloud and cannot reach `localhost` on your machine. That is a networking
  fact, not a missing feature. Reaching your savepoints from a hosted client needs an
  authenticated HTTPS route to your own machine; it is on the roadmap and does not exist
  yet.

## Roadmap

Nothing here exists yet. In roughly this order:

- **Optional cloud storage** — your savepoints mirrored so a dead laptop is not a dead
  project. Off by default, and only ever a copy: your disk stays the original.
- **Remote access** — reaching your state from web and mobile clients, not just the
  desktop app on the one machine that holds it.
- **Branching** — two chats working the same project currently produce one linear chain
  of versions. Documented, not solved.
- **State pruning** — over many savepoints `state.md` grows without limit. It needs a
  size ceiling and a rule for what ages out.

StateArk is free to use, including commercially. See the licence above for the one thing
it does not allow.