IWE

What IWE does

IWE provides a shared memory workspace built from ordinary Markdown files. The notes can contain project plans, specifications, decisions, technical documentation, release information, and other material an agent may need across sessions. Because the files live in a folder on your machine, people can open and edit them directly rather than relying on opaque, agent-managed memory.

The MCP component is called iwec. It lets an AI agent work with the notes directory as part of a conversation. An agent can explore existing context, save information from current work, and help organize the collection while the resulting files remain available to other tools.

How it works

IWE operates on the notes directory from which it is initialized. Notes are connected through links, and a document can be associated with multiple topics. This structure lets an agent follow related material instead of treating every file as an isolated entry.

The MCP server uses the agent’s configured working directory to access the IWE workspace. The same Markdown documents can be used independently through the command line, an editor, or the Mac application. IWE itself does not include an AI model; the connected agent supplies the model and its own account or setup requirements.

Setup and configuration

Install IWE using Homebrew, npm, or Cargo. The documented Homebrew command is:

brew install iwe-org/iwe/iwe

Other installation options include npm install -g @iwe-org/iwe and cargo install iwe iwes iwec. After installation, move into the directory that will hold the notes and initialize it:

iwe init

Add the iwec MCP server to the agent you use, with its working directory set to the initialized notes folder. The agent connection guide covers the client-specific configuration. Claude Code users can also install the IWE plugin and run /iwe:init in a project. Codex users can connect through the agent setup instructions.

Tools and capabilities

• Search notes from an agent through the IWE workspace.
• Read existing Markdown documents and recover context from earlier work.
• Write notes containing decisions, plans, and other project knowledge.
• Organize and reorganize documents as the knowledge base changes.
• Keep notes available to Claude Code, Claude Desktop, Codex, Gemini, Cursor, the CLI, editors, and the IWE Mac app.
• Preserve notes as local Markdown that can be backed up, synchronized, or stored in Git.

The command-line interface also supports note discovery and content search. For example, iwe find lists notes, while iwe find --lexical "project decisions" searches their content.

Limitations and notes

IWE does not provide an AI model. You must connect an existing agent when you want conversational assistance, and that agent may have separate setup or account requirements.

The MCP server works with the notes directory configured as its working directory, so selecting the correct folder is part of setup. IWE does not require an IWE cloud account to keep notes locally. The files remain ordinary Markdown, which makes them portable, but changes made by an agent are changes to the shared files and should be reviewed according to your normal workflow.

The broader IWE project also includes editor integrations, a CLI, and a native Mac application. Those interfaces provide their own note navigation, search, linking, or browsing features alongside the MCP connection.