OpenContext Context Management (Persistent Memory) Give your AI assistant persistent memory. Stop repeating explanations, and build smarter. When to use this skill When you need to keep context across sessions When you need to record project background/decisions When you need to search prior conclusions/lessons When you need knowledge sharing in a Multi-Agent workflow When you want to reduce repetitive background explanations 1. Core concepts Problem When working with an AI assistant, context gets lost (across sessions, repos, and dates). You end up repeating background, re-explaining decisions, and sometimes the assistant continues with incorrect assumptions. Solution OpenContext is a lightweight personal context/knowledge store for AI assistants. [Load context] → [Do work] → [Store conclusions] Default paths Item Path Contexts ~/.opencontext/contexts Database ~/.opencontext/opencontext.db 2. Install and initialize Install CLI npm install -g @aicontextlab/cli

Or use npx

npx @aicontextlab/cli < command

Initialize (run inside the repo) cd your-project oc init What oc init does: Prepare the global context store (on first run) Generate user-level commands/skills + mcp.json for the selected tool Update the repo's AGENTS.md 3. Slash Commands Beginner-friendly commands Command Purpose /opencontext-help When you don't know where to start /opencontext-context (Recommended default) Load background before work /opencontext-search Search existing documents /opencontext-create Create a new document/idea /opencontext-iterate Store conclusions and citations Install locations

Slash Commands

Cursor: ~/.cursor/commands Claude Code: ~/.claude/commands

Skills

Cursor: ~/.cursor/skills/opencontext-/SKILL.md Claude Code: ~/.claude/skills/opencontext-/SKILL.md Codex: ~/.codex/skills/opencontext-*/SKILL.md

MCP Config

Cursor: ~/.cursor/mcp.json Claude Code: ~/.claude/mcp.json 4. Core CLI commands Folder/document management

List folders

oc folder ls --all

Create folder

oc folder create project-a -d "My project"

Create document

oc doc create project-a design.md -d "Design doc"

List documents

oc doc ls project-a Search & manifest

Search (keyword/hybrid/vector)

oc search "your query" --mode keyword --format json

Generate a manifest (list of files the AI should read)

oc context manifest project-a --limit 10 Search modes Mode Description Requirements --mode keyword Keyword-based search No embeddings required --mode vector Vector search Embeddings + index required --mode hybrid Hybrid (default) Embeddings + index required Embedding configuration (for semantic search)

Set API key

oc config set EMBEDDING_API_KEY "<>"

(Optional) Set base URL

oc config set EMBEDDING_API_BASE "https://api.openai.com/v1"

(Optional) Set model

oc config set EMBEDDING_MODEL "text-embedding-3-small"

Build index

oc index build 5. MCP Tools OpenContext MCP Tools oc_list_folders

List folders

oc_list_docs

List documents

oc_manifest

Generate manifest

oc_search

Search documents

oc_create_doc

Create document

oc_get_link

Generate stable link

Multi-Agent integration

Gemini: large-scale analysis

ask-gemini "Analyze the structure of the entire codebase"

Codex: run commands

shell "docker-compose up -d"

OpenContext: store results

oc doc create project-a conclusions.md -d "Analysis conclusions" 6. Multi-Agent workflow integration Orchestration Pattern [Claude] Plan ↓ [Gemini] Analysis/research + OpenContext search ↓ [Claude] Write code ↓ [Codex] Run/test ↓ [Claude] Synthesize results + store in OpenContext Practical example: API design + implementation + testing

1. [Claude] Design API spec using the skill

/opencontext-context

Load project background

2. [Gemini] Analyze a large codebase

ask-gemini "@src/ Analyze existing API patterns"

3. [Claude] Implement code based on the analysis

(Use context loaded from OpenContext)

4. [Codex] Test and build

shell "npm test && npm run build"

5. [Claude] Create final report + store conclusions

/opencontext-iterate

Store decisions and lessons learned

1. Recommended daily workflow Before work (1 min) /opencontext-context Load project background + known pitfalls During work /opencontext-search Search existing conclusions when unsure After work (2 min) /opencontext-iterate Record decisions, pitfalls, and next steps High-ROI document types Acceptance Criteria
2. acceptance criteria Common Pitfalls
3. common pitfalls API Contracts
4. API contracts Dependency Versions
5. dependency versions
6. Stable links (Stable Links) Keep links stable across renames/moves by referencing document IDs: label Generate a link via CLI oc doc link < doc_path

   Generate a link via MCP oc_get_link doc_path = "Product/api-spec"

7. Desktop App & Web UI Desktop App (recommended) Manage/search/edit context with a native UI Use without the CLI Automatic index builds (in the background) Citation features: Action How Result Cite text snippet Select text → right-click → "Copy Citation" Agent reads the snippet + source Cite document Click the citation icon next to the document title Agent reads the full document + obtains stable_id Cite folder Right-click folder → "Copy Folder Citation" Agent bulk-reads all docs in the folder Web UI oc ui

Default URL: http://127.0.0.1:4321

Quick Reference Essential workflow Before: /opencontext-context (load background) During: /opencontext-search (search) After: /opencontext-iterate (store) Core CLI commands oc init

Initialize project

oc folder ls --all

List folders

oc doc ls < folder

List documents

oc search "query"

Search

oc doc create .. .

Create document

MCP Tools oc_list_folders list folders oc_list_docs list documents oc_search search oc_manifest manifest oc_create_doc create document oc_get_link generate link Paths ~/.opencontext/contexts context store ~/.opencontext/opencontext.db database References OpenContext Website Usage Guide Download Desktop GitHub Repository