Quick Start

Initialize your brain and connect your AI providers in one command.

Run the setup wizard

$ brainbase init

The init wizard walks you through four steps:

1. Provider detection

BrainBase scans your system for installed AI tools — Claude Code, Cursor, Windsurf, OpenClaw, Codex, Gemini, Aider, and more. It checks 13 known provider paths automatically.

2. Provider setup

For each detected provider, BrainBase configures the integration:

• Claude Code — installs 4 hooks (SessionStart, UserPrompt, SessionEnd, PreCompact)
• Cursor / Windsurf / Aider — registers as an MCP server
• OpenClaw — updates AGENTS.md with brain context
• Codex — configures Skills + Config files
• Gemini — auto-updates GEMINI.md

3. LLM configuration

BrainBase needs a cloud LLM for knowledge extraction — analyzing your conversations and pulling out entities, relationships, and facts. You'll provide an API key for OpenAI (gpt-4o-mini by default) or any compatible endpoint.

4. Brain creation

Creates your SQLite database at ~/.brainbase/data/memory.db with 15 tables: nodes, edges, chunks, patterns, moods, outcomes, raw_buffer, knowledge_gaps, sessions, snapshots, expertise, hot_memory, signal_counters, tacit_patterns, and system_state.

Start the watcher

$ brainbase watcher start
Watcher started on port 7899

The watcher is a background daemon that processes incoming memories, runs consolidation cycles, and keeps your brain alive. It listens on HTTP port 7899.

That's it

Use your AI normally. BrainBase works in the background — extracting knowledge, building connections, strengthening memories. Your AI gets smarter with every conversation.

Verify everything works

$ brainbase status
$ brainbase verify

status shows your brain health, watcher state, and connected providers. verify runs a 6-step integrity check on your config, database, nodes, hooks, signals, and spreading activation.