Knowstack

knowstack (beta)

[](LICENSE) [](https://nodejs.org/) [](https://nestjs.com/) [](https://www.typescriptlang.org/)

A self-hostable platform that connects development teams to their technical documentation through AI-native interfaces. Query specs, patterns, and guidelines directly from your IDE via the Model Context Protocol (MCP). Learn more in [About](docs/about/overview.md).

Features

• MCP-Native -- Model Context Protocol as the sole interface; works with any MCP-compatible IDE or AI tool
• AI-Powered Queries -- Natural language queries against your documentation with cited answers
• Semantic Search -- Vector embeddings for relevance-ranked document retrieval
• Multi-Source Ingestion -- Import from local files and URLs
• Multi-Tenant Architecture -- Organizations and projects with config-driven tenant resolution
• Local-First -- No authentication required; tenant context via HTTP headers
• Self-Hostable -- Deploy on your own infrastructure with Docker

Quick Start

Prerequisites

• Docker & Docker Compose
• Node.js 20+ and pnpm

1. Clone and Install

git clone https://github.com/wellitongervickas/knowstack.git
cd knowstack
pnpm install
cp .env.example .env

2. Start Services

Option A: Docker (all-in-one)

Starts PostgreSQL, Redis, and the app server in containers.

docker compose up -d
pnpm prisma migrate deploy

Option B: Local Development (hot reload)

Starts only the database and cache in containers; run the server locally.

docker compose up -d db redis
pnpm prisma generate
pnpm prisma migrate dev

3. Seed Data

The SDK CLI creates your organization, project, ingests documentation, and seeds AI instructions. It works from any directory and prints MCP connection config at the end.

npx @knowstack/sdk --init

See the [SDK Setup Guide](docs/guides/sdk-setup.md) for full options including named profiles.

4. Start and Connect

Option A: The server is already running at http://localhost:3100.

Option B: Start the server:

pnpm start:dev

Use the MCP config printed by the SDK to connect your IDE. See [MCP Integration](#mcp-integration) below.

MCP Integration

KnowStack exposes MCP tools for document queries, search, instruction retrieval, and memory management. See the [MCP Reference](docs/reference/api/mcp.md) for details.

Claude Code:

claude mcp add knowstack \
  --transport http http://localhost:3100/api/v1/mcp \
  -H "x-ks-org: your-org-slug" \
  -H "x-ks-project: your-project-slug"

VS Code / Cursor (.vscode/mcp.json):

{
  "servers": {
    "knowstack": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "http://localhost:3100/api/v1/mcp",
      "headers": {
        "x-ks-org": "your-org-slug",
        "x-ks-project": "your-project-slug"
      }
    }
  }
}

---

Common Scripts

| Script | Description | | ------------------------- | --------------------------------------------- | | npx @knowstack/sdk --init | Interactive setup wizard (org, project, docs) | | pnpm start:dev | Start development server with hot reload | | pnpm start:debug | Start with debugger attached | | pnpm build | Build for production | | pnpm start:prod | Run production build | | pnpm prisma studio | Open Prisma database GUI | | pnpm prisma migrate dev | Run database migrations | | pnpm test | Run unit tests |

---

Documentation

• [MCP Reference](docs/reference/api/mcp.md) -- Tools, configuration, error handling
• [Architecture](docs/explanation/architecture/overview.md) -- System design and patterns
• [Getting Started](docs/tutorials/quick-start.md) -- Full setup guide
• [Documentation](docs/index.md) -- Full documentation navigation

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please read our [Contributing Guide](CONTRIBUTING.md) before submitting a PR.

• [Development Setup](docs/contributing/setup.md)
• [Coding Standards](docs/contributing/adding-features.md)
• [Documentation Guide](docs/contributing/documentation.md)

Security

To report a security vulnerability, please open a private issue on GitHub. See [SECURITY.md](SECURITY.md) for details.

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License. See [LICENSE](LICENSE) for details.

Source & license

This open-source MCP server is cataloged on AgentStack and links to its original source — we do not rehost the code.

• Author: wellitongervickas
• Source: wellitongervickas/knowstack
• License: MIT

Install and usage instructions live in the source repository linked above.