Quickstart (5 minutes)

You need Node.js 22.18 or newer, Git, and macOS, Linux or Windows (with Git for Windows).

npm install -g rcllr

This installs rcllr. Update later with the same command. The old names dummkopf and dk keep working for now, see Coming from dummkopf.

The hooks call rcllr by name. Agents often start hooks with a narrower PATH than your terminal, the Claude desktop app for one, so the hooks also look in ~/.local/bin, /opt/homebrew/bin and /usr/local/bin. That covers Node from Homebrew or the nodejs.org installer. With nvm, fnm or Volta, rcllr and node live in a folder the hooks do not know. Link both into ~/.local/bin:

mkdir -p ~/.local/bin
ln -sf "$(npm prefix -g)/bin/rcllr" "$(command -v node)" ~/.local/bin/

The node link points to one Node version. Run the line again after you switch versions and reinstall rcllr.

To run the latest main instead, build from source with pnpm: clone the repository, run pnpm install && pnpm build, and link packages/cli/bin/rcllr into ~/.local/bin. See CONTRIBUTING.md.

Create a brain. Decide first where it lives:

rcllr init ~/brain

This brain is local. rcllr commits every change, but never fetches or pushes. Choose it when your notes must not leave the machine.

rcllr init ~/brain --remote git@github.com:you/your-brain.git

This brain is synced. Use an empty private repository as its remote. rcllr pushes after every change and rebases onto the remote before every write, so all your machines share one memory.

Wire up the Git and agent hooks, then commit the scaffold (and push it, for a synced brain):

cd ~/brain && rcllr install && git add -A && git commit -m "Create brain"
git push -u origin main   # synced brains only

Write a first note and ask for it:

printf -- '---\nkey_fact: pnpm 10 needs approve-builds for esbuild.\n---\n\n# pnpm\n\nRun pnpm approve-builds once.\n' | rcllr write notes/pnpm.md --expected new

rcllr context "How do I fix the pnpm esbuild error?"

write validated the note, added missing frontmatter and committed it. In a synced brain it pushed, too. The pre-commit hook added the note to INDEX.md.

Start Claude Code or Codex inside ~/brain and the agent follows AGENTS.md. To use the brain from other projects, see Agent setup.