MemoryWhale

MemoryWhale is an open-source, local-first debugging memory tool built in Rust and Tauri by Isabella Wu (wuisabel-gif). It captures terminal commands, output, failures, and the fixes that worked, storing everything in a local SQLite database so that both developers and coding agents can retrieve that knowledge after a session ends. Version 0.10.0, released September 6, 2026 and tagged "Agent-Native Memory," is the current stable release.

What It Is

MemoryWhale sits between your terminal and your coding agents as a persistent debugging memory layer. When you run a command through mw-run or enable global capture with mw global on, MemoryWhale records the command, its output, and any failure context into a local SQLite store. You can then annotate that record with a lesson (mw remember), search past failures (mw search), and expose the entire store to coding agents via a local MCP server (mw-mcp). It is not an autonomous coding agent, a general-purpose personal memory system, or a replacement for project documentation — it is specifically a debugging memory layer.

How the Capture-Store-Retrieve Loop Works

The core workflow has four stages:

• Capture — paste a terminal run, wrap a command with mw-run, start a crash-resistant live session with mw --live, or let agent hooks record failures automatically.
• Store — SQLite saves command runs, arguments, output, and lessons locally at ~/.local/share/MemoryWhale/ (Linux) or ~/Library/Application Support/MemoryWhale/ (macOS); the path is configurable via MEMORYWHALE_DATA_DIR.
• Extract — Rust extracts keywords from commands, notes, and error text to power search.
• Explore — mw search, mw tui, mw-serve (web dashboard), or the desktop app surface the knowledge graph; mw context prints a paste-ready digest for any agent or chat.

Agent Integration via MCP

mw-mcp is a local stdio MCP server exposing six memory tools: recent_errors, search_memory, get_context, remember, similar_failures, and stats. It is also available over HTTP through mw-serve. A single mw integrate claude or mw integrate rho command installs MCP access, capture hooks, and a memory-use skill for that client; mw doctor checks each component independently. The integration matrix covers Claude Code, Rho, Claude Desktop, Cursor, VS Code / GitHub Copilot, Windsurf, Zed, Codex CLI, Cline, Continue, Gemini CLI, Goose, and other compatible clients. MCP provides retrieval and explicit writing; it does not automatically capture ordinary terminal activity.

Update: v0.10.0 — Agent-Native Memory

Version 0.10.0 (September 6, 2026) is the current release across the CLI, web UI, and desktop app; the reusable Rust core is versioned separately at 0.5.0. Key changes in this release include:

• Agent provenance — Schema 10 stores command agents as claude, rho, or NULL; the display label terminal covers manual or legacy provenance.
• Worktree-aware repositories — Canonical repository IDs group linked worktrees while preserving each worktree root.
• HTTP MCP and JSON API — mw-serve adds POST /mcp; --api opts into a read-only JSON API sharing the dashboard's access controls.
• Explicit GitHub context — mw github context <pr> reads PR metadata, checks, commit statuses, and reviews via an existing gh login without checking out code or background sync.
• The Rust Memory literal now requires agent: Option<String>; older JSON remains readable through its serde default.

Local-First Security Model

All interfaces — CLI, TUI, MCP server, web dashboard, and desktop shell — use the local store. The dashboard binds to loopback by default; non-loopback access requires a Bearer token and should only be exposed on a trusted network. HTTP does not encrypt the connection. Redaction helps with common secrets but is not a security boundary. Capture controls include .mwignore, path policy, and commands-only mode; mw audit, mw rm, and mw prune let users inspect and delete records.

Installation and Platform Support

Prebuilt binaries are available for Linux x86_64/aarch64 and macOS, including a .deb for Debian and Jetson. Installation options include a pinned, checksum-verified shell installer, cargo install memorywhale-cli --version 0.10.0 --locked, and a Homebrew tap. Windows is not a native target; WSL can use the Linux build. The project is licensed under the MIT License.