Git records what changed. Mental CLI records the rest: the resume, the decision git cannot explain, and what’s still in the air. Your agents write it for you. You type mental when you want the pulse.

$ mental
🧠 Ship the pointer, not the dump — open loops: none
Against PLAN.md

Now     Resolver landed  (today)
Git     main (dirty)
        feat: UUID bindings survive a repo move
Hops    2
Needs eyes
  [verify] Resolver tests not reviewed
In the air
  [direction] Tom said ship the pointer
Later
  [thread] Come back to MCP
Unsettled
  [open] Heartbeat only, no standing TUI
Settled
  UUID bindings survive a repo move

One shot. Then exit. Not a menu. Not a todo app.

Quick start

PowerShell, cmd.exe, Windows Terminal, Git Bash, macOS, and Linux:

npm i -g @balacode/mental
mental install
mental doctor

Then cd your-repo and type mental. npm owns the executable on every platform; mental install copies the agent skill/rule and creates the local data skeleton. Strict PowerShell policy: use npm.cmd / mental.cmd.

Upgrading from Mental 0.8.1 or older on Windows? Run mental-repair.cmd once after npm i -g; it quarantines only fingerprinted Mental-owned launchers that can shadow npm. Journals stay. Upgrade.

After install, agents journal, decide, and record residue while you work. You do not keep a second journal.

The unscoped npm package mental is a different project. Install @balacode/mental. The binary is mental.

Paste this into your agent

Works in Cursor, Claude Code, Copilot, Codex, and anything that can install a plugin or run a shell:

Install Mental CLI with npm. Do not clone the GitHub repo to install. Do not install from a git clone or plugin cache. Never run a .mjs file — Windows will ask what to open it with.

Fresh install (PowerShell, cmd, Windows Terminal, Git Bash, macOS, Linux):
  npm i -g @balacode/mental
  mental install
  mental doctor

Existing Windows install from Mental 0.8.1 or older (one-time migration):
  npm i -g @balacode/mental
  mental-repair.cmd
  mental install
  mental doctor
  (If PowerShell blocks scripts, use npm.cmd and mental.cmd explicitly.)

Mental CLI is a local-first continuity layer. Git records what changed; Mental records where we left off, why a decision was made, and what is still in the air. After install, you write it on my behalf — I do not journal by hand.

The repo is an Agent Plugins 1.0.0 package (https://agent-plugins.org/specification): plugin.json at the repo root, skills-only. Hosts load skills/mental-setup (install the CLI). The full procedure lives in skill/mental and is copied by `mental install` — not plugin-discovered. Native plugin does not start MCP. Do not start a plugin MCP server.

If this client has a native plugin install, use only that host's flow (do not run other hosts' `/plugin`, `copilot plugin`, or Command Palette steps from this session). npm owns the executable; `mental install` only refreshes the copied skill/rule/config. Run the fresh-install block, or the Windows migration block for an existing 0.8.1-or-older install.

The plugin is discovery. npm is the source of truth for the executable; the install command is the source of truth for the copied procedure. After doctor, re-run `mental doctor --json`. If anything is not ok that `--fix` can repair, run `mental doctor --fix --json` once (home skills/rules + git excludes only — never `--project` or optionals). Then tell me remaining checks. Follow the Mental skill copied by install — not the plugin bootstrap.

Missing Mental must not block my coding task (fail open): continue the task, then tell me to run the fresh-install block. Never execute the package's .mjs file directly.

After doctor, ask whether I want optional hooks or time tracking, and whether MCP is needed for this client. Give a one-liner for each, then wait — never run `mental option … on` until I say yes this turn.

- hooks: session-start snippets so a new chat loads Mental status (default off)
- MCP: register `mental serve` for tool-only agents that cannot shell the CLI (skip if this client can run `mental`)
- time tracking: optional automated project record — wall/billable, private + customer-ready descriptions, dated client export (default off)

Plugin install for each host (you, not the agent paste): docs/install.md.

Releasing this repo

package.json version is source of truth. Bump with node scripts/bump-version.mjs X.Y.Z, then --check. Tag only vX.Y.Z. Watch the Release workflow. The release is not done until:

npm view @balacode/mental version

equals that package.json string (no v). Agent rule: .cursor/rules/release.mdc.

Highlights

• Agents are the scribe. After install, a skill + tiny always-on rule tell your coding agents to call mental … --json. Not every chat turn. Not a hidden hook. The plugin is discovery only (skills/mental-setup); the procedure is copied by mental install.
• A pulse, not a dump. mental / heartbeat --json is resume + last outcome + git + residue + open decisions. 51 ms on a fresh process.
• Markdown is the source of truth. OKF files in ~/.mental. SQLite is a derived cache. Deleting the db loses nothing.
• Identity survives a move. UUID in bindings.json, not the folder path. Two clones of the same origin share one brain until you split.
• Fail open. Private by default. Missing Mental CLI must not block coding. Never commit the store. Never write secrets.
• Hours are optional. Default off. Agents generate private + customer-ready descriptions, clock wall/billable, and refresh the record at task boundaries. Genuine ambiguity uses one renderer-safe single-select question; otherwise capture stays automatic. --new runs another clock; dated client exports omit private detail. Track.

Who writes

| You | Your agents | | --- | --- | | Type mental for the pulse | Journal at a real task boundary | | Ask “where did we leave off?” | Record a decision that constrains the future | | Install once | Record residue the moment it surfaces | | Read the receipt | Re-pulse when another agent may have written |

You will see this at the end of a turn that used Mental CLI:

🧠 **Mental**
- 📓 **Journal** › *recorded* › Resolver landed
- 🚦 **Attention** › *recorded* › Tom said ship

Same CLI if you ever type it yourself. Same files.

Why this exists

A new agent, another repo, Monday morning — someone reconstructs intent from chat and git log. That reconstruction is the tax. It is what developers feel as mental fry: verifying what the last agent did, deciding what the next one may touch, and holding residue across hops. Mental CLI removes it.

| You already have | Mental CLI adds | | --- | --- | | Git history | Exact resume line | | PLAN.md / issues | Decisions git cannot explain | | Chat (gone next session) | Attention residue, written down (capped at 7) |

The last two years measured the tax. Experienced developers using Cursor believed they were 20% faster and were 19% slower (METR 2025). Productivity ratings held while flow and cognitive load eroded (Vella and Blincoe 2026). AI users switched windows more over two years — 74% did not notice (ICSE 2026). mental is the cue that hop needs.

Citations and what we do not claim: docs/research.md.

Numbers

Measured. Reproducible. npm test · npm run bench

| | | | | ---: | --- | --- | | 0 | runtime npm dependencies | Node >=18 | | 224 | automated tests | identity, search, install, MCP, optional track | | 51 ms | mental heartbeat --json | p50, fresh process | | 11 ms | same pulse in-process | MCP after mental serve | | 46 ms | search over 2,000 notes | 1.2 ms in-process |

Host and method: docs/benchmarks.md.

FAQ

Do I have to write the journal myself? No. Agents write it on your behalf. I type mental — you type mental when you want the pulse. Who writes.

Is this Mem0 / chat memory / a vector store? No. Mental CLI is project continuity, not conversation memory. Markdown files are the source of truth. No embeddings as SoT. No cloud.

Does it replace git, issues, or PLAN.md? No. Git still records what changed. --against PLAN.md points at the plan. Mental holds the small amount those systems cannot see.

Will it auto-journal every chat turn? No. Task boundaries, real decisions, residue in the air. Hooks stay off until you run mental hooks on.

Park, handoff, pulse — when? park encodes an interruption mid-hop. handoff is a planned close (journal + heartbeat). pulse is a compact cross-project overview. The cheap mid-chat reload is still mental / heartbeat --json.

How do I upgrade? Run npm i -g @balacode/mental, mental install, then mental doctor. Existing Windows installs from Mental 0.8.1 or older run mental-repair.cmd once after npm updates. Journals stay. The search index rebuilds on the next search. Skill copies refresh; the host plugin is a second channel — update it if doctor says it is behind. From a git checkout: npm run mental -- install. Upgrade.

What if mental is not installed? Agents continue the coding task and mention the three-command install block. They never execute a .mjs file directly. Fail open.

Where does data live? ~/.mental (never commit). Project ./.mental only after mental local. Uninstall does not delete OKF unless you type DELETE. Identity · Privacy

Does Mental CLI track my hours? Only if you turn it on (mental option track on). Agents automatically record private and customer-ready descriptions, wall time, and billable time (wall by default). If input is genuinely needed, they use a plain-text draft with short single-select choices that maps to native host question renderers and falls back to numbered text. Export produces dated customer rows with work descriptions and hours; it never reconstructs missing time from git. Track.

Docs

| | | | --- | --- | | Why Mental CLI | Contract, non-goals, architecture | | The research | Verification load, supervisory work, 2024–2026 citations | | Install Mental CLI | npm, plugins, clone, upgrade, doctor, uninstall | | Optional time tracking | Sit-down clock; what hours can and cannot do | | Mental CLI reference | Commands, flags, exit codes | | Mental CLI for agents | --json, skill, MCP, receipts | | Mental CLI identity | UUID, remap / split / local | | Mental CLI benchmarks | p50 / p95 and how to reproduce | | Skill | The procedure agents load | | Spec | Full product spec |

Privacy

• Default store: ~/.mental/ (never commit)
• Project .mental/ is opt-in and must be gitignored (mental doctor --fix-ignore). Agents must not edit .gitignore
• Never store secrets, tokens, or private keys
• mental uninstall does not delete OKF unless you type DELETE

Optional: mental install --mcp · mental hooks on · mental option track on — default off. Skill + rule are the contract. Hours never go in git. Track.

npm: @balacode/mental · repo: afaraha8403/mental · license: MIT