@forwardimpact/basecamp

A personal knowledge system that runs as scheduled Claude Code tasks. No server, no database — just plain files, markdown, and the claude CLI. Packaged as a native macOS app bundle (Basecamp.app) with TCC-compliant process management.

Part of the Forward Impact monorepo.

Architecture

Basecamp.app/                             # macOS app bundle
└── Contents/
    ├── Info.plist                         # Bundle metadata (LSUIElement)
    ├── MacOS/
    │   ├── Basecamp                      # Swift launcher (TCC responsible)
    │   └── fit-basecamp                  # Deno scheduler (child process)
    └── Resources/
        ├── config/scheduler.json         # Default config
        └── template/                     # KB template

~/.fit/basecamp/                          # Scheduler home (user config)
├── scheduler.json                        # Task definitions
├── state.json                            # Task run state
├── basecamp.sock                         # IPC socket
└── logs/                                 # Scheduler logs

~/Documents/Personal/                     # Default personal knowledge base
├── CLAUDE.md                             # Claude Code instructions for this KB
├── knowledge/                            # The knowledge graph
│   ├── People/
│   ├── Organizations/
│   ├── Projects/
│   └── Topics/
├── .claude/skills/                       # Claude Code skill files
└── drafts/                               # Email drafts

Process Tree

Basecamp (Swift launcher, CFBundleExecutable, TCC responsible)
├── fit-basecamp --daemon    (Deno scheduler, spawned via posix_spawn)
│   └── claude --print ...   (spawned via posix_spawn FFI)
└── [status menu UI]         (AppKit menu bar, in-process)

The Swift launcher is the main executable and TCC responsible process. It spawns the Deno scheduler via posix_spawn so child processes inherit TCC attributes. Users grant Calendar, Contacts, and other permissions once to Basecamp.app.

Install from Package

1. Double-click fit-basecamp-<version>.pkg
2. Follow the installer prompts

The installer places Basecamp.app in /Applications/ and initializes ~/Documents/Personal/ as the default knowledge base.

After installing, open Basecamp from /Applications/. It runs as a menu bar app — use "Quit Basecamp" from the status menu to stop it.

To uninstall, run just uninstall from the source tree.

Install from Source

cd products/basecamp

# Run the scheduler in dev mode
just daemon

# Or initialize a new KB
just init ~/Documents/Personal

# Configure your identity
vi ~/Documents/Personal/USER.md

Building

Requires Deno >= 2.x and Xcode Command Line Tools.

# Build scheduler + launcher binaries
just build

# Build + assemble Basecamp.app
just build-app

# Build + assemble + .pkg installer
just pkg

# Or via npm:
npm run build           # binaries only
npm run build:app       # + Basecamp.app
npm run build:pkg       # + .pkg installer

Output goes to dist/:

dist/
├── fit-basecamp             # Deno scheduler binary
├── Basecamp                 # Swift launcher binary
└── Basecamp.app/            # Assembled app bundle

Multiple Knowledge Bases

The scheduler can run tasks across multiple knowledge bases. Each KB is an independent directory with its own CLAUDE.md, skills, and knowledge graph.

Adding a new KB

# Initialize a new knowledge base
deno run --allow-all src/basecamp.js --init ~/Documents/Team

# Edit the scheduler config to register it
vi ~/.fit/basecamp/scheduler.json

Scheduler config format

~/.fit/basecamp/scheduler.json:

{
  "tasks": {
    "sync-personal-mail": {
      "kb": "~/Documents/Personal",
      "schedule": { "type": "interval", "minutes": 5 },
      "enabled": true,
      "skill": "sync-apple-mail",
      "prompt": "Sync Apple Mail."
    },
    "sync-team-calendar": {
      "kb": "~/Documents/Team",
      "schedule": { "type": "interval", "minutes": 10 },
      "enabled": true,
      "skill": "sync-apple-calendar",
      "prompt": "Sync Apple Calendar."
    }
  }
}

Task fields

| Field | Required | Description | | ---------- | -------- | --------------------------------------------------------------- | | kb | yes | Path to the knowledge base directory (supports ~) | | schedule | yes | When to run (interval, cron, or once) | | prompt | yes | The prompt sent to Claude | | enabled | no | Set to false to disable. Default: true | | agent | no | Claude sub-agent name (passed as --agent) | | skill | no | Skill name (matches .claude/skills/<name>/SKILL.md in the KB) |

Schedule types

{ "type": "interval", "minutes": 5 }
{ "type": "cron", "expression": "0 8 * * *" }
{ "type": "once", "runAt": "2025-02-12T10:00:00Z" }

CLI Reference

fit-basecamp                     Run due tasks once and exit
fit-basecamp --daemon            Run continuously (poll every 60s)
fit-basecamp --run <task>        Run a specific task immediately
fit-basecamp --init <path>       Initialize a new knowledge base
fit-basecamp --status            Show knowledge bases and task status
fit-basecamp --validate          Validate agents and skills exist
fit-basecamp --help              Show this help

When running from source, use deno run --allow-all src/basecamp.js or just run instead of fit-basecamp.

Skills

Skills are Claude Code-native SKILL.md files that are auto-discovered from .claude/skills/<name>/SKILL.md inside each knowledge base. The default KB ships with these skills:

| Skill | Directory | Purpose | | ---------------------- | ---------------------- | ---------------------------------------------- | | Sync Apple Mail | sync-apple-mail | Sync Apple Mail threads via SQLite | | Sync Apple Calendar | sync-apple-calendar | Sync Apple Calendar events via SQLite | | Extract Entities | extract-entities | Process synced data into knowledge graph notes | | Draft Emails | draft-emails | Draft email responses using knowledge context | | Meeting Prep | meeting-prep | Prepare briefings for upcoming meetings | | Create Presentations | create-presentations | Create slide decks as PDF | | Document Collaboration | doc-collab | Document creation and collaboration | | Organize Files | organize-files | File organization and cleanup |

Requirements

• Claude CLI (claude) installed and authenticated
• macOS 13+ (Ventura or later)
• Xcode Command Line Tools (for building the Swift launcher)
• Deno >= 2.x (for building the standalone binary)

License

Apache-2.0