RA-H OS

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A local SQLite database with a UI for storing knowledge, and an MCP server so your AI tools can read/write to it.

Full documentation: ra-h.app/docs/open-source

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What This Does

1. Stores knowledge locally — Notes, bookmarks, ideas, research in a SQLite database on your machine
2. Provides a UI — Browse, search, and organize your nodes at localhost:3000
3. Exposes an MCP server — Claude Code, Cursor, or any MCP client can query and add to your knowledge base

Your data stays on your machine. Nothing is sent anywhere unless you configure an API key.

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Requirements

• Node.js 20.18.1+ — nodejs.org
• macOS — Works out of the box
• Linux/Windows — Requires building sqlite-vec manually (see below)

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Install

git clone https://github.com/bradwmorris/ra-h_os.git
cd ra-h_os
npm install
npm rebuild better-sqlite3
./scripts/dev/bootstrap-local.sh
npm run dev

Open localhost:3000. Done.

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OpenAI API Key

Optional but recommended. Without a key, you can still create and organize nodes manually.

With a key, you get:

• Auto-generated descriptions when you add nodes
• Automatic dimension/tag assignment
• Semantic search (find similar content, not just keyword matches)

Cost: Less than $0.10/day for heavy use. Most users spend $1-2/month.

Setup: The app will prompt you on first launch, or go to Settings → API Keys.

Get a key at platform.openai.com/api-keys

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Where Your Data Lives

~/Library/Application Support/RA-H/db/rah.sqlite   # macOS
~/.local/share/RA-H/db/rah.sqlite                  # Linux
%APPDATA%/RA-H/db/rah.sqlite                       # Windows

This is a standard SQLite file. You can:

• Back it up by copying the file
• Query it directly with sqlite3 or any SQLite tool
• Move it between machines

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Connect Claude Code (or other MCP clients)

Add to your ~/.claude.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "ra-h": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["ra-h-mcp-server"]
    }
  }
}

Restart Claude Code fully (Cmd+Q on Mac, not just closing the window).

Verify it worked: Ask Claude "Do you have rah_ tools available?" — you should see tools like rah_add_node, rah_search_nodes, etc.

For contributors testing local changes, use the local path instead:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "ra-h": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["/absolute/path/to/ra-h_os/apps/mcp-server-standalone/index.js"]
    }
  }
}

What happens: Once connected, Claude calls rah_get_context first to orient itself (stats, hub nodes, dimensions, available guides). It proactively captures knowledge — when a new insight, decision, person, or reference surfaces, it proposes a specific node (title, dimensions, description) so you can approve with minimal friction. For complex tasks it reads guides to understand your graph conventions and custom workflows.

Available tools:

Tool	What it does
rah_get_context	Get graph overview — stats, hub nodes, dimensions, recent activity
rah_search_nodes	Find nodes by keyword
rah_add_node	Create a new node
rah_get_nodes	Fetch nodes by ID
rah_update_node	Edit an existing node
rah_create_edge	Link two nodes together
rah_update_edge	Update an edge explanation
rah_query_edges	Find connections
rah_list_dimensions	List all tags/categories
rah_create_dimension	Create a new dimension
rah_update_dimension	Update/rename a dimension
rah_delete_dimension	Delete a dimension
rah_list_guides	List available guides (system + custom)
rah_read_guide	Read a guide by name
rah_write_guide	Create or update a custom guide
rah_delete_guide	Delete a custom guide

Example prompts for Claude Code:

• "What's in my knowledge graph?"
• "Search my knowledge base for notes about React performance"
• "Add a node about the article I just read on transformers"
• "What nodes are connected to my 'research' dimension?"

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Direct Database Access

Query your database directly:

# Open the database
sqlite3 ~/Library/Application\ Support/RA-H/db/rah.sqlite

# List all nodes
SELECT id, title, created_at FROM nodes ORDER BY created_at DESC LIMIT 10;

# Search by title
SELECT title, description FROM nodes WHERE title LIKE '%react%';

# Find connections
SELECT n1.title, e.explanation, n2.title
FROM edges e
JOIN nodes n1 ON e.from_node_id = n1.id
JOIN nodes n2 ON e.to_node_id = n2.id
LIMIT 10;

See ra-h.app/docs/open-source for full schema documentation.

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Commands

Command	What it does
npm run dev	Start the app at localhost:3000
npm run build	Production build
npm run type-check	Check TypeScript

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Linux/Windows

The bundled sqlite-vec binary only works on macOS. For other platforms:

1. Build sqlite-vec from github.com/asg017/sqlite-vec
2. Place at vendor/sqlite-extensions/vec0.so (Linux) or vec0.dll (Windows)

Without sqlite-vec, everything works except semantic/vector search.

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More

• Full docs: ra-h.app/docs/open-source
• Issues: github.com/bradwmorris/ra-h_os/issues
• License: MIT