AICTX
Quickstart

AICTX Quickstart.

This walkthrough shows the shortest path from setup to visible operational continuity.

AICTX is built around one loop:

resume before work -> work normally -> finalize evidence -> next session continues
1. Install and Initialize 
pip install aictx
aictx install
aictx init

# Then keep using your coding agent.
# Supported agents are instructed to:
# resume context → work → finalize continuity

You install and initialize AICTX. Supported agents are instructed to resume before work and finalize after work. Everything is stored locally under .aictx/.

Optional check:

aictx --version
aictx doctor --repo . --json

Fresh repos start with little continuity

A fresh repo may have little continuity. That is expected. AICTX becomes more useful after work has been finalized and Work State, failures, decisions, or handoffs exist.

MCP support

By default, aictx install prepares AICTX MCP runtime metadata and aictx init writes repo-local MCP config for compatible clients.

Launch local stdio server

aictx mcp-server --repo . --profile full

Inspect MCP setup

aictx mcp status --repo .

Opt out

aictx install --no-mcp
aictx init --no-mcp

Agents should prefer MCP tools such as aictx_resume, aictx_finalize, and aictx_view when available, and fall back to CLI commands otherwise.

Interactive install

Installation prepares AICTX MCP support by default and will only ask you about enabling recommended RepoMap support using Tree-sitter.

RepoMap uses Tree-sitter to build a compact structural map of files and symbols. It helps agents choose better starting points without reading the whole repo.

Communication mode

aictx init can optionally enable compact runtime communication hints for supported agents. The default leaves agent communication unchanged.

Need more setup detail? See Installation.

2. Normal flow example

  • Session starts
  • The user asks for a task
  • AICTX provides the agent with a continuity resume capsule
codex@my-repo · session #12 · awake

Resuming: parser refactor was paused after updating token tests.
Last progress: `tests/test_parser.py` passes; next step is to update error recovery cases.

────────────────────────────────
  • Agent performs the task
  • AICTX updates continuity artifacts
  • Agent provides the user with a continuity summary
────────────────────────────────
AICTX summary

Context: resumed parser refactor from previous session state.
Map: RepoMap quick ok.
Saved: updated handoff and continuity state.
Validation: `pytest -q tests/test_parser.py` passed.
Next: update parser error recovery cases.
Details: last_execution_summary.md
Continuity view file: continuity-map.mmd
View continuity online: mermaid.live view

3. Inspect Continuity View Manually

aictx view --repo .

Default output:

.aictx/reports/continuity-view.md
.aictx/reports/continuity-map.mmd

Not hidden memory. Reviewable operational continuity.

AICTX 6.11 in one minute

AICTX already provided repo-local continuity. 6.11 makes that loop harder for supported agents to skip, less noisy, and more truthful.

  • resume --brief can return a smaller startup payload.
  • Supported integrations get compact runner contracts and guard triggers.
  • Validation expectations are task-aware, so documentation and analysis tasks stay advisory.
  • finalize can surface dirty edited files without staging or committing them.
  • Work State can preserve compact discarded hypotheses when an agent explicitly records an abandoned approach.
  • Strategy Memory can preserve compact rationale for why a strategy worked and when not to reuse it.

Next steps

User Manual

Practical commands for common tasks.

Open User Manual →

Technical Documentation

Full reference and internals.

Open Technical Documentation →