CTX

The context layer for AI coding agents

Reduce token waste in OpenCode and AI coding workflows with graph memory, compact task packs, read-cache compression, command pruning, and a live right-sidebar dashboard.

OpenCode-first runtime · Local MCP tools · Read cache + delta-aware indexing · Single Rust binary

Install · OpenCode Usage · Dashboard · Benchmarks · Docs · Security

CTX is a local context runtime for OpenCode and AI coding agents. It keeps repository knowledge, reusable rules, shell output, diffs, and file rereads compact before they ever bloat the model context.

See It In Action

Install + Bootstrap	Planning + Packing	Read Cache + Dashboard
`GIF placeholder`	`GIF placeholder`	`GIF placeholder`
Install `ctx`, run `ctx init`, `ctx index`, `ctx opencode install`, then open OpenCode.	Build a plan, pack the smallest useful context, and compare broad vs packed token cost.	Re-read files through `digest` mode and watch live savings in the right sidebar.

What CTX Is
Why It Exists
Install CTX
OpenCode-First Usage
What Works Today
Graph Memory
CTX Dashboard
Proof From The Demo Fixture
Demo And Screenshots
Security
Documentation
Repository Layout

What CTX Is

CTX is a local runtime layer for OpenCode. It indexes the repository, stores reusable guidance as graph memory, exposes local MCP tools, generates OpenCode slash commands, and keeps local telemetry about token savings, cache reuse, and compact context packs.

CTX is not another agent launcher.

OpenCode keeps the selected model, provider, and normal workflow.
CTX sits underneath as the context layer.
The product surface is the OpenCode-native /ctx-* experience, not wrapper-first shell workflows.

Why It Exists

Coding agents usually waste tokens on things that are useful once but expensive forever.

Problem	Traditional flow	CTX flow
Project rules	Reload a full `AGENTS.md` every turn	Import rules into graph memory and retrieve only the relevant directives
File rereads	Pay full price for the same file again	Re-read unchanged files through `digest` / `outline` modes with local read-cache compression
Noisy logs	Paste thousands of repeated lines	Run `/ctx-run` or prune logs into root-cause signal
Broad diffs	Feed huge patches	Keep only task-relevant hunks and changed symbols
Repo navigation	Manual file spelunking	Query local graph, snippets, symbols, and semantic ranking
Host integration	Wrapper commands outside the agent	OpenCode-native `/ctx-*` commands plus local MCP tools

Install CTX

Install CTX with the channel that fits your workflow best:

cargo install ctx
one-line installer script
GitHub Release archives
npm i -g ctx-bin
brew tap Alegau03/ctx && brew install ctx

Update paths:

ctx update
ctx update --check
cargo install ctx --force
rerun the installer script
npm update -g ctx-bin
brew upgrade ctx

Cargo

cargo install ctx

One-Line Installer

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Alegau03/CTX/main/scripts/install.sh | sh

npm

npm i -g ctx-bin

Homebrew

brew tap Alegau03/ctx
brew install ctx

Source Install

git clone https://github.com/Alegau03/CTX.git
cd CTX
cargo install --locked --path crates/ctx-cli

Verify:

ctx help
ctx doctor
ctx update --check

Native update command:

ctx update

How ctx update behaves:

installer-based installs: reruns the official installer path
Cargo installs: prints cargo install ctx --force
npm installs: prints npm update -g ctx-bin
Homebrew installs: prints brew upgrade ctx
ambiguous installs: prints all supported update commands without guessing

GitHub Release Archive

Download the latest assets from GitHub Releases, then run:

shasum -a 256 -c SHA256SUMS
tar -xzf ctx-0.2.0-aarch64-apple-darwin.tar.gz
mkdir -p "$HOME/.local/bin"
install -m 0755 ctx-0.2.0-aarch64-apple-darwin/ctx "$HOME/.local/bin/ctx"
export PATH="$HOME/.local/bin:$PATH"

If you prefer a system-wide install:

sudo install -m 0755 ctx-0.2.0-aarch64-apple-darwin/ctx /usr/local/bin/ctx

For the full install matrix, release verification notes, native update behavior, and distribution details, see docs/install.md.

OpenCode-First Usage

Once ctx is installed, enable it in any project:

cd /path/to/your/project
ctx init
ctx index
ctx opencode install
opencode

If you want the leanest possible OpenCode surface first:

ctx opencode install --profile core

Profile summary:

full (default): full CTX slash-command surface plus the live right-sidebar CTX Dashboard
core: lean daily workflow with /ctx, /ctx-doctor, /ctx-plan, /ctx-retrieve, /ctx-pack, /ctx-run, /ctx-prune-logs, /ctx-stats, and /ctx-gain

Inside OpenCode, start with:

/ctx

From there, the main workflow is:

/ctx-doctor
/ctx-memory-bootstrap
/ctx-plan <task>
/ctx-retrieve <query>
/ctx-read <file> [mode]
/ctx-pack <task>
/ctx-compare <task>
/ctx-run <shell command>
/ctx-gain
/ctx-dashboard

Toolbooks and reusable lessons are also first-class:

/ctx-toolbook-import <name> <file>
/ctx-toolbook-search <name> "<query>"
/ctx-toolbook-pack <name> "<task>"
/ctx-learn <key> "<body>"

For full usage, expected outputs, and CLI equivalents, see guide.md and docs/commands.md.

What Works Today

Area	Current state
OpenCode integration	`ctx opencode install` writes `opencode.json`, `.opencode/commands/*.md`, `.opencode/instructions/ctx-host-first.md`, and in `full` profile also provisions `.opencode/tui.json` plus a live sidebar plugin
Install profiles	`ctx opencode install --profile full
Command center	`/ctx` shows a categorized CTX menu and best next command
Planning	`/ctx-plan <task>` combines retrieval, graph, memory, and pack signals into an implementation plan
Context packing	`/ctx-pack <task>` builds compact task packs with graph, memory, failure, diff, and attachment signals
Density check	`/ctx-compare <task>` shows before-vs-CTX token density for one task
Read cache	`/ctx-read <file> [mode]` supports `full`, `outline`, and `digest` with session re-read compression
Delta-aware indexing	repeated `ctx index` runs reuse unchanged files and write index-cache summaries
Command compression	`/ctx-run <shell command>` keeps the root cause and stores the raw log
Gain reporting	`/ctx-gain` summarizes recent token savings and top repeated queries
Dashboard	the `full` profile adds a live right-sidebar `CTX Dashboard`, while `/ctx-dashboard` prints a local snapshot in-thread
Graph memory	bootstrap/import/search/list/get/set/delete/export project directives seeded from `AGENTS.md`, `CLAUDE.md`, `CODEX.md`, and Copilot instructions
Toolbooks	OpenCode-only `/ctx-toolbook-*` commands keep large CLI manuals out of `AGENTS.md`
Learning	`/ctx-learn <key> "<body>"` stores reusable project lessons in graph memory
Retrieval	hybrid graph, snippets, FTS, symbols, and semantic ranking with local fallback
Pruning	deterministic log and diff pruning with parser-aware diagnostics
MCP	local stdio MCP plus localhost HTTP JSON-RPC runtime
File coverage	Rust, Python, TypeScript, JavaScript, Markdown runbooks, and common config/script files
Privacy	local-only defaults, sensitive attachment blocking, local audit log

Graph Memory

Graph Memory is CTX's structured replacement for repeatedly loading whole instruction markdown files. It keeps directives local, queryable, editable, and exportable when markdown compatibility is still needed.

Instead of this:

one giant AGENTS.md
every host turn re-reading it
unclear relevance to the active task

CTX lets you do this:

import rules once with /ctx-memory-bootstrap
retrieve only task-relevant directives with /ctx-memory-search
fold those directives into /ctx-plan and /ctx-pack
store new lessons with /ctx-learn

CTX Dashboard

When CTX is installed with the default full profile, OpenCode gets a live CTX Dashboard in the right sidebar.

The sidebar is meant to be a lightweight control tower for the current repo, not another verbose chat response. It auto-refreshes local runtime metrics such as:

total estimated tokens saved
average tokens saved per run
average and latest reduction percentages
read-cache hit rate
index-cache reuse rate
top current win
latest pack artifact

The right-sidebar view is intentionally compact. It focuses on the live metrics that matter most instead of repeating verbose activity logs or warning blocks that are already available in the main CTX outputs.

Use the core profile when you want the smallest possible slash-command surface and do not need the sidebar yet.

Proof From The Demo Fixture

The committed demo benchmark compares a traditional markdown-rule flow against CTX graph memory on demo/fixtures/opencode-auth-lab.

Metric	Result
Markdown rule tokens	`744`
Graph memory tokens	`322`
Token reduction	`56.72%`
Query coverage	`markdown=1.00`, `graph=1.00`
Markdown answer success	`33.33%`
Graph memory answer success	`100.00%`
Quality wins	`markdown=0`, `graph=1`, `ties=0`

Reproduce it with:

scripts/demo/opencode-auth-lab-benchmark.sh ./target/debug/ctx

Evidence files:

External validation is also committed in docs/external-benchmark-agentsmd.md, including a public-repo snapshot with:

token reduction 72.62%
query coverage markdown=1.00, graph=0.89
success rate markdown=0.50, graph=1.00
quality wins markdown=0, graph=1, ties=0

Demo And Screenshots

Media Slot	Suggested Asset
Hero GIF	full install -> `ctx init` -> `ctx index` -> `ctx opencode install` -> `/ctx`
Sidebar GIF	live right-sidebar `CTX Dashboard` refreshing after `/ctx-pack` and `/ctx-read`
Command GIF	`/ctx-plan`, `/ctx-pack`, `/ctx-compare`, `/ctx-run`
Static Screenshot	`CTX Dashboard` in OpenCode right sidebar

Asset	Status
Fixture project	`demo/fixtures/opencode-auth-lab` is committed
Automated smoke	`scripts/demo/opencode-auth-lab-smoke.sh`
MCP smoke	`scripts/demo/opencode-auth-lab-mcp-smoke.sh`
Benchmark smoke	`scripts/demo/opencode-auth-lab-benchmark.sh`
Demo walkthrough	docs/demo-walkthrough.md
Recording script	docs/demo-script.md
Demo video	Watch the OpenCode demo video

Security

CTX is local-first by default:

local_only = true
remote_upload_enabled = false
no mandatory network calls
.ctx/graph.db, .ctx/packs/, .ctx/stats/, and .ctx/audit.log stay local
sensitive-looking attachments such as .env, private keys, credentials, and secret files are blocked by default

See docs/security.md.

Documentation

File	Purpose
guide.md	Operational OpenCode workflow, examples, expected outputs
docs/commands.md	Complete CTX command syntax and explanations
docs/install.md	Install paths, PATH notes, release archive verification
docs/opencode-integration.md	OpenCode integration architecture and install profiles
docs/demo-script.md	Recording sequence for demos and walkthroughs
docs/demo-walkthrough.md	End-to-end fixture validation
docs/architecture.md	Runtime architecture
docs/security.md	Privacy and trust model
docs/release-playbook.md	Release messaging and checklist
docs/final-qa.md	Final QA gate
docs/external-benchmark-agentsmd.md	Public external benchmark evidence

Repository Layout

Path	Purpose
`crates/ctx-cli`	`ctx` binary, OpenCode bootstrap, user-facing CLI commands
`crates/ctx-core`	Runtime orchestration for indexing, packing, memory, retrieval, benchmarks
`crates/ctx-graph`	SQLite graph, FTS, memory directives, run metadata
`crates/ctx-mcp`	Local MCP runtime over stdio and localhost HTTP JSON-RPC
`crates/ctx-pack`	Budget-aware context packing and rewriting
`crates/ctx-prune`	Log and diff pruning
`crates/ctx-ast`	Symbol extraction and code slicing
`crates/ctx-semantic`	Semantic ranking and local fallback embedding backend
`crates/ctx-telemetry`	Local stats, audit lines, benchmark summaries
`demo/fixtures/opencode-auth-lab`	Realistic fixture project for smoke tests and benchmark proof
`scripts/demo`	Demo smoke, MCP smoke, and benchmark scripts
`scripts/install.sh`	Official user-local installer script
`scripts/release`	Build, package, verify, and final QA scripts
`packages/ctx-bin`	npm binary package that downloads prebuilt release assets
`Formula/ctx.rb`	Homebrew formula source used for local tap preparation

CTX

CTX