🧠 Cortex

Your Personal Second Brain — Local-First AI Knowledge System

"The computer is not just a tool, it is a bicycle for the mind." — Steve Jobs

Cortex watches your files, extracts insights using AI, and lets you query your personal knowledge base using natural language.

Key Features:

• 🔒 Privacy-First — All data stays on YOUR machine
• 🧠 Semantic Search — Find by meaning, not keywords
• 🔄 Real-time Indexing — File changes detected instantly
• 💡 Multi-Lens Analysis — Philosopher, Architect, Analyst perspectives
• 💰 Cheap — ~$3-6/month using OpenRouter

🚀 Quick Start

Option 1: One-liner Install (Recommended)

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/enioxt/egos-cortex/main/install.sh | bash

Option 2: Manual Install

# Clone
git clone https://github.com/enioxt/egos-cortex.git
cd egos-cortex

# Install
npm install
npx prisma migrate dev

# Configure
echo "OPENROUTER_API_KEY=your-key" > .env

# Run
npm run dev

📖 Usage

# Check status
cx status

# Ask a question (uses your indexed knowledge)
cx ask "What do I know about productivity?"

# Semantic search
cx search "architecture patterns"

# Start daemon (watches files in real-time)
cx daemon start

Features

• ✅ Semantic Search - Find related content by meaning, not keywords
• ✅ Multi-Lens Analysis - Philosopher, Architect, Analyst perspectives
• ✅ Privacy First - 15+ secret patterns detected and redacted
• ✅ Cloud LLM - OpenRouter (Gemini Flash) ~$3-6/month
• ✅ Real-time Indexing - Chokidar watcher with inode tracking

CLI Commands

Command	Description
cx status	Show system status and statistics
cx ask <query>	Ask a question using your knowledge base
cx search <query>	Semantic search across indexed content
cx config	Show current configuration

Configuration

Config is stored at ~/.config/cortex/config.json:

{
  "version": "1.0.0",
  "dataDir": "~/.local/share/cortex",
  "watchSources": [
    {
      "id": "documents",
      "path": "/home/user/Documents",
      "lens": "general",
      "recursive": true,
      "extensions": [".md", ".txt", ".pdf"]
    }
  ],
  "privacy": {
    "redactSecrets": true,
    "redactPII": false
  },
  "llm": {
    "provider": "openrouter",
    "model": "google/gemini-2.0-flash-001"
  }
}

Architecture

cortex/
├── src/
│   ├── lib/
│   │   ├── llm-bridge.ts    # OpenRouter integration
│   │   ├── config.ts        # Zod schema + cosmiconfig
│   │   ├── watcher.ts       # Chokidar file watching
│   │   ├── privacy.ts       # Secret/PII redaction
│   │   ├── analyzer.ts      # LLM analysis pipeline
│   │   └── db.ts            # Prisma + vector search
│   ├── cli/index.ts         # Commander.js CLI
│   └── daemon/index.ts      # Background service
├── prisma/schema.prisma     # Database schema
└── config/
    ├── cortexd.service      # Systemd unit file
    └── cortex.bash          # Shell integration

Database Schema

Table	Purpose
SourceFile	Tracked files with status
Insight	Extracted knowledge
InsightLink	Relationships between insights
CommandHistory	Shell command history
ProcessingQueue	Async job queue
vec_insights	Vector embeddings (raw SQL)

Cost Estimation

Component	Cost
Gemini Flash	~$0.10/1M tokens
Embeddings	~$0.02/1M tokens
Monthly estimate	~$3-6

Shell Integration

Add to ~/.bashrc:

source ~/.local/share/cortex/cortex.bash

This enables:

• Command history tracking
• cxa alias for cx ask
• cxs alias for cx search
• cx-suggest for smart suggestions

Systemd Service

# Install service
cp config/cortexd.service ~/.config/systemd/user/
systemctl --user daemon-reload
systemctl --user enable cortexd
systemctl --user start cortexd

# Check status
systemctl --user status cortexd
journalctl --user -u cortexd -f

Development

# Run tests
npm test

# Type check
npx tsc --noEmit

# Watch mode
npm run dev

License

AGPL-3.0 — See LICENSE