Connect AI to Context Locally

Get ContextNest running in a minute

One vault, versioned and yours — read directly by Claude, Cursor, or any MCP-compatible model. Runs locally. Stays free.

Start on your machine

Developer CLI

Start Here

For engineers who live in a terminal — one command, and your vault is ready for Claude, Cursor, or any MCP client · Quickstart and MCP setup · v3.2.0

$ npx @promptowl/contextnest-cli init

Desktop App

For anyone who'd rather not open a terminal — install, open, and you're in · v0.4.0 · auto-updates

macOS

Apple Silicon (M1–M4) by default — Intel build available too

Requirements
  • macOS 13 Ventura or later
  • Apple Silicon (M1/M2/M3/M4) or Intel
  • Minimum 8GB RAM
Download For macOSUsing an Intel Mac? Get the Intel build

Windows (64-bit)

Standard installer (x64) — portable build available too

Requirements
  • Windows 10 or 11 (64-bit)
  • Intel Core i3 or AMD equivalent
  • Minimum 8GB RAM
Download For WindowsPrefer a portable build? Get the .zip archive

Linux

Universal AppImage build — portable archive available too

Requirements
  • Ubuntu 22.04+, Fedora 37+ or equivalent
  • 64-bit (x86_64), glibc 2.31 or newer
  • Minimum 8GB RAM
Download For LinuxPrefer no AppImage? Get the portable build (.zip)

Claude Plugin

For anyone already living in Claude Code or Cowork — point it at your vault, no second app to open

/plugin marketplace add promptowl/contextnest
/plugin install contextnest

Bring in the team

Same vault, now shared — governed for everyone on it.

Community Nest

For teams who need one shared vault instead of everyone syncing their own · v2.0.0 · free license key

$ npx @promptowl/contextnest-community

Questions, answered.

Is ContextNest free?

The CLI is free and needs no account. The desktop app is free with a free PromptOwl account. Community Nest, the shared team server, is free for up to 10 users and needs a free license key from a PromptOwl account. On every plan, Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor or any MCP client can read your vault, and those reads never use credits.

Which install method should I use?

The CLI if you live in a terminal, the desktop app if you'd rather not, the Claude Code plugin if you're already working in Claude Code or Cowork, and Community Nest if your team needs one shared vault instead of everyone syncing their own.

Do I need an account to use ContextNest?

Not for the CLI or the desktop app. Both run locally with the AI tools you already use. Community Nest needs a free account, which issues its license key.

Is ContextNest open source?

The CLI is — it's licensed under AGPL-3.0, which is the strict, "copyleft" flavor of open source. Think of it like Apple sharing an iPhone's blueprints for free, but with a catch: if you build your own phone using those blueprints and sell it, you have to publish your blueprints too. You can't take the free version, change it, and lock the changes away. The desktop app and Community Nest use a separate commercial license and aren't open source.

npx

The CLI and Community Nest commands always run the newest npm release — no version management. Requires Node.js 20+. · Runs 100% locally, private by default.