MCP server · Notes

ctxfile MCP server

Save where you left off in one AI and pick it up in another, without retyping anything.

Notes For it and development Knowledge & Memory

ctxfile is a small helper that takes a snapshot of what you are working on, such as your plan, your key files, and your recent decisions, and keeps it in one place. Then any AI assistant you use can load that snapshot and carry on as if it had been there all along. It is handy if you switch between tools like Claude Code, Cursor, or a chat window during the same piece of work.

What is an MCP server? The 30-second version

On its own, your AI can only chat with you. An MCP server is a small helper program that gives your AI a new skill or a connection to something outside the chat. This one connects your AI to a local snapshot of your project's working state. So when you ask your AI to load your context, it can read that snapshot and know what you were doing.

What this MCP server does

You ask your AI to load your context, or to save where you are. The AI calls this helper, which looks at your project folder and your git state and builds one tidy summary. It also stores a short written summary of your conversation when you ask it to save. Later, in a different AI tool, you ask it to continue, and it gets that same summary back. Nothing is sent anywhere unless you turn on an optional connector.

Flow diagram: you ask your AI “Save this session so I can pick it up in Cursor tomorrow”, on your own computer the ctxfile MCP server works with your own computer, and you get back A summary you can pick up later.

Click to zoom

What you can do with it

Load a snapshot of your project's plan, key files, and git state
Save a summary of your current session so you can resume later
Continue a piece of work in a different AI tool without retyping
Keep named threads for long projects that span many days
Import what another assistant already knows about you
Export a static context file for agents that cannot reach your machine
Open a local dashboard to browse your saved context

Try asking your AI

“Load my context for this project”
“Save this session so I can pick it up in Cursor tomorrow”
“Continue the Q3 campaign thread and tell me what is still open”
“Import my memory from ChatGPT using this prompt”

What it gives back to you

You get back a structured summary in the chat: your plan documents, a ranked list of key files, the current git state, and any saved decisions or open items. When you save a session, it stores a short written summary of the conversation. When you continue a thread, you get that history back with labels showing where each part came from.

Before you start

What you need

Node.js 20 or newer (22 or newer on Windows)
An AI tool that supports MCP, such as Claude Code, Cursor, or Claude Desktop

Good to know

It reads files in your project folder, so keep in mind that anything it snapshots could end up in your chat, though it redacts secret-looking values and skips .env and key files.

Install it with your AI

Add ctxfile MCP server to your AI, no technical skills needed

You don't install anything by hand. You copy one prompt, paste it into an AI that can work on your computer, and it checks, installs and connects the server for you, asking you when it needs something.

Sign in to get the install prompt

Members get a ready-made prompt that lets the Claude desktop app check ctxfile MCP server, install it and connect it for them, step by step. You don't need any technical skills: you copy, paste and answer a few questions. Your connected AI can also find and install any of the 4,066 MCP servers here for you.