
Contorium
Project Intelligence Runtime for AI Coding Tools
Contorium is a local-first system that preserves and reconstructs software project intelligence across AI coding environments.
It works with:
- Cursor
- Claude Code
- Codex
- Gemini CLI
- VS Code
- Any MCP-compatible runtime
Instead of repeatedly re-explaining architecture, decisions, and project state in every session, Contorium maintains a shared Project Intelligence Layer that all tools can access.
Core Idea
Git stores code history
Contorium stores project intelligence history
It captures not just what changed, but:
- Why it changed
- What decisions were made
- What the project is trying to become
- How it evolved over time
CIL โ Cognitive Interaction Layer (v3)
CIL is the user-facing intelligence system.
It does not execute tasks.
It answers questions.
User Query
โ
Query Router
โ
Cognitive Kernel
โ
Engines (Event ยท Decision ยท State ยท Graph)
โ
Formatter
โ
ResponseWhat CIL Can Answer
| Question | System |
|---|---|
| What happened? | History Engine |
| Why was this done? | Decision Center |
| What should I do next? | Action Engine (suggestions only) |
| What is this project? | Story / Essence |
| What was state at a time? | Time Travel (Snapshot) |
| What is MCP? | Knowledge Graph |
| Is the project healthy? | Cognitive Health |
Example Commands
contorium ask "Why was MCP added?"
contorium ask "What happened this week?"
contorium ask "What was the state on 2024-06-18?"Other tools:
contorium health
contorium entity mcp
contorium dna --copy
contorium questionsPIL โ Project Intelligence Layer
PIL is the storage layer (source of truth).
It is deterministic and fully local.
It stores:
- STATE (current project state)
- INTENT (project goals)
- DECISION (architectural decisions)
- WHY (decision rationale)
- TIMELINE (evolution history)
- IMPACT (dependency relationships)
- PROVENANCE (origin tracking)
- CONFIDENCE (reliability signals)
All data is stored under:
.contora/PIL is NOT interactive
It does not answer questions.
It only stores structured intelligence.
Core Design Principle
Separation of Responsibilities
- PIL โ facts (deterministic)
- CIL โ cognition (interpretation)
- LLM โ optional explanation layer
Three Core Actions
Contorium is built around three unified operations:
1. Capture
Record project intelligence.
contorium capture focus
contorium capture note
contorium capture decision2. Inspect
Read project intelligence.
contorium inspect state
contorium inspect decision
contorium inspect timeline
contorium inspect graph
contorium inspect health3. Transfer
Export intelligence for AI continuity.
contorium transfer context
contorium transfer intelligence
contorium transfer handoffTransfer Modes
| Mode | Purpose | Size |
|---|---|---|
| Context | Resume in new AI chat | small |
| Handoff | Continue active session | compact |
| Intelligence | Full project export | deep analysis |
Architecture
Query Layer (Ask)
โ
Query Router
โ
Cognitive Kernel (CIL)
โ
โโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโฌโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโฌโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโ
โผ โผ โผ
Event Engine Decision Engine State Engine
โ โ โ
โโโโโโโโโฌโโโโโโโดโโโโโโโฌโโโโโโโ
โผ โผ
Action Engine Knowledge Graph
โ
โผ
IDE ยท MCP ยท CLI ยท Dashboard
โ
โผ
PIL (.contora/)Three Runtimes
Contorium runs across three equal environments:
| Runtime | Role |
|---|---|
| IDE | Workspace intelligence |
| MCP | AI agent interface |
| CLI | Terminal operations |
All share:
@contora/state-core.contora/local intelligence repository
Cognitive Dimensions
Contorium structures project intelligence across dimensions:
- STATE โ what exists now
- INTENT โ what is the goal
- DECISION โ what was chosen
- WHY โ reasoning behind decisions
- TIMELINE โ when things changed
- IMPACT โ what is affected
- PROVENANCE โ where data came from
- CONFIDENCE โ reliability level
Cognitive Features (CIL)
- Project History Exploration
- Decision Center (ADR + conflicts)
- Time Travel (snapshot replay)
- Entity Knowledge Graph
- Cognitive Health Analysis
- Project Story / Essence
- Project DNA
- Suggested Questions
Local-First Design
All intelligence is stored locally:
.contora/Example structure:
.contora/
โโโ state.json
โโโ intent/
โโโ timeline/
โโโ graph/
โโโ events/
โโโ decisions/
โโโ health.json
โโโ config/
โ โโโ llm.jsonNo cloud dependency. No vendor lock-in.
LLM Layer (Optional)
Contorium does NOT require LLMs.
But supports optional enhancement for:
- Why explanation
- Story generation
- Essence compression
- DNA summarization
- Suggested questions
Configuration
{
"provider": "openai",
"model": "gpt-5",
"enabled_modules": [
"why",
"story",
"essence",
"dna"
]
}What Contorium Is NOT
Contorium is not:
- an autonomous coding agent
- a task execution system
- a project manager
- a recommendation engine
It does not execute actions.
It preserves and explains project intelligence.
Dashboard
Cognitive runtime dashboard includes:
- Live cognition view
- Decision governance
- Debug trace
- Project history
- Health stream
Supported Platforms
- Cursor
- Claude Code
- Codex
- Gemini CLI
- VS Code
- MCP-compatible tools
Links
Website: https://www.contorium.dev
GitHub: https://github.com/ContoriumLabs/contorium
npm install -g @contorium/mcp
claude mcp add --scope project contorium -- npx @contorium/mcpQuick Start
MCP
npm install -g @contorium/mcp
claude mcp add --scope project contorium -- npx @contorium/mcpCLI
git clone https://github.com/ContoriumLabs/contorium.git
cd contorium
npm install
npm run compile
npx contorium init .
npx contorium ask "What is this project?"IDE
- Install extension
- Open workspace
- Set Focus
- Use Ask Contorium
- Transfer Context when switching AI sessions
No common issues documented yet. If you hit a problem, the repository's GitHub Issues page is the best place to look.
Licensed under MITโ you can use, modify, and redistribute it under that license's terms.
License
MIT / See LICENSE