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Install and run

The CLI and the daemon are the notdocs package on npm, one bundle with the workspace packages inlined.

sh
npm install -g notdocs
notdocs init ./my-project      # notdocs.config.json, docs/, agent instructions
notdocs serve ./my-project     # http://localhost:4400: API, change feed, index

notdocs init writes the repo config, a docs/_templates/ folder, a roadmap page and two starter tasks, and appends a short section to your CLAUDE.md or AGENTS.md so an agent knows the workspace is there.

  • my-project
    • docs
      • _templates
        • README.mdhow templates work
      • tasks
        • write-the-first-spec.md
        • connect-an-agent.md
      • roadmap.md
    • .notdocs
      • indexthe daemon's index
    • notdocs.config.json
    • CLAUDE.mdwith a notdocs section appended

What the daemon does

notdocs serve runs the HTTP API, the websocket change feed and the index for one folder. It watches the folder, so edits from any editor show up in the workspace, and it keeps its index in .notdocs/index inside the folder, so it works offline and needs no account. The index holds the project and its change feed: a daemon started again on the same folder and data directory is the same project, at the same address, with its History. Edits made while it was stopped are found when it starts and recorded then, one entry per changed document; the commits made in between are not read.

OptionDefaultMeaning
--port <port>4400Where the API listens
--data-dir <dir><folder>/.notdocs/indexWhere the index is persisted

Pointing at a hosted workspace instead

notdocs link writes a git-ignored .notdocs/link.json so every command, notdocs mcp included, talks to a hosted workspace from that checkout. The token stays in NOTDOCS_TOKEN unless you pass --token. notdocs status prints where commands point and how each value was chosen; see the CLI reference.