A second brain for you,
your agents, and your teams
Structured knowledge in markdown files. Schema-validated, versioned in git, searchable by any AI through MCP. One brain, every AI, persistent memory that compounds over time.
Why Pyrite instead of vectors-in-Postgres or Notion+AI?
Typed entries with schema validation
Not flat vector blobs. Define person, decision, event, component types with validated fields. Query structurally, not just by vibes.
Git-native storage
Every change is a versioned commit. Branch, diff, review, rollback. Your knowledge has a full audit trail.
MCP server with three-tier access
Read/write/admin tiers. Give untrusted agents read-only. Give your own agents write. Keep admin for yourself.
Semantic + structured search
Find by meaning (vector embeddings) AND by type, tag, date range, or relationship. Both at once in hybrid mode.
Plugin system
Custom entry types, MCP tools, CLI commands, validators, lifecycle hooks, relationship semantics. Six extensions ship out of the box.
Zero running cost locally
Markdown files + SQLite on your disk. No cloud dependency, no subscription, no vendor lock-in. Your data is plain text.
How it works
Markdown files with YAML frontmatter in git are the source of truth. Pyrite builds a fast search index on top and exposes everything through multiple interfaces.
pyrite index build.
First-class AI integration
Pyrite speaks MCP natively. Connect Claude Desktop, Claude Code, Cursor, or any MCP-compatible AI — your knowledge base becomes persistent agent memory.
Three-tier access control
Connect in seconds
Built for
Software teams
ADRs, component docs, backlog items, runbooks — all structured, validated, and searchable. Your AI pair programmer gets full project context through MCP.
Research & investigations
Track people, organizations, events, and relationships across sources. Timeline visualization and knowledge graph reveal hidden connections.
Personal knowledge
Zettelkasten-style note-taking with maturity workflows. Capture fleeting thoughts, develop them into permanent notes, let AI help you find connections.
Team wikis
Replace Notion or Confluence. Structured entries, wikilinks, collections, and a web UI your whole team can use. $6/month on a VPS, unlimited users.
Deploy your own
Notion Team: $10/user/month. Pyrite on a $6 VPS: unlimited users, you own your data.
# Clone and deploy (Ubuntu VPS with Docker)
$ git clone https://github.com/markramm/pyrite && cd pyrite
$ bash deploy/selfhost/setup.sh kb.example.com
# Create your admin user
$ docker compose -f deploy/selfhost/docker-compose.yml exec pyrite \
python /app/deploy/selfhost/create-user.py admin yourpassword
Or install locally
pip install, create a KB, connect to Claude.
# Install
$ pip install "pyrite[all]"
# Create a knowledge base
$ mkdir my-kb && cd my-kb && pyrite init --name my-brain
# Add some knowledge
$ pyrite create --type person --title "Sarah Chen" \
--body "Engineering lead. Considering move to consulting."
# Search (keyword, semantic, or hybrid)
$ pyrite search "career transition"
# Connect to Claude Desktop or Claude Code
$ pyrite mcp # starts the MCP server