Install & setup

recall is a small Python package plus a local index inside your repo. You need Python 3.10+ and git. The fastest path is to let your AI install it — paste this into Claude Code, Cursor or any agent with shell access:

Install whatever-recall from https://github.com/heidrich/whatever-recall:
clone it, run `pip install -e ".[codemap]"`, then `recall init .` in my repo
and `recall explain` to orient. From now on, run `recall brief <file>`
before editing any file.

Or do it by hand in three commands:

git clone https://github.com/heidrich/whatever-recall.git
cd whatever-recall
pip install -e ".[codemap]"     # [codemap] adds tree-sitter for the code map

Then index your project — token-free, offline, seconds to a few minutes. Everything lands in a local .mind/ SQLite file inside your repo (git-ignored, deploy-safe, delete any time). Re-running is safe:

cd /path/to/your/project
recall init .

On Windows the CLI expects UTF-8 output — set PYTHONIOENCODING=utf-8 first (see the full install guide, which renders the same source the dashboard ships).

The local dashboard

recall dashboard opens a local web app at http://127.0.0.1:7099 — the browsable window onto everything recall knows. Nothing leaves your machine; it just reads .mind. It watches the repo and re-indexes new commits on its own.

recall dashboard     # open it on localhost:7099
recall tray          # same, with a tray icon / keep-alive console
recall stop          # stop the server

The tabs:

• Start here — orientation for a fresh session: load-bearing files, must-know decisions, what's in flight.
• Overview — recent activity + a live console streaming every read.
• Brain — the knowledge feed (lessons/decisions, newest first) as walkable causal-chain stories.
• Tasks — open tasks with their files and progress; flags contradictions.
• Drift — the honesty light: notes whose file moved on (🟢 fresh / 🟡 changed / 🟠 uncommitted).
• Search · Code · Graph — ask by concept, the code map, the dependency/causal graph.

The header pills (rules.md · pre-commit · post-commit · mcp) show what's active and double as on/off switches. Prefer a click over the terminal? recall shortcut puts a launcher on your Desktop; recall shortcut --remove takes it away.

Everyday commands & your AI (MCP)

Every read command is read-only and costs 0 model tokens (a SQLite lookup, no LLM):

• recall brief <file> — the gate, run before editing a file: why it's like this, what breaks if you change it, open tasks, symbols.
• recall "<question>" — ask by concept; returns code · knowledge · blast radius · open tasks.
• recall explain — orientation for a fresh session.
• recall review — before committing: what this change can break.
• recall stamp "…" — record a decision/lesson (usually the commit hook does this for you).
• recall resolve <guess> · recall contested · recall freshen — name-correction, hotspots, drift re-check.

Plug it into your AI with one line inside your project, or click the mcp pill in the dashboard:

claude mcp add recall -- recall mcp     # writes a committable .mcp.json
recall mcp --print-config               # snippets for Cursor & other clients

Your AI then has native tools (recall, brief, explain, resolve, stamp, contested, freshen, dashboard) and /mcp__recall__* slash commands — each runs offline against your local index. Install the git hooks so every commit feeds the memory by itself:

recall hook --install               # post-commit: auto-stamps from your commit trailers
recall hook --install --pre-commit  # pre-commit: warns before load-bearing changes (never blocks)

Your account (the backend)

The engine is local; your account at whatever-recall.com/account is the small backend that handles only the things that can't live on your machine: your license, your team & seats, and billing. Sign in with email + password (or your linked provider).

• Profile — your name, email and password.
• My license key — your personal CLI token. Every signed-in user has one, solo or team.
• Team (owners/admins, from 2 seats up) — invite colleagues by email; they sign up and run recall login, and a license key is created automatically and takes a seat. Nothing to hand over by paste.
• Billing (owner only) — your plan, seats, invoices and payment method.

To connect the CLI to your account, run recall login — it opens a device-code flow in the browser, you confirm, and the machine is linked. Your code never goes to us; the backend only verifies the license.

Plans & seats

One product: Developer. You simply buy seats — $29 / seat · month or $290 / seat · year (two months free on yearly). Every seat is the full product; there are no tiers to compare.

• 14-day free trial, no card. Nothing renews silently because nothing is charged up front.
• Reading is free forever. When a plan lapses, reading your existing memory (recall, briefings, the dashboard) keeps working on the index you already built. Writing new knowledge (stamping, healing, Power Mode) needs an active plan.
• Team tools unlock at 2+ seats. With a single seat you get the solo dashboard; the owner always reaches Billing (so a 1-seat owner can buy a second seat).

See live prices on the pricing page. Seat count and what's included are read straight from Stripe, so the account dashboard always shows the truth.

Payment & billing

Payment runs entirely through Stripe — we never see or store your card. From Billing (owner only):

• Subscribe — Stripe Hosted Checkout; pick your seat count there.
• Book more seats — deep-links into the Stripe portal's seat-change step; the change is prorated.
• Change plan (Monthly ↔ Yearly) — flip the toggle on the billing card, then "Change plan" opens the portal at the right step.
• Invoices & payment method — managed in the same Stripe billing portal.

All support, info & payment email comes from @mccain-digital.com — the company (McCain Digital) behind recall. If a charge or invoice looks wrong, email payment@mccain-digital.com and we'll sort it.

Refunds & cancellation

You can cancel any time in the Stripe portal — at the end of the period the plan lapses to read-only; your .mind memory stays yours and keeps reading.

As an EU consumer you have a 14-day right of withdrawal on a paid subscription — no reasons needed. Use the withdrawal page (the "Withdraw from contract" button in the footer); we acknowledge receipt by email immediately. How refunds are calculated is in the refund policy. The free trial charges nothing, so there is nothing to withdraw from during it.

Privacy & your data

recall is self-hosted and local-first. Your code never leaves your machine — there is no sync, no cloud storage, no telemetry. The index, plans and rules live in a .mind/ folder inside your project; delete it and rebuild from the code any time.

The website touches your code never — it only checks your license. The engine's source is public on GitHub, so you can read every line that runs against your repo. Full details in the privacy policy.

Troubleshooting

• recall: command not found — the install's scripts dir isn't on your PATH. Re-open the terminal, or run via python -m recall. Check the install with recall -h.
• Garbled output on Windows — set PYTHONIOENCODING=utf-8 (cmd: set … · PowerShell: $env:PYTHONIOENCODING="utf-8").
• Dashboard won't open — another process may hold :7099; run recall stop then recall dashboard again.
• Your AI doesn't see recall — re-run claude mcp add recall -- recall mcp (or click the mcp pill), then restart the AI client so it reloads MCP servers.
• CLI says the license is invalid / expired — run recall login to re-link, and check the plan in your account. Reading keeps working even when a plan lapses.
• The Drift light is orange/yellow — that's by design: a note's file moved on. Drift is flagged, never auto-healed — resolve it with the owner's OK.
• Stale index after big changes — the hooks keep it fresh, but you can always re-run recall init . (idempotent) to rebuild.

Still stuck? Email the support desk (below) — include your OS, the recall version and the exact error text.