Hindsight Self Hosted

After setup, use the bank ID in all commands below.

How Hindsight Works

When you call retain, Hindsight does not store the string as-is. The server runs an internal pipeline that:

1. Extracts structured facts from the content using an LLM
2. Identifies entities (people, tools, concepts) and links related facts
3. Builds temporal and causal relationships between facts
4. Generates embeddings for semantic search

This means you should pass rich, full-context content — the server is better at extracting what matters than a pre-summarized string. Your job is to decide when to store, not what to extract.

Commands

Replace <bank-id> with the user's actual bank ID (e.g., team-frontend).

Store a memory

Use memory retain to store what you learn. Pass full context — raw observations, session notes, or detailed descriptions:

hindsight memory retain <bank-id> "The project uses ESLint configured with the Airbnb rule set and Prettier for formatting. Auto-fix on save is enabled in the editor config."
hindsight memory retain <bank-id> "Ran the test suite with NODE_ENV=test. Tests pass. Without NODE_ENV=test, the suite fails with a missing config error." --context procedures
hindsight memory retain <bank-id> "Build failed on Node 18 with error 'ERR_UNSUPPORTED_ESM_URL_SCHEME'. Switched to Node 20 and build succeeded." --context learnings
hindsight memory retain <bank-id> "Alice reviewed the PR and asked for verbose commit messages that explain the motivation, not just what changed." --context preferences

You can also pass a raw conversation transcript with timestamps:

hindsight memory retain <bank-id> "[2026-03-16T10:12:03] User: The auth tests keep failing on CI but pass locally. Any idea?
[2026-03-16T10:12:45] Assistant: Let me check the CI logs. Looks like the tests are running without the TEST_DATABASE_URL env var set — they fall back to the production DB URL and hit a connection timeout.
[2026-03-16T10:13:20] User: Ah right, I never added that to the CI secrets. Adding it now.
[2026-03-16T10:15:02] User: That fixed it. All green now." --context learnings

Recall memories

Use memory recall BEFORE starting tasks to get relevant context:

hindsight memory recall <bank-id> "project conventions and coding standards"
hindsight memory recall <bank-id> "Alice preferences for this project"
hindsight memory recall <bank-id> "what issues have we encountered before"
hindsight memory recall <bank-id> "how does the auth module work"

Reflect on memories

Use memory reflect to synthesize context:

hindsight memory reflect <bank-id> "How should I approach this task based on past experience?"

IMPORTANT: When to Store Memories

This is a shared team bank. Store knowledge that benefits the team. For individual preferences, include the person's name.

Project/Team Conventions (shared)

• Coding standards ("Project uses 2-space indentation")
• Required tools and versions ("Project requires Node 20+, PostgreSQL 15+")
• Linting and formatting rules ("ESLint with Airbnb config")
• Testing conventions ("Integration tests require Docker running")
• Branch naming and PR conventions

Individual Preferences (attribute to person)

• Personal coding style ("Alice prefers explicit type annotations")
• Communication preferences ("Bob prefers detailed PR descriptions")
• Tool preferences ("Carol uses vim keybindings")

Procedure Outcomes

• Steps that successfully completed a task
• Commands that worked (or failed) and why
• Workarounds discovered
• Configuration that resolved issues

Learnings from Tasks

• Bugs encountered and their solutions
• Performance optimizations that worked
• Architecture decisions and rationale
• Dependencies or version requirements

Team Knowledge

• Onboarding information for new team members
• Common pitfalls and how to avoid them
• Architecture decisions and their rationale
• Integration points with external systems
• Domain knowledge and business logic explanations

IMPORTANT: When to Recall Memories

Always recall before:

• Starting any non-trivial task
• Making decisions about implementation
• Suggesting tools, libraries, or approaches
• Writing code in a new area of the project
• When answering questions about the codebase
• When a team member asks how something works

Best Practices

1. Store immediately: When you discover something, store it right away
2. Pass rich context: Include full observations, not pre-summarized strings — the server extracts facts automatically
3. Include outcomes: Store what happened AND why, including failures and workarounds
4. Recall first: Always check for relevant context before starting work
5. Think team-first: Store knowledge that would help other team members
6. Attribute individual preferences: Store "Alice reviewed the PR and asked for X" not just "User prefers X"
7. Distinguish project vs personal: Project conventions apply to everyone; personal preferences are per-person
8. Use --context for metadata: The --context flag labels the type of memory (e.g., procedures, learnings, preferences), not a replacement for full content