hyperguild/README.md

# hyperguild

An MCP server that acts as a disciplined AI supervisor for Claude Code sessions.
Instead of letting Claude Code do whatever it wants, hyperguild enforces structured
workflows (TDD red/green/refactor), logs every session, and accumulates learnings
into a searchable brain.

**This repo is also where `brain-mcp` lives** — the MCP server at
`brain-mcp.d-ma.be` that `brain_query`, `brain_write`, `brain_read`, `brain_edit`
and `capture` are served from. It is not a separate deployable; see
[Where brain-mcp lives](#where-brain-mcp-lives).

## Hypothesis

> We believe routing skill tasks through local models, backed by brain context,
> produces measurably better outcomes than raw Claude Code alone —
> measurable by per-skill pass rate over rolling 30-day windows
> (available at `GET /pass-rate?skill=<name>&window=30d` on the brain pod).

This is the falsifiable claim the routing pod and pass-rate infrastructure exist to test.
If per-skill pass rates don't improve over baseline (all-cloud) after 30 days of real
usage, the fast-model routing path should be reconsidered.

## Harness

**hyperguild = Claude Code + MCP.** This is a supervisor for Claude Code sessions specifically.
For multi-agent orchestration (OpenCode + LiteLLM, executor/reviewer pipelines), see
[agentsquad](https://git.d-ma.be/mathias/agentsquad) — a separate harness for a different
orchestration model. Skills (mathias/skills) are shared between both.

## How it works

```
Your Claude Code session (in any project)
    │
    │  MCP over HTTP (Tailscale)
    ├──▶ routing     :3210 (NodePort 30310 on koala) — review, debug, retrospective, trainer
    └──▶ brain       :3300 (NodePort 30330 on koala) — brain_query, brain_write, brain_ingest, session_log
                       │
                       └─ also serves the legacy REST endpoints (/query, /write, /ingest, …)
    │
    ▼
brain/
├── sessions/       — JSONL log, one file per session_id
├── wiki/           — searchable knowledge (wing/hall layout)
│   ├── homelab/
│   ├── claude-sessions/
│   └── ...
└── knowledge/      — legacy flat notes (migration pending: hyperguild#22)
```

## Where brain-mcp lives

`brain-mcp` is served from **`ingestion/internal/mcp`** in this repo, at
**`brain-mcp.d-ma.be`**. It is a component *inside* the `ingestion` service, not
a standalone deployable — one pod in the `supervisor` namespace serves the MCP
endpoint, the REST API, and the claudewatcher together.

| You are looking for | It is here |
|---|---|
| The MCP tool surface (`brain_query`, `brain_write`, `brain_read`, `brain_edit`, `capture`, …) | `ingestion/internal/mcp` |
| The HTTP/REST API (`/query`, `/write`, `/ingest`) | `ingestion/internal/api` |
| Session ingestion from Claude Code transcripts | `ingestion/internal/claudewatcher` |
| The brain *content* (notes, wings, halls) | [`mathias/brain`](https://git.d-ma.be/mathias/brain) — a separate repo |
| Deployment manifests | `config/supervisor` |

### Why it is not its own repo

Asked and decided in [#91](https://git.d-ma.be/mathias/hyperguild/issues/91)
(part 2). `internal/mcp` imports 17 of ingestion's other internal packages and
has exactly one importer — it is the MCP facade over the service's own
internals, so "move it out" resolves to renaming `ingestion`, publishing 17
packages as a shared library, or maintaining a shim. The discoverability problem
that prompted the question is answered by naming it here instead.

Full reasoning, including the reversal trigger: brain
`wiki/hyperguild/decisions/brain-mcp-stays-in-ingestion-fix-discoverability-by-name`.

## Ingest revises, it does not overwrite

Re-ingesting a source **merges into the page already on disk** rather than
replacing it. Previously the write was unconditional, so a second ingest of the
same source discarded everything accumulated since — including hand-written
sections.

The merge is deliberately asymmetric in the existing page's favour:

| On the page | In the fresh extraction | Result |
|---|---|---|
| a section | the same section | **the on-disk version wins** |
| — | a new section | added |
| a bullet list (`Sources`, `Key Claims`, …) | more bullets | unioned, no duplicates |
| an append section (`Open Questions`, `Updates`, …) | more lines | only genuinely new lines appended |
| frontmatter | frontmatter | **the on-disk frontmatter wins** |

So an extraction can add to a note but never silently rewrite what a human put
there, which is what makes it safe to run on every ingest rather than behind a
review gate.

Re-ingesting unchanged content is **byte-identical** — no diff, so brain-sync
does not commit noise that hides real edits.

Known limitation: because the on-disk frontmatter wins, `last_updated` keeps its
first-ingest date on a revised page.

## Phase 1 tools (available now)

| Tool | What it does |
|------|-------------|
| `session_log` | Appends a structured entry to the session JSONL log |
| `retrospective` | Reads the session log, identifies novel learnings, writes to brain |
| `review` | Structured code review via local model, brain-context injected |
| `debug` | Hypothesis-driven debugging via local model |
| `brain_query` | Full-text search over brain/wiki/ |
| `brain_write` | Writes a note to brain (with wing/hall routing) |
| `brain_answer` | BM25 + LLM synthesis — Q&A over brain corpus |
| `tier` | Returns the current connectivity tier (1=cloud, 2=LAN, 3=offline) |

> **Note:** `tdd_red/green/refactor` and `spec` were retired in Plan 7 (2026-05-12).
> They are now SKILL.md files in [mathias/skills](https://git.d-ma.be/mathias/skills).

## Connect a project

Create `.mcp.json` in your project root:

```json
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "routing": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "http://koala:30310/mcp"
    },
    "brain": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "http://koala:30330/mcp"
    }
  }
}
```

Two MCP servers are exposed, both reachable over Tailscale:

- **`routing`** at `koala:30310` — skill workers (`review`, `debug`, `retrospective`, `trainer`).
  Routes each call to fast local model or thinking model based on per-skill pass rate.
- **`brain`** at `koala:30330` — knowledge access (`brain_query`, `brain_write`,
  `brain_ingest`, `brain_ingest_raw`, `brain_answer`, `brain_classify`) and `session_log`.

No local binary or stdio shim is required — Claude Code talks to both via HTTP.

Open Claude Code in your project — run `/mcp` to confirm both servers are listed.

## A typical session

```
1. Call review      → brain context injected + local model review → findings
2. Call session_log → log each phase result
3. Call retrospective → extracts learnings → brain
4. Future sessions: call brain_query / brain_answer to retrieve relevant context
```

## Tier detection

The routing pod probes connectivity at call time:

| Tier | Label | Condition |
|------|-------|-----------| 
| 1 | full-online | Can reach api.anthropic.com |
| 2 | lan-only | Can reach LiteLLM but not Anthropic |
| 3 | airplane | No external connectivity |

## Model routing

The routing pod selects models per skill call based on historical pass rate:

| Pass rate | Decision |
|-----------|----------|
| ≥ 0.90 (FLOOR) | Fast model (`HYPERGUILD_FAST_MODEL`) |
| ≤ 0.70 (CEIL) | Thinking model (`HYPERGUILD_THINKING_MODEL`) |
| between CEIL and FLOOR | Sample band — probabilistic routing |
| nil (no history yet) | Defaults to thinking model |

> **Bootstrap note:** With no session history, all calls route to the thinking model.
> The fast-model path activates only after real pass-rate data accumulates at `/pass-rate`.
> Seed with real usage — don't try to pre-populate.

## Key env vars

| Variable | Default | Purpose |
|----------|---------|---------| 
| `INGEST_BRAIN_DIR` | `../brain` | Brain directory for ingestion server |
| `INGEST_PORT` | `3300` | Ingestion server port |
| `INGEST_BASE_URL` | `http://localhost:3300` | Routing pod → brain |
| `LITELLM_BASE_URL` | — | LiteLLM proxy for Tier 2 model routing |
| `ROUTING_PORT` | `3210` | Routing pod's listen port |
| `ROUTING_MCP_TOKEN` | — | Optional bearer token; when empty, no auth enforced |
| `BRAIN_URL` | `http://ingestion.supervisor:3300` | Routing pod → brain (in-cluster) |
| `HYPERGUILD_FAST_MODEL` | `koala/qwen35-9b-fast` | Fast model for high-pass-rate skill calls |
| `HYPERGUILD_THINKING_MODEL` | `iguana/gemma4-26b` | Thinking model for low-pass-rate skill calls |
| `HYPERGUILD_ROUTE_LOCAL_FLOOR` | `0.90` | Fast model threshold |
| `HYPERGUILD_ROUTE_LOCAL_CEIL` | `0.70` | Thinking model threshold |
| `HYPERGUILD_PASS_RATE_TTL_SECONDS` | `60` | Per-skill pass-rate cache TTL |

> **Operator note:** LiteLLM at `LITELLM_BASE_URL` must register both `HYPERGUILD_FAST_MODEL`
> and `HYPERGUILD_THINKING_MODEL`. If a model is missing, the fail-open retry also fails and
> the only signal is `final_status: "fail"` on `_routing` entries in the brain.

## Open issues

See [issues](https://git.d-ma.be/mathias/hyperguild/issues) — key open items:

- **#25** — skills platform overhaul (audit first, then lazy loading + brain feedback loop)
- **#24** — reduce context burn from skill listing
- **#22** — migrate legacy brain notes to wing/hall layout (one-shot script, low risk)
- **#31** — connect routing-mcp to claude.ai as custom connector