workbench

Workbench is a local stdio MCP server for one agent process. main is now the small context and artifact kernel: it keeps current agent context in memory, stores typed Markdown artifacts under docs/artifacts/, and changes the MCP surface through a deterministic context tool.

Backlog, notes, namespaces, roles, memory, knowledge, sessions, AFK, skills, and Artifact B2 workflows continue on epic branches that define their contracts through self-contained docs packets before runtime work.

Quickstart

make test
make build
WORKBENCH_LOG_LEVEL=warn ./build/_output/workbench-mcp

Configure an MCP client to launch the binary over stdio. The server has no HTTP listener and no database requirement.

MCP Surface

Always available:

• context
• artifact.begin
• artifact.list
• artifact.get
• resource workbench:///context
• resource template workbench:///artifacts/{id}

Available after context selects an artifact_id:

• artifact.update
• artifact.guidance
• artifact.validate
• resource workbench:///artifacts/<selected-id>

context accepts tri-state patch fields:

• omitted field: preserve the current value
• null: clear the value
• string: set the value

Current fields are focus and artifact_id.

When a context change alters tool or resource visibility, Workbench emits MCP list-changed notifications and waits for the changed capability lists to be observed before returning. The default wait is five seconds. On timeout, the tool result includes a full fallback capability index so the agent can recover without relying on stale local state.

Configuration

Env var	Default	Notes
WORKBENCH_ARTIFACT_DIR	docs/artifacts	Flat Markdown artifact directory
WORKBENCH_CONTEXT_SYNC_TIMEOUT	5s	Duration or integer seconds
WORKBENCH_LOG_LEVEL	info	debug, info, warn, or error

Documentation

Start with docs/README.md. The foundation docs cover:

• context-window thesis
• progressive disclosure
• context contract
• artifact conventions
• epic branch workflow

Verification

go test ./...
go test -race ./...