pdctx

Personal context-aware AI operator OS — declare your contexts once, switch instantly, AI runtimes follow.

Status: v0.5 in progress (2026-05-01) — use / call / distill / query / search / vsearch / status / doctor / init / publish-check / skill-validate / offboard wired against Claude Code + Codex CLI. Memory chmod firewall + knowledge source firewall + MCP tool firewall (Claude PreToolUse hook) + skill frontmatter contract + JSONL audit log live. Author dogfood window active. Not stable yet.

Quick start

git clone https://github.com/panda850819/pdctx
cd pdctx && bun install
bun link
pdctx init                        # bootstraps ~/.pdctx/
pdctx doctor                      # all green if Claude Code + Codex CLI installed
pdctx use personal:writer         # wear a context (8 ship with pandastack)
pdctx call personal:writer "..."  # delegate (foreground stream)
pdctx query "naval"               # qmd hybrid search filtered by active context
pdctx search "ops" -c work-vault  # rejected if work-vault is forbidden in active context
pdctx distill --from work:yei:ops --to personal:knowledge-manager \
  --source <path> --target <path> --topic "..." --dry-run
pdctx skill-validate --path ~/site/skills/pandastack  # validate skill frontmatter (pass/warn/fail)
pdctx offboard personal:trader --dry-run  # archive memory, restore chmod

pdctx use writes runtime state to ~/.claude/state/pdctx-active.json and ~/.codex/state/pdctx-active.json. Future Claude Code / Codex hooks read these to filter visible skills (out of scope for v0).

Why

You wear many hats: Ops Manager, Writer, Trader, Developer, Knowledge Manager. Today, your AI assistants don't know which hat you're wearing right now, so they treat all skills as equally available — context bloat, no prioritization, generic responses, no bounding-curve value-add.

pdctx lets you declare your contexts (each with its own skills, memory namespace, voice, priority rules, knowledge sources), switch between them with one command, and have Claude Code / Codex CLI / Hermes all follow.

LifeOS is to Obsidian what pdctx is to Claude Code / Codex / Hermes.

Core mental model

You = orchestrator (always)
Contexts = your specialized teams (Ops / Writing / Trading / ...)

  pdctx use work:ops          # wear the Ops hat, work alongside AI
  pdctx call work:ops <task>  # delegate to Ops agent, you stay strategic

Architecture (5 layers)

1. You (orchestrator)
2. Framework (pdctx CLI — context engine + sync + isolation + adapters + hooks)
3. Stack content (pandastack public + pandastack-private + community stacks)
4. AI Runtimes (Claude Code / Codex CLI / Hermes / Gemini)
5. Sources — mixed, by source nature:
   • CLI adapter (BridgeAdapter) for local + owned + search-read sources (Vault via qmd today)
   • MCP allowlist for external API services (Notion / Linear / Slack / GitHub MCP servers)

Hard isolation guarantees

• Repo split: framework (public) / personal stack (public) / work stack (private)
• Memory namespace firewall (chmod-enforced, not honor system)
• Knowledge source firewall (per-context allow/forbid lists)
• Cross-boundary writes (work → personal) only via pdctx distill ritual with sanitization + approval
• Append-only audit log for clean-exit evidence

Roadmap

Version	Scope	Status
v0	Context engine, sync to Claude/Codex, chmod firewall, distill, audit, publish-check	functional 2026-04-30
v0.5 batch 1	Overlay merging for context.toml	shipped 2026-04-30 (v0.0.2)
v0.5 batch 2	Clean offboarding ritual	shipped 2026-04-30 (v0.0.3)
v0.5 batch 3	Knowledge source firewall (qmd wrap, allow/forbid per context)	shipped 2026-04-30 (v0.0.4)
v0.5 batch 4	BridgeAdapter interface + QmdBridgeAdapter reference + registry	shipped 2026-04-30 (v0.0.5)
v0.5 batch 5	MCP tool firewall: [mcp].deny block + PreToolUse hook (Claude side; Codex deferred upstream)	shipped 2026-04-30 (v0.0.6)
v0.5 batch 6	Skill frontmatter contract (pandastack SKILL-FRONTMATTER.md) + skill-validate command + publish-check integration	shipped 2026-05-01 (v0.0.7)
v1	Hermes/Gemini runtime loaders, alpha testers	planned

Related repos

• panda850819/pandastack — personal skills + agents (public stack content)
• panda850819/pandastack-private — work contexts and skills (private)

Tech stack

• Bun + TypeScript
• Config: TOML
• Distribution: npm (pdctx), Homebrew tap (planned)

License

MIT (planned)

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Built by @panda850819. Inspired by LifeOS (personal-OS pattern), gstack (skill stack), Hanko (multi-tier install model).