Contextual dev-tool discovery for Claude Code

Install · Quests · Privacy · Verify Build · Issues

SideQuest watches what you're working on inside Claude Code and surfaces one contextual dev-tool suggestion when it actually fits — a native macOS card you can dismiss with a keystroke, capped at 5 a day. No feed. No email. No LLM mediation. Conversation content stays on your machine; matching runs on anonymous IDs and on-device embeddings.

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Install

curl -fsSL https://get.trysidequest.ai/install.sh | bash

Installs the plugin into Claude Code, downloads the native macOS notification app, and runs Google OAuth (browser opens). macOS 13+ required.

That's it. Quests appear when context says they're useful.

Auditing the install script? See BUILD.md — covers source review, SHA256 verification against the repo copy, and release-tag pinning.

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_{A quest fires in the corner of Claude Code Desktop. Native, dismissable, capped at 5/day.}

Why SideQuest

• Right tool, right moment. While you're debugging Postgres, get a pointer to a faster connection pooler. Not a feed. Not a newsletter. A timed nudge inside the editor where you already are.
• Native, not LLM-mediated. Quests render through a real macOS notification card via the SideQuest app — 100% delivery. Doesn't depend on Claude choosing to surface anything.
• Privacy by design. Your words stay on your Mac. Only anonymous IDs and a local embedding of your last turn (text → numbers, on-device) reach our servers. See Privacy.
• Cap-respected. Max 5/day. 20-minute cooldown. One ⌘⌃D dismiss permanently mutes. Do-Not-Disturb is one slash command away.
• Open + audit-ready. MIT. Reproducible plugin tarballs. Source-pinned binaries. See BUILD.md to verify.

Quests

Skills available inside Claude Code:

Skill	What it does
/sidequest:sq-login	Sign in with Google. One-time.
/sidequest:sq-status	Health check — auth, app, API, timing. Run first when stuck.
/sidequest:sq-settings	Toggle the plugin on or off.
/sidequest:sq-do-not-disturb	Pause quests for 2 hours.
/sidequest:sq-retrigger	Re-show the last quest.
/sidequest:sq-feedback	Send feedback.
/sidequest:sq-update	Pull the latest plugin + app.
/sidequest:sq-uninstall	Remove everything.

Privacy

What stays on your machine:

• Conversation content (Claude messages, prompts, code)
• Project files, repo contents, file paths
• Anything Claude reads or writes

What we send to the API (only when a quest fires):

• Anonymous user ID (UUID, not your email)
• Anonymous session/tracking ID (UUID per quest)
• Anonymous tag IDs (e.g. tag_4791 — never the source string)
• An on-device embedding of your last turn — your text is turned into a list of numbers locally on your Mac; only those numbers leave, never the words
• Quest engagement: shown / clicked / dismissed
• Plugin + app version (for compatibility checks)

Storage on your machine:

• ~/.sidequest/config.json — auth token, settings
• ~/.sidequest/timing-state.json — quest cap state
• ~/.sidequest/tech-context.json — anonymized tag IDs
• ~/.sidequest/sidequest.sock — Unix socket (plugin ↔ app)

Code paths to inspect:

• Outbound network calls: plugin/hooks/stop-hook
• On-device embedding (where text becomes numbers): macOS/SideQuestApp/Models/EmbeddingModel.swift
• Tag anonymization: plugin/hooks/extract-context.py

How it works

Plugin (Claude Code hook). A stop-hook and session-start hook. Pulls anonymous tag IDs from your project context and hands your last turn to the native app for on-device embedding, then asks the API for the matching quest and passes it back to the app to display. Source: plugin/hooks/.

Native app (macOS). Embeds your last turn locally — text in, numbers out, words never leave the app. Renders each quest as a native floating card, top-right. Handles open/skip keyboard. Auto-launches at login. Source: macOS/.

API. Takes the anonymous IDs + the on-device embedding, returns one quest from the catalog. Never sees your prompt content.

Updates + uninstall

Updates are silent. The session-start hook compares your installed plugin/app version against the latest published version and pulls the new tarball/DMG when they differ.

To remove everything:

curl -fsSL https://get.trysidequest.ai/uninstall.sh | bash

Or, in Claude Code:

/sidequest:sq-uninstall

Verify the build

This repo publishes deterministic plugin tarballs and source-pinned macOS DMGs. Anyone can clone at a release tag, rebuild, and confirm the SHA256 matches the asset on GitHub Releases. See BUILD.md for the step-by-step verification guide.

Support

• Run /sidequest:sq-status for a self-diagnosis.
• Open an issue for bugs or feature requests.

License

MIT — see LICENSE.