Zerostel

Name: Zerostel
Author: zerostel

by zerostelversion 0.3.2i★ –iRuns on your computer

Registry nameio.github.zerostel/zerostel

Install

Overview

Description from the maker (original English)

Checkpoints, timeline and rewind for AI coding agents. Local, no telemetry.

PopNx MCP’s three pillars

These three are never merged into one score: opinions, measurements and popularity are different things.

User voiceiNo reviews yetReviews open together with accounts in a later step
Our basic checksi1 of 1 passedChecked from public information; code not scanned yet
UsageiNot measured yet★ –

What you can do with it

We have not written a plain-language summary for this one yet. Below are the facts we read from the registry.

Connection: Runs on your computer
Transport: stdio
Category: Other

Install

Pick the AI app you use, then copy the settings.

Before you install

Basic checks: 1 of 1 passed
Runs on your computer with your user’s permissions (files, network, apps).
The registry lists no key to fill in.

You need

npmNode.js installed (for the npx command)

Which app do you use?

ClaudeClaude CodeCursorVS CodeChatGPT

Pick your app above. We remember it, so next time the button says “Install in …”.

Open Claude Desktop → Settings → Developer → Edit Config, and paste this into claude_desktop_config.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "zerostel": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "zerostel",
        "mcp"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Run this in your terminal

claude mcp add zerostel -- npx -y zerostel mcp

Open in Cursor

Or copy the settings yourself

Paste into .cursor/mcp.json in your project, or ~/.cursor/mcp.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "zerostel": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "zerostel",
        "mcp"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Your browser asks to open the app, then the app shows the settings and asks you to confirm. Key values are left empty for you to fill in.

Open in VS Code

Or copy the settings yourself

Paste into .vscode/mcp.json in your project

{
  "servers": {
    "zerostel": {
      "type": "stdio",
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "zerostel",
        "mcp"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Your browser asks to open the app, then the app shows the settings and asks you to confirm. Key values are left empty for you to fill in.

This one runs on your computer, and ChatGPT can only connect to servers on the internet. Pick another app.

Your choice stays on this device in a cookie; no account needed.

These settings are generated from the maker’s registry entry. If the README says otherwise, follow the README.

What it can do

Runs on your computer; the tool list appears in your AI app after you install it.

Basic checksi

We check information anyone can see; we have not read the code. Checks that do not apply are left out of the count. · Checked Nov 6, 2026

✓ Pass
Maker matches the repo
The registry name was verified with the GitHub account zerostel, which owns the repo
… Not checked yet
Still maintained
We have not read this repo from GitHub yet
… Not checked yet
Has a licence
We have not read this repo from GitHub yet
– Not applicable
Endpoint responds
This one runs on your computer; there is no internet endpoint
– Not applicable
Sign-in with OAuth
Runs on your computer and uses local settings instead
… Not checked yet
No hidden instructions in tool descriptions
Runs on your computer; we can only read tool lists from internet endpoints

Compared with others in Otheri

More stars than 0% of the other 32455 servers in this category
Published to the registry more recently than 58% of the other 32455 servers in this category
Basic checks equal to or better than 100% of the other 32455 servers in this category

Compared with every active server in this category in the registry. Stars count only when the publisher owns the repo.

Common questions

Is Zerostel safe?

It passed 1 of 1 applicable basic checks. We have not read the code. Before adding a key or token, see what access the server asks for and use a key with only the permissions you need.

What keys or codes does it need?

The registry does not list a required key, though some servers ask you to sign in on first use.

Does it run on my computer or in the cloud?

It runs on your computer. Your AI app starts it when needed, and data does not pass through the maker’s servers (unless it calls an online service itself).

Is it still maintained?

The GitHub repo last changed –, and the latest version (0.3.2) reached the registry 29 days ago.

Which apps can use it?

Apps that support MCP, such as Claude Desktop, Claude Code, Cursor and VS Code. You also need Node.js on your computer.

What can I use instead?

In the same category: Spec Driven Development, Remote Desktop Commander, SSTracker free youth training

Alternatives

Servers in the same category from other makers, sorted by stars.

Reading a card:★ GitHub starsiThree pillars: reviews · checks · usageiUpdated = latest version published to the registryi

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Runs in the cloud★ 211Updated yesterday

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README from the maker

Open the README

Copied from the maker’s repo as written. PopNx MCP has not reviewed or endorsed it. HTML, images and scripts are removed. Links lead off this site.

Rewind any AI agent to point zero.

Zero trust for AI agents: assume they'll break something, record every step, and rewind the files they touched. A flight recorder and time machine for coding agents: every step on record, tests tied to the code they ran on, guardrails you set, and a handoff the next agent or person can check.

Website · English · 繁體中文 · 简体中文 · 日本語

Quick start

npx zerostel install

Want to see it first? npx zerostel demo makes a throwaway project, plays one agent turn that deletes a folder and breaks the tests, and lets you undo it. No agent needed, and none of your projects are touched.

Then use your agent as usual. When it breaks something:

zerostel log          # what happened, step by step

zerostel checks # did the tests pass on the code as it is now? zerostel undo # put the files back to before the agent's last turn zerostel rewind 0 # or all the way back to point zero, where the session started zerostel handoff # what the next agent or person needs to carry on zerostel ui # the same, clickable, in a local web page

What it does

Record. Every prompt, tool call, command, file change, duration and token count, in one timeline per session: zerostel log in the terminal, or zerostel ui in a local web page.
Rewind. A snapshot before and after every tool call that can change files, shell commands included. Undo a turn, go back to any step, or all the way to point zero; every rewind can itself be undone.
Guard. Your own rules block a tool call, or make the agent ask you first, before it runs. The same rules for every agent.
Check and hand over. Every test, type check and build the agent runs is tied to the code it ran on, so zerostel checks tells a pass on today's code from one on code that has changed since. zerostel handoff gives the next agent or person your asks, where things stand and what was tried.
Verify and share. A hash-chained log that shows if it was edited, and a one-page report with a privacy mode for sharing.
Stay local. Nothing is uploaded, ~/.zerostel is readable only by you, and your .git is never touched.

It's zero trust for AI agents: assume one can go wrong, see everything it does, and keep a way back (in practice). It isn't a sandbox: network requests, deployments and database writes can't be taken back. See Limits.

Why

Agents edit dozens of files, run rm, git checkout ., migrations and build scripts. When something goes wrong you're left asking what it did and how to get back.

Some agents have checkpoints of their own, and they differ a lot. Claude Code's rewind skips changes made through Bash. Copilot CLI tracks shell commands. Cursor and Codex each have their own model. If you use more than one agent, you get a different answer to "what changed and can I get it back" in each.

Zerostel records every supported agent the same way: a snapshot of the project around each tool call that can change files, a timeline of prompts, commands, files, time and tokens, and a report you can hand to someone else. It never touches your .git.

	Agent's own checkpoints	Commits / `git stash`	Zerostel
Changes made by shell commands	depends on the agent	only what you committed or stashed	✅ inside the project, plus files you list
Go back to a specific step	usually per prompt	per commit or stash	✅ per tool call
Timeline of commands, files, tokens, time	partial	❌	✅
Log that shows if it was edited afterwards	❌	✅ (commit hashes)	✅
Your own rules: block or ask before a tool runs	per agent	❌	✅ same rules for every agent
Same behaviour across agents	❌ one each	✅	✅
Writes to your `.git`	some do	✅	❌ never
Shareable report of the session	❌	❌	✅

Details and sources: docs/comparison.md. The story behind it, with the incidents: What your coding agent's checkpoints can't bring back.

Compared with other tools

Agents keep adding checkpoints of their own, and there are good add-ons too: Turnback, Turnal, bashback, logbook, codex-rewind. What Zerostel adds:

Rewinds that don't lose work. Nothing is deleted or overwritten without an exact copy, each file is looked at again right before it changes, --keep-others keeps what another agent or you changed since, and every rewind, even one cut short, can be undone.
More than the project folder. Watched files like ~/.zshrc, Windows user environment variables, and global installs (listed, with the commands that undo them).
Evidence tied to the code. Tests and builds are recorded against the exact code they ran on, so a pass on code that has changed since shows as out of date, and a handoff can be checked against the folder.
One set of rules for every agent. Guardrails that block or ask before a tool runs, and a log that shows if it was edited.
Your agents as they are. Hooks into the official agents, no fork or wrapper; zero runtime dependencies, nothing sent anywhere.

Something else can fit better: the agents' own /rewind and codex-rewind bring the conversation back with the files, and Turnal can bisect the turn that broke the tests. Each tool side by side, with sources.

Supported agents and systems

Agent	How	Status
Claude Code	hooks	✅ tested on real sessions
Codex	hooks (approve once with `/hooks`)	✅ tested on real sessions
Cursor	hooks	✅ CLI tested on real sessions; the CLI sends no prompt events, so undo goes one change at a time there. On Windows, start it from PowerShell: from Git Bash its hooks don't run
Gemini CLI	hooks (trusted folders only)	✅ tested end to end¹; for Code Assist Standard/Enterprise and paid API keys, since personal accounts moved to Antigravity in June 2026
Antigravity (CLI, desktop, IDE)	hooks	✅ tested end to end¹; it doesn't pass on the prompt text, so turns show as "New turn"
Copilot CLI	hooks (`~/.copilot/hooks`)	✅ tested on real sessions
opencode	plugin	✅ tested on real sessions
DeepSeek Harness	plugin	🧪 experimental (dsh itself is a developer preview); tested end to end¹
anything else (Aider, scripts…)	`zerostel run --` watches the files	✅ coarser: no tool calls, tokens or guardrails

¹ The real agent on Windows, with its model swapped for a scripted one: a prompt, a file write, a command, a call blocked by a rule, the end of the turn and an undo.

Experimental agents are installed only when you name them: zerostel install --agent deepseek. Reports from real sessions are welcome.

Agents don't all report the same things to their hooks (prompts, failed commands, tokens); what each one tells Zerostel.

Zerostel doesn't care which model is behind the agent: Claude, GPT, Gemini, DeepSeek or a local one are all recorded the same way.

Windows, macOS and Linux (WSL too). CI runs every commit on all three with Node 20, 22, 24 and 26.

Install

npx zerostel install          # one-off, nothing installed globally

npm install -g zerostel # or keep the zerostel command around

You need git, and Node 20 or newer. No Node? Every release has a single executable with Node inside for Windows, macOS and Linux: download it from Releases and run zerostel install. Plugins for Claude Code, Codex, Antigravity and Gemini CLI, the agent skill, and how to check a download: docs/install.md.

Documentation


Commands	every command and option
Guardrails	how rules work, and tested recipes
Configuration	`~/.zerostel/config.json`
CI	the GitHub Action
MCP server	let the agent read its timeline and rewind when you ask
How it works	hooks, the shadow repo, safe rewinds, the audit chain
Zero trust	each principle, and what Zerostel does for it
Security model	what it protects and what it doesn't
Agents' own checkpoints	what each agent's undo brings back, with sources
Other tools	Turnback, Turnal, bashback and others, side by side
FAQ	speed, disk use, git, jj, sandboxes, tokens

Something not working? Run zerostel doctor: it checks Node, git, each agent's hooks, your config and guardrails, and its output is safe to paste into an issue.

Limits

Only states that were captured can be restored. Recording that starts after a deletion can't bring the file back.
Inside one shell command there are no intermediate states: a file created and deleted by the same command is never seen. zerostel run snapshots when files settle, so it can miss short-lived files too.
Outside the project, only files you list under watch are snapshotted, and only files under your home folder. On Windows, user environment variables (HKCU\Environment) are read around commands that change them and put back by rewinds; their values are kept in the session log on your machine, never in reports. Global packages are only listed, with the commands to undo them. Rewinds leave alone watched files that didn't exist at the target point. Everything else outside the project isn't covered; the timeline still shows the command that touched it.
Not snapshotted, and listed by zerostel log when present: ignored folders (node_modules, dist/, anything in .gitignore), nested git repositories and submodules, linked folders (symlinks, junctions) and new files above maxFileMB.
Agents started in your home directory, a drive root or a folder above your home folder get a timeline but no snapshots.
A rewind puts back whole files: with --keep-others it leaves files someone else changed, but it doesn't merge edits two agents made to the same file.
A test or build the agent ran counts as passed only when the agent reports the result; zerostel check -- always knows.
On case-insensitive file systems (Windows, macOS by default) a rename that only changes case, such as readme.md → README.md, isn't seen as a change.
Under WSL, projects on the Windows drive (/mnt/c/...) are slow to snapshot. Keep them in the Linux file system.
The audit chain shows a log was

Only the beginning is shown; read the rest in the repo

Zerostel

Overview

PopNx MCP’s three pillars

What you can do with it

Install

Before you install

What it can do

Basic checksi

Maker matches the repo

Still maintained

Has a licence

Endpoint responds

Sign-in with OAuth

No hidden instructions in tool descriptions

Compared with others in Otheri

Common questions

Alternatives

Spec Driven Development

Remote Desktop Commander

SSTracker free youth training

README from the maker

Quick start

What it does

Why

Compared with other tools

Supported agents and systems

Install

Documentation

Limits