Hindsight MCP

hindsight-mcp

An MCP server for AI-assisted coding that leverages development history.

Overview

hindsight-mcp consolidates development data (git logs, test results, and GitHub Copilot sessions) into a searchable SQLite database, making it accessible to AI assistants through MCP tool calls in VS Code.

Key Features:

• Full-text search across commits and Copilot conversations
• Track test results linked to specific commits
• Activity summaries and timeline views
• Automatic git and Copilot session ingestion

Quick Start

Prerequisites

• VS Code v1.99+ with GitHub Copilot
• cargo-nextest (for test ingestion): cargo install cargo-nextest

Installation

cargo install hindsight-mcp

Configure VS Code

Create .vscode/mcp.json in your project:

{

"servers": { "hindsight": { "type": "stdio", "command": "hindsight-mcp", "args": ["--workspace", "${workspaceFolder}"] } } }

Verify Setup

1. Open VS Code Command Palette (Cmd+Shift+P)
2. Run "MCP: List Servers"
3. Confirm hindsight is listed
4. In Copilot Chat, switch to Agent mode
5. Ask: *"What have I been working on recently?"*

That's it! Copilot will use hindsight tools to answer questions about your development history.

MCP Tools

Tool Arguments Reference

hindsight_timeline

• limit (int): Max events, default 50
• workspace (string): Filter by path

hindsight_search

• query (string): Search query (required)
• source (string): "all", "commits", or "messages"
• limit (int): Max results, default 20

hindsight_failing_tests

• limit (int): Max tests, default 50
• workspace (string): Filter by path
• commit (string): Filter by SHA

hindsight_activity_summary

• days (int): Days to summarise, default 7

hindsight_commit_details

• sha (string): Commit SHA (required)

hindsight_ingest

• workspace (string): Path to ingest (required)
• source (string): "git", "copilot", or "all"
• incremental (bool): Only new data, default true
• limit (int): Max items

Test Ingestion

Run tests and automatically ingest results:

# Run all tests and ingest

hindsight-mcp test

Test specific package

hindsight-mcp test -p my-crate

Preview without writing to database

hindsight-mcp test --dry-run

The test command automatically:

• Spawns cargo nextest with correct flags
• Auto-detects the current git commit
• Ingests results to the database

CI / Advanced Usage

For CI pipelines or custom nextest invocations:

# Using stdin mode

NEXTEST_EXPERIMENTAL_LIBTEST_JSON=1 cargo nextest run \ --message-format libtest-json 2>/dev/null | \ hindsight-mcp test --stdin

Using ingest command with explicit commit

NEXTEST_EXPERIMENTAL_LIBTEST_JSON=1 cargo nextest run \ --message-format libtest-json 2>/dev/null | \ hindsight-mcp ingest --tests --commit $(git rev-parse HEAD)

Data Sources

Git and Copilot data are ingested automatically. Test results require running hindsight-mcp test.

CLI Reference

hindsight-mcp [OPTIONS] [COMMAND]

Commands: ingest Ingest data from various sources test Run tests and ingest results

Options: -d, --database Database path [default: ~/.hindsight/hindsight.db] -w, --workspace Workspace path [default: current directory] -v, --verbose Debug logging -q, --quiet Errors only --skip-init Skip database init -h, --help Print help -V, --version Print version

Test Subcommand Options

hindsight-mcp test [OPTIONS] [-- <NEXTEST_ARGS>...]

Options: -p, --package Package(s) to test --bin Binary(ies) to run -E, --filter Filter expression --stdin Read from stdin --dry-run Preview only --no-commit Do not link to commit --commit Explicit commit SHA --show-output Show test output

Environment Variables

Database Location

Troubleshooting

Development

Building from Source

git clone https://github.com/Rbfinch/hindsight-mcp.git

cd hindsight-mcp cargo build --release

Running Tests

cargo install cargo-nextest

cargo nextest run --workspace

Workspace Structure

hindsight/

├── crates/ │ ├── hindsight-mcp/ # MCP server binary │ ├── hindsight-git/ # Git log processing │ ├── hindsight-tests/ # Test result processing │ └── hindsight-copilot/ # Copilot session parsing

Fuzzing

cd crates/hindsight-tests

cargo +nightly fuzz run fuzz_nextest_run

cd crates/hindsight-copilot cargo +nightly fuzz run fuzz_session_json

License

MIT