Concept Tracker

An MCP (Model Context Protocol) server that automatically extracts technical concepts from your AI coding conversations, organizes them into a searchable knowledge base, and links them to your actual codebase.

Overview

When working with AI coding assistants, you discuss countless technical concepts — libraries, design patterns, language features, architectural decisions. These valuable learning moments get buried in chat history and forgotten.

Concept Tracker captures this knowledge automatically. It hooks into your conversations in real-time, extracts technical concepts, and builds a per-project knowledge base that shows you:

• What concepts you've learned and discussed
• Why they matter (with explanations)
• Where they appear in your code

Features

Multi-IDE Support

• Claude Code: Native hook integration for automatic extraction
• Cursor: Full hook support with stop event handling
• Continue.dev: Webhook-based integration
• Universal VS Code extension works across all AI tools

Real-Time Concept Extraction

• Hooks into AI coding conversations as they happen
• LLM-powered extraction identifies technical concepts automatically
• Captures original chat context for future reference

Smart Organization

• Hierarchy: Concepts organized in parent-child relationships (e.g., "useState" under "React Hooks")
• Categories: Language features, libraries/frameworks, design patterns, architectural decisions
• Deduplication: Exact name matching prevents duplicate entries

Codebase Linking

• Real-time scanning on file save
• Finds where each concept appears in your project
• Direct links to specific file locations

Dual Dashboard

• IDE Panel: Quick access without leaving your editor
• Web App: Full-featured dashboard for deeper exploration

Knowledge Management

• Edit concept names and explanations
• Merge similar concepts
• Manual concept addition
• Export to JSON or Markdown
• Notifications when new concepts are extracted

Concept Structure

Each concept contains:

{
  "id": "uuid",
  "name": "useState",
  "category": "library",
  "parent": "React Hooks",
  "explanation": "A React Hook that lets you add state to functional components...",
  "chatSnippets": [
    {
      "timestamp": "2025-01-15T10:30:00Z",
      "content": "useState returns a pair: the current state value and a function to update it..."
    }
  ],
  "codeLocations": [
    "src/components/Counter.tsx:12",
    "src/hooks/useAuth.ts:8"
  ],
  "firstSeen": "2025-01-15T10:30:00Z",
  "lastSeen": "2025-01-20T14:22:00Z"
}

Architecture

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                        Claude Code                               │
│                            │                                     │
│                      (hooks API)                                 │
│                            ▼                                     │
│  ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐    │
│  │                 Concept Tracker MCP                      │    │
│  │  ┌───────────────┐  ┌───────────────┐  ┌─────────────┐  │    │
│  │  │   Extractor   │  │   Hierarchy   │  │   Scanner   │  │    │
│  │  │   (LLM)       │  │   Manager     │  │  (Codebase) │  │    │
│  │  └───────────────┘  └───────────────┘  └─────────────┘  │    │
│  │                            │                             │    │
│  │                     ┌──────▼──────┐                      │    │
│  │                     │   Storage   │                      │    │
│  │                     │   (Local)   │                      │    │
│  │                     └─────────────┘                      │    │
│  └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘    │
│                            │                                     │
│              ┌─────────────┴─────────────┐                      │
│              ▼                           ▼                       │
│     ┌─────────────────┐        ┌─────────────────┐              │
│     │   IDE Panel     │        │    Web App      │              │
│     │   (VS Code)     │        │   (localhost)   │              │
│     └─────────────────┘        └─────────────────┘              │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Concept Categories

Roadmap

Phase 1: MVP

• Project setup
• Basic concept extraction (DeepSeek API)
• Local JSON storage
• Simple web dashboard
• Claude Code hook integration (auto-extract on conversation)

Phase 2: Enhanced Features

• Hierarchy management UI
• Real-time codebase scanning
• VS Code panel integration
• Concept merge/edit functionality
• Export capabilities

Phase 3: Multi-IDE Support (Current)

• Cursor integration
• Continue.dev integration
• Universal VS Code extension (works with any AI tool)
• Unified configuration system
• IDE adapter abstraction layer

Tech Stack

• MCP Server: TypeScript
• Storage: Local JSON/SQLite
• Web Dashboard: React + Vite
• IDE Panel: VS Code Webview API
• Code Scanning: Tree-sitter / ripgrep

Getting Started

Prerequisites

• Node.js 18+
• npm 9+
• DeepSeek API key (for concept extraction)

Installation

# Clone and enter the project
cd concept-tracker

# Install all dependencies
npm install

# Create your .env file
cp .env.example .env
# Edit .env and add your DEEPSEEK_API_KEY

# Build the MCP server
npm run build

# Run the universal installer (detects and configures all IDEs)
./scripts/install.sh

# Start the servers
npm run dev:api   # API server (port 3001)
npm run dev       # Dashboard (port 3000)

IDE-Specific Installation

If you prefer to install hooks for specific IDEs:

# Claude Code only
./scripts/install-claude-hook.sh

# Cursor only
./scripts/install-cursor-hook.sh

# Continue.dev only
./scripts/install-continue-hook.sh

Running the Dashboard

# Development mode with hot reload
npm run dev

# The dashboard will open at http://localhost:3000

Building for Production

# Build both MCP server and dashboard
npm run build

Configuration

Remote MCP Setup (Hosted Service)

If you're using a hosted version of Concept Tracker, add this to your Cursor MCP config (~/.cursor/mcp.json):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "concept-tracker": {
      "url": "https://your-deployed-url.railway.app/sse?token=YOUR_UNIQUE_TOKEN"
    }
  }
}

Replace YOUR_UNIQUE_TOKEN with a unique identifier (8-64 alphanumeric characters or dashes). This token isolates your concepts from other users.

Claude Code MCP Setup

Add to your Claude Code MCP configuration (~/.claude.json or project .claude/settings.json):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "concept-tracker": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["/path/to/concept-tracker/mcp-server/dist/index.js"],
      "env": {
        "DEEPSEEK_API_KEY": "your-api-key-here"
      }
    }
  }
}

Environment Variables

MCP Tools

The Concept Tracker MCP server provides these tools:

Deploying to Railway (Self-Hosting)

To host your own public Concept Tracker MCP:

1. Prerequisites

• A Railway account
• This repository pushed to GitHub

2. Deploy

# Install Railway CLI
npm install -g @railway/cli

# Login to Railway
railway login

# Initialize project in this directory
railway init

# Link to your project
railway link

# Set your DeepSeek API key
railway variables set DEEPSEEK_API_KEY=your-api-key-here

# Deploy
railway up

Or use the Railway dashboard:

1. Create a new project
2. Connect your GitHub repo
3. Add environment variable: DEEPSEEK_API_KEY
4. Railway will auto-detect and deploy

3. Share with Users

Once deployed, share the URL with users. They'll configure Cursor like this:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "concept-tracker": {
      "url": "https://YOUR-APP.railway.app/sse?token=their-unique-token"
    }
  }
}

Each user should create their own unique token for isolated concept storage.

License

MIT