Kioku is distributed as a public .NET project with release artifacts, a NuGet package and operational documentation. Version 3.1.2 is the current stable tagged server release, while ongoing work continues toward later releases.
PROJECT CASE STUDY · BACKEND ENGINEERING
Kioku
A local-first .NET 10 MCP server that keeps agent decisions, specs, plans, bugs and session handoffs as durable Markdown and YAML records inside an Obsidian vault.
v3.1.2 Public source Active
CURRENT SYSTEM
Stable 3.1.2 release with active development continuing
PROBLEM
Agent context should survive the session that created it
Coding agents can make good decisions and still lose the reasoning behind them when a process, terminal or conversation ends. Provider history is not a durable project record, and a handoff should not require the next agent to reconstruct intent from chat logs.
Kioku treats the vault as durable project memory instead: specs, implementation plans, decisions, bugs, knowledge and session handoffs remain readable as Markdown and YAML even without the MCP server or Obsidian UI running.
SYSTEM
Local-first MCP boundary
Kioku runtime boundary MCP clients reach a .NET 10 Kioku server over local stdio or authenticated Streamable HTTP. The server reads the Obsidian vault directly, with semantic retrieval and the Obsidian bridge remaining optional integrations.
ENGINEERING DECISIONS
Keep storage human-readable and protocol boundaries explicit
DECISION 01
MARKDOWN IS THE DURABLE FORMAT
The vault remains understandable and editable without Kioku. The MCP layer coordinates workflows; it does not become the only place where project knowledge can be recovered.
DECISION 02
HEADLESS CORE, OPTIONAL UI
Core notes, search, projects, sessions, indexing and coordination work directly against the vault. Obsidian and its companion plugin are optional for UI and bridge-specific operations.
DECISION 03
REMOTE ACCESS REQUIRES AN EXPLICIT TRUST BOUNDARY
Local stdio stays the default. Streamable HTTP binds to loopback by default, and non-loopback exposure requires authentication unless an explicit unsafe override is chosen.
WORKFLOW
Design intent becomes a recoverable project artifact
Durable engineering workflow Kioku separates the requirement, implementation plan and execution handoff so a fresh agent can recover both intent and current state.
RELEASE STATUS
A stable release and an active development line
STABLE RELEASE
3.1.2 · PACKAGE · CONTRACTS · OPERATIONAL DOCS
Release 3.1.2 publishes server artifacts and the project links the
kioku-mcp-server NuGet package. The project also maintains generated MCP references,
engineering-workflow documentation, configuration, security guidance and automated
tests.
ACTIVE DEVELOPMENT
NEW WORK CONTINUES BEYOND 3.1.2
Ongoing development can introduce changes after the stable 3.1.2 release. Release-specific behavior stays tied to the tagged version until newer work is promoted into a subsequent release.
LEARNINGS
What this project changed in how I build
LEARNING 01
DURABILITY BEATS PROVIDER HISTORY
Human-readable project records survive session and process boundaries better than depending on one AI provider’s conversation history.
LEARNING 02
SPEC → PLAN → SESSION IS A USEFUL BOUNDARY
Keeping requirements, implementation intent and execution state separate makes a fresh agent more likely to continue the right work instead of merely continuing text.
LEARNING 03
LOCAL-FIRST DOES NOT REMOVE SECURITY WORK
The moment a local protocol becomes remotely reachable, authentication, origin policy, proxy trust and vault boundaries become first-class engineering concerns.