VS Code Extension

Mind Palace Observer is the VS Code extension for the Mind Palace ecosystem.

Install

1. Install CLI first (required):

   curl -L https://github.com/koksalmehmet/mind-palace/releases/latest/download/palace-darwin-arm64 -o palace
   chmod +x palace && sudo mv palace /usr/local/bin/

2. Install extension from VS Code Marketplace: “Mind Palace Observer”

Features

Status Bar (HUD)

Click to open action menu.

Sidebar Views

The extension adds a Mind Palace activity bar with four views:

Blueprint View

• Tree view: Rooms as folders, entry points as files
• Graph view: Cytoscape visualization of room relationships
• Click to navigate to files

Knowledge View

Browse and manage your knowledge records:

• Ideas: Grouped by status (active, exploring, implemented, dropped)
• Decisions: Grouped by status (active, superseded, reversed)
• Learnings: Grouped by scope (palace, room, file)
• Context menu for creating links between records

Sessions View

Track AI agent sessions:

• View active, completed, and abandoned sessions
• Start new sessions with goal tracking
• End sessions with outcome recording
• View session activity history

Corridor View

Personal cross-workspace learnings:

• Browse learnings promoted to your personal corridor
• View linked workspaces
• Reinforce learning confidence

Semantic Search

AI-powered search for your knowledge base:

• Combines keyword matching with semantic similarity
• Filter by record type (ideas, decisions, learnings)
• Requires embedding backend configuration (Ollama or OpenAI)

Access via Cmd/Ctrl+Shift+F or Command Palette: “Mind Palace: Semantic Search”

Conversation Storage

Store and search past AI conversations:

• Automatically links conversations to sessions
• Search by summary or content
• View full conversation history

Links Management

Create relationships between records:

• supports: Record supports another
• contradicts: Record contradicts another
• implements: Record implements another
• supersedes: Record supersedes another
• inspired_by: Record is inspired by another
• related: General relationship

Auto-Heal

On file save:

1. Wait for debounce (default: 1.5s)
2. Run palace scan && palace collect
3. Update HUD and refresh views

Keyboard Shortcuts

Configuration

VS Code Settings

{
  "mindPalace.binaryPath": "palace",
  "mindPalace.autoSync": true,
  "mindPalace.autoSyncDelay": 1500,
  "mindPalace.waitForCleanWorkspace": false,
  "mindPalace.showStatusBarItem": true,
  "mindPalace.showFileDecorations": true,
  "mindPalace.enableSemanticSearch": true
}

Embedding Configuration

To enable semantic search, configure embeddings in .palace/palace.jsonc:

{
  // ... other config ...
 
  // Option 1: Ollama (local, free)
  "embeddingBackend": "ollama",
  "embeddingModel": "nomic-embed-text",
  "embeddingUrl": "http://localhost:11434",
 
  // Option 2: OpenAI
  "embeddingBackend": "openai",
  "embeddingModel": "text-embedding-3-small",
  "embeddingApiKey": "sk-..."
}

Architecture

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                    VS CODE EXTENSION                         │
│  ┌─────────┐ ┌───────────┐ ┌──────────┐ ┌─────────────────┐ │
│  │   HUD   │ │  Sidebar  │ │ Decorator│ │  Tree Providers │ │
│  └────┬────┘ └─────┬─────┘ └────┬─────┘ └────────┬────────┘ │
│       └────────────┼────────────┼────────────────┘           │
│                    │            │                            │
│              ┌─────▼────────────▼─────┐                     │
│              │        Bridge          │                     │
│              │    (MCP Client)        │                     │
│              └───────────┬────────────┘                     │
└──────────────────────────┼──────────────────────────────────┘
                           │ JSON-RPC over stdio
                    ┌──────▼──────┐
                    │   palace    │
                    │   butler    │
                    └─────────────┘

Key principle: Extension has no state. CLI is source of truth.

Communication

The extension communicates with the CLI via MCP (Model Context Protocol):

• JSON-RPC over stdio
• Tool-based API for all operations
• Real-time updates via WebSocket (dashboard)

Commands

Troubleshooting

“Palace binary not found”

• Check: palace --version
• Set mindPalace.binaryPath to absolute path

HUD stuck on Scanning

• Check Output panel → “Mind Palace”
• Try palace scan manually

Search returns nothing

• Verify index exists: ls .palace/index/palace.db
• Rebuild: palace scan

Semantic search not working

• Check embedding config in .palace/palace.jsonc
• For Ollama: ensure ollama serve is running
• For OpenAI: verify API key is set

Views not refreshing

• Use refresh button in view title bar
• Check Output panel for errors
• Restart extension: Developer: Restart Extension Host