Prevents AI agent 'dementia' in long development sessions. Maintains persistent, structured context through a dependency-aware graph that survives across conversations.
Installation
Launch VS Code Quick Open (Ctrl+P), paste the following command, and press enter.
Persistent memory for AI agents and developers. Replace messy markdown plans with a dependency-aware graph that maintains context across long development sessions.
⚡ Quick Start
Install the extension from the VS Code Marketplace
Install the Cairn CLI: npm install -g @cairn/cli (or use npx @cairn/cli init)
Initialize Cairn in your project: cairn init
Open a workspace and run Cairn: Open Task List from the command palette
Create your first task with Cairn: Create New Ticket
🛠 Features
Git-Backed Storage: Tasks stored as JSONL in .cairn/. Versioned, branched, and merged like code.
Agent-Optimized: Native Copilot integration with language model tools for seamless AI collaboration.
Dependency Graph: Track relationships between tasks (blocks, parent-child, discovered-from).
Long-Term Memory: Automatic compaction summarizes old tasks to preserve context window.
Zero Conflict IDs: Hash-based task IDs prevent merge collisions in multi-agent workflows.
Stealth Mode: Optional gitignoring of .cairn folder for private task management.
📖 Essential Commands
Command
Action
Cairn: Open Task List
View all tasks in your workspace
Cairn: Create New Ticket
Create a new task
Cairn: Edit Ticket
Modify existing tasks
Keyboard Shortcuts:
Ctrl+Shift+T / Cmd+Shift+T: Open Task List
Ctrl+Shift+N / Cmd+Shift+N: Create New Ticket
🔗 Task Hierarchy & Workflow
Cairn supports hierarchical task relationships:
Blocks: Task A must be completed before Task B can start
Parent-Child: Break down epics into manageable subtasks
Related: Connect loosely related work items
Discovered-From: Track new work found during development
Stealth Mode: Tasks stored locally without committing to git. Perfect for personal use on shared projects.
🤖 AI Agent Integration
Cairn provides native language model tools for GitHub Copilot:
cairn_create: Create tasks with full configuration
cairn_list_ready: Get unblocked tasks ready for work
cairn_update: Update status, notes, and acceptance criteria
cairn_dep_add: Add dependencies between tasks
📦 Installation
Install from the VS Code Marketplace or download the .vsix file and install manually.
Requirements: VS Code 1.90.0 or later
📝 Documentation
This extension is part of the Cairn monorepo. See the main repository for development setup and contribution guidelines.
