Documentation

Everything you need to set up and use Retrace — locally or in the cloud.

Setup

Local Setup

Install the npm package, configure your MCP client (VS Code, Claude Desktop, Cursor, Zed), and start logging locally in 10 seconds.

Cloud Upgrade

Already using local mode? Migrate to cloud for multi-device sync, a web dashboard, and encrypted backup.

Getting Started

Step-by-step setup for both local and cloud modes, plus agent instruction templates.

Export & Import

Backup your SQLite journal, restore from backup, export to JSONL, and migrate between modes.

Reference

MCP Tools

Reference for all available MCP tools: log_entry, query_journal, get_summary, recall, and more.

API Reference

REST API endpoints for entries, projects, search, and summaries (cloud mode).

Architecture

How Retrace works: encryption, storage, and the MCP protocol.