# Distillery

Claude skills over a local knowledge base: capture what a session settled on, look it up by meaning later, get answers with sources attached.

- MCP server · `type=mcp` · Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, GitHub Copilot, Windsurf (Devin Desktop), Cline, Zed, Gemini CLI · ★ 25
- Author: norrietaylor
- License: not stated · policy=link-only · description only; the file stays with the author
- Source: https://github.com/norrietaylor/distillery
- Updated: 2026-10-24
- HTML: https://affpapa.org/en/nevibecode/mcp/distillery

## What it does

Distillery keeps work notes, meeting records and links in a DuckDB store and indexes them as vector embeddings. You query it in plain language; it matches by meaning and returns fragments with their provenance. Run it locally over stdio or point at a hosted HTTP service gated by GitHub OAuth.

The MCP server ships with a plugin of 15 slash commands. `/distill` files knowledge from a session, `/recall` searches, `/pour` merges several entries into one cited answer. Feed handling lives in `/radar` and `/watch`, GitHub issues and pull requests come in through `/gh-sync`, and `/briefing` with `/digest` cover team summaries. A `/setup` wizard handles first-time configuration.

Local runs need Python 3.11+ and `uv`. The default `fastembed` provider computes embeddings on your own machine and asks for no API key. Switching to a hosted provider means setting `DISTILLERY_EMBEDDING_PROVIDER` plus the matching secret — `JINA_API_KEY` for Jina, `OPENAI_API_KEY` for OpenAI. The plugin does not wire up an MCP server on its own, so `/setup` is a required step after installing. The hosted demo at `distillery-mcp.fly.dev` exists for evaluation; keep confidential material off it.

## Requirements
- Needs: Python and uv (commands run via uvx)
- Environment variables: `JINA_API_KEY`, `OPENAI_API_KEY` — keys and tokens: ask the human for the values, never commit them or put them in shared files.

## Install

### Claude Code (native platform)

**Platform CLI**
```bash
claude mcp add distillery-mcp -e JINA_API_KEY=<JINA_API_KEY> -e OPENAI_API_KEY=<OPENAI_API_KEY> -- uvx distillery-mcp
```
Replace <…> with your own values. uvx runs the command named after the package; if the README names another one, use uvx --from distillery-mcp <command>

### Codex

**Platform CLI**
```bash
codex mcp add distillery --env JINA_API_KEY=<JINA_API_KEY> --env OPENAI_API_KEY=<OPENAI_API_KEY> -- uvx distillery-mcp
```
Replace <…> with your own values. uvx runs the command named after the package; if the README names another one, use uvx --from distillery-mcp <command>

### Cursor

**Config file**
File `.cursor/mcp.json`:
```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "distillery": {
            "command": "uvx",
            "args": [
                "distillery-mcp"
            ],
            "env": {
                "JINA_API_KEY": "<JINA_API_KEY>",
                "OPENAI_API_KEY": "<OPENAI_API_KEY>"
            }
        }
    }
}
```
Replace <…> with your own values. uvx runs the command named after the package; if the README names another one, use uvx --from distillery-mcp <command>

### GitHub Copilot

**Config file**
File `.vscode/mcp.json`:
```json
{
    "servers": {
        "distillery": {
            "type": "stdio",
            "command": "uvx",
            "args": [
                "distillery-mcp"
            ],
            "env": {
                "JINA_API_KEY": "<JINA_API_KEY>",
                "OPENAI_API_KEY": "<OPENAI_API_KEY>"
            }
        }
    }
}
```
Replace <…> with your own values. uvx runs the command named after the package; if the README names another one, use uvx --from distillery-mcp <command>

### Gemini CLI

**Platform CLI**
```bash
gemini mcp add -e JINA_API_KEY=<JINA_API_KEY> -e OPENAI_API_KEY=<OPENAI_API_KEY> distillery uvx distillery-mcp
```
Replace <…> with your own values. uvx runs the command named after the package; if the README names another one, use uvx --from distillery-mcp <command>

## When to use it
- capture a decision from a working session into the knowledge base
- find a past discussion by meaning instead of exact wording
- assemble one answer carrying citations from several entries
- pull GitHub issues and pull requests into the shared knowledge base
- produce a weekly summary of team activity

## Example prompts
- Store this decision: local storage goes on DuckDB
- Find what we discussed about distributed caching strategies
- Put together how our auth system works, with sources

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