ramets

Per-branch AI coding context — delta-encoded knowledge graphs, decision tracking, and Obsidian visualization.

Your codebase is one organism. Each branch is a ramet.

Named after Pando (Populus tremuloides), the world's largest organism — a single aspen clone where individual trunks (ramets) share one root system (genet).

The Problem

AI coding assistants (Claude Code, Cursor, Codex) waste enormous tokens re-reading your codebase every session:

LLM providers aren't incentivized to fix this — more tokens means more subscription revenue. So we fix it ourselves.

Quick Start

pip install ramets

cd your-repo
ramets init          # Build genet, install hooks (~5 seconds)
ramets query "how does authentication work?"   # ~300 tokens
ramets status        # Show genet freshness, branch deltas
ramets summary       # Session context (~400 tokens)
ramets obsidian      # Generate Obsidian vault for visualization

How It Works

Genet (shared root)    ──>  base knowledge graph from common ancestor
  ├── Ramet: main      ──>  0 deltas (is the base)
  ├── Ramet: feat/auth  ──>  12 deltas (added auth module)
  ├── Ramet: fix/typo   ──>  2 deltas (renamed function)
  └── Ramet: feat/api   ──>  28 deltas (new API layer)

Total storage: ~100KB for 400 nodes (ramets codebase itself)

1. ramets init builds the genet from tree-sitter AST extraction (via graphify)
2. Git hooks fire on every commit/checkout — zero LLM tokens, all local computation
3. Claude Code hooks inject pre-computed summaries at session start (~400 tokens)
4. ramets query does keyword + BFS traversal with configurable token budgets

Git hooks do ALL computation. The LLM only consumes pre-computed results.

Features

Delta-Encoded Knowledge Graphs

• Genet: shared base graph (zlib-compressed, ~80KB)
• Ramets: per-branch deltas — only what changed (add/remove/modify nodes and edges)
• Concurrent worktree access via SQLite WAL mode
• Storage: 104KB for 408 nodes, 837 edges (real measurement on ramets codebase)

Git Hooks (Zero Token Cost)

Claude Code Hooks (Token Savings)

Decision Tracking

Structured records of "AI suggested X, user chose Y" — not natural language summaries.

ramets decide \
  -q "Which auth strategy?" \
  -o "JWT:Stateless tokens" \
  -o "Session cookies:Server-side sessions" \
  -c 0 \
  -r "Stateless fits our microservices design" \
  --category architecture \
  --confidence 0.85

ramets decisions                        # List active decisions
ramets decisions -s "auth"              # Full-text search
ramets decisions --id abc123            # View decision detail

Obsidian Visualization

ramets obsidian                         # Generate vault
ramets obsidian --open                  # Generate and open in Obsidian
ramets obsidian --all-branches          # Include all branch layers

Generates a navigable vault with:

• Base layer: Community-colored nodes with [[wikilinks]]
• Branch delta layers: Added/modified/removed nodes per branch
• Decision notes: Structured choices with options and rationale
• Graph settings: Community coloring for the graph view

MCP Server (15 tools)

pip install ramets[mcp]
ramets serve                            # stdio transport
# Or: claude mcp add ramets -- ramets serve

Tools: query_graph, get_node, diff_branches, session_summary, record_decision, list_decisions, search_decisions, generate_obsidian_vault, and more.

Architecture

.ramets/store.db (SQLite, WAL mode)
├── genet         — shared root graph (compressed blob)
├── ramets        — materialized per-branch snapshots
├── ramet_deltas  — delta log per branch
├── decisions     — structured decision records
├── decision_edges — decision relationship graph
├── sessions      — AI session tracking
└── branches      — branch registry

CLI Reference

ramets init              Create .ramets/, build genet, install hooks
ramets build             Full genet rebuild from HEAD
ramets update            Compute branch delta vs genet (called by hooks)
ramets status            Genet freshness, ramet count, storage
ramets query "..."       BFS traversal on current branch graph
ramets diff feat/a main  Graph diff between branches
ramets summary           Compact summary for session injection (~400 tokens)
ramets decide            Record a structured decision
ramets decisions         List/search decisions for current branch
ramets obsidian          Generate Obsidian vault with branch layers
ramets obsidian --open   Generate and open in Obsidian
ramets serve             Start MCP server (stdio)
ramets gc                Prune dead ramets, compact DB

Development

git clone https://github.com/panne027/ramets.git
cd ramets
pip install -e ".[dev]"
pytest tests/ -v                         # 70 tests
ruff check src/ tests/                   # Lint
ruff format src/ tests/                  # Format

Requirements

• Python >= 3.10
• Git repository
• graphify (installed as dependency)

License

MIT