# AGENTS.md

Repository instructions for AI coding agents. Keep this file short, concrete, and tied to commands that actually work in this
repo. If a fact here conflicts with source files or CI config, trust the source file and update this guide.

## Project Snapshot

Memos is a self-hosted note-taking app.

- Backend: Go 1.27.2, net/http, Connect RPC, gRPC-Gateway, Protocol Buffers.
- Frontend: React 19, TypeScript 7, Vite 8, Tailwind CSS v4, React Query v5.
- Storage: SQLite, MySQL, PostgreSQL.
- Generated API outputs: `proto/gen/` for Go/OpenAPI, `web/src/types/proto/` for TypeScript.

## Working Rules

- Read relevant code before editing; prefer local patterns over new abstractions.
- Keep diffs scoped. Do not do repo-wide cleanup, dependency churn, or generated-file rewrites unless the task requires it.
- Do not hand-edit generated proto outputs. Change `.proto` files, then run `buf generate`.
- Add migrations for all database drivers when schema changes, and update each driver's `LATEST.sql`.
- Add public API endpoints to `server/api/acl_config.go`.
- Ask before adding heavy dependencies, changing auth/token behavior, or altering Docker/release workflows.

## Documentation

- ADRs and their companion glossary have been retired. Do not recreate them unless explicitly requested.
- Design documents in `docs/design/` stay editable until the feature ships in a tagged release; keep a merged-but-unreleased design in step
  with its implementation. After release the body is frozen: record later design changes in a dated `## Amendments` section at the end, never by
  rewriting the body. See `docs/design/README.md`. Verify current behavior in source code and tests, not in design documents.
- Brand copy (tagline, descriptions, README intro) comes verbatim from [`BRAND.md`](https://github.com/usememos/.github/blob/main/BRAND.md) in `usememos/.github`. Change it there first; do not keep brand guidelines in this repo.
- Keep contributor guidance in this file and package-local `README.md` or `doc.go` files current when relevant code changes.

## Commands

Run from the repository root unless a command starts with `cd`.

```bash
# Backend
go run -buildvcs=true ./cmd/memos --port 8081 # Start backend with commit-derived CalVer
go test ./...                      # Run all Go tests
go test -v ./store/...             # Store tests, including DB drivers via TestContainers
go test -v -race ./server/...      # Server tests with race detector
go test -v -race ./internal/...    # Internal package tests with race detector
go test -v -run TestFoo ./core/... # Run matching Go tests in one tree
go mod tidy -go=1.27.2             # Match CI tidy check
go fix ./...                      # Apply Go modernization fixes
go fix -diff ./...                 # Match CI modernization check
golangci-lint run                  # Go lint, config: .golangci.yaml (includes depguard layering rules)
golangci-lint run --fix            # Auto-fix lint, including goimports

# Frontend
cd web && pnpm install             # Install dependencies
cd web && pnpm dev                 # Dev server on :3001, proxying API to :8081
cd web && pnpm lint                # Type check + Biome lint
cd web && pnpm test                # Vitest unit tests
cd web && pnpm build               # Production build
cd web && pnpm release             # Build SPA into server/frontend/dist

# Protocol Buffers
cd proto && buf generate           # Regenerate Go + TypeScript + OpenAPI
cd proto && buf lint               # Lint proto files
cd proto && buf format -w          # Format proto files
```

## Repository Layout

Every root folder is named for what it holds. Read the folder's `doc.go` or `README.md` before adding to it.

| Path | Holds | May import |
| --- | --- | --- |
| `cmd/memos/` | Cobra/Viper CLI setup and server startup | anything |
| `server/` | The HTTP process: net/http bootstrap, graceful shutdown, every transport | core, store, provider, markdown, filter, internal |
| `server/api/` | Connect/gRPC-Gateway services, ACL config, SSE hub. Thin handlers; rules go to `core/` | |
| `server/fileserver/` | Native HTTP file serving, thumbnails, range requests | |
| `server/frontend/` | Static SPA serving; `dist/` is the built SPA baked in by `go:embed` | |
| `server/mcp/` | Model Context Protocol server | |
| `server/auth/` | JWT access tokens, refresh tokens, PAT handling | |
| `core/` | Business rules with no HTTP and no SQL: `access`, `notification`, `memopayload`, `memoexport`, `usagelimit` | store, provider, markdown, filter, internal |
| `store/` | Store facade, cache, migrations, `Driver` interface; `store/db/{sqlite,mysql,postgres}/` implement it | provider, markdown, filter, internal |
| `markdown/` | Markdown engine: parser, AST, memos syntax extensions, renderer, memo payload | proto/gen, internal |
| `filter/` | CEL filter compiler: parse to IR, render to SQL per driver, filterable field schema | internal |
| `provider/` | Backends configured by instance settings: `ai`, `idp`, `storage` | proto/gen, internal |
| `internal/` | Private plumbing with no memos vocabulary (`identifier`, `email`, `webhook`, `ratelimit`, …) | third party only |
| `proto/api/`, `proto/store/` | Public API and internal storage proto sources; `proto/gen/` is generated | |
| `web/src/` | React SPA: `connect.ts` clients, `auth-state.ts`, `hooks/`, `contexts/`, `components/`, `themes/` | |

Layering rules, enforced by `depguard` in `.golangci.yaml`:

- Imports point downward only: `cmd` → `server` → `core` → `store` → {`provider`, `markdown`, `filter`} → `internal`.
- `internal/` packages import nothing from this module (except `internal/testutil`, which may import `proto/gen`).
- A package goes in `internal/` only if it could be published as a standalone module unchanged. If it knows what a Memo, Space, or instance setting is, it is a root package.
- Never create `util`, `common`, `base`, `helpers`, `misc`, or `pkg` packages. Name a package for the one thing it does, or put the code next to its only caller.
- New business rules extracted from `server/api` go to `core/<resource>/`, one package per resource.

File convention inside `server/api/`: `<resource>_service.go` holds the RPC handlers, `<resource>_service_converters.go` the
store↔proto conversion, and `<resource>_service_<topic>.go` further splits. Extend the matching file; do not add `*_helpers2.go`.
Black-box service tests live in `server/api/test/`, unit tests next to the code.

## Change Routing

| Change | Update | Verify |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Go service or router behavior | Handlers under `server/`, rules under `core/`, tests near package | `go test -v -race ./server/... ./core/...` |
| Store or migration behavior | `store/`, all three DB driver migrations, `LATEST.sql` | `go test -v ./store/...` |
| Markdown, filter, or provider logic | `markdown/`, `filter/`, `provider/` | `go test -v -race ./markdown/... ./filter/... ./provider/...` |
| Internal package logic | Relevant `internal/` package tests | `go test -v -race ./internal/...` |
| Frontend behavior | Components/hooks/contexts under `web/src/` | `cd web && pnpm lint && pnpm test` |
| Frontend production output | Vite config or release-sensitive UI | `cd web && pnpm build` or `pnpm release` |
| Proto API | `.proto` source, generated outputs, `proto/api/CHANGELOG.md` for breaks | `cd proto && buf generate && buf lint` |
| Public unauthenticated route | `server/api/acl_config.go` | Targeted server test or manual route check |

## Go Conventions

- Wrap errors with `errors.Wrap(err, "context")` from `github.com/pkg/errors`; do not use `fmt.Errorf`.
- Return service errors with `status.Errorf(codes.X, "message")`.
- Keep imports grouped as stdlib, third-party, then `github.com/usememos/memos`; goimports is run by golangci-lint.
- Add doc comments for exported identifiers; godot enforces exported comment punctuation.
- Avoid package-level mutable state unless the surrounding package already uses that pattern.

## Frontend Conventions

- Use `@/` for absolute imports.
- Follow Biome formatting: 2-space indent, double quotes, semicolons, 140-character line width.
- Put server data in React Query hooks under `web/src/hooks/`; keep UI-only state in contexts or component state.
- Show, edit and compose memos through `web/src/components/MemoEditor` (a name or draft seed plus a mode); see its `README.md`.
- Use Tailwind CSS v4 utilities, `cn()` for class merging, and CVA for variants.
- Reuse Base UI primitives and existing components before adding new UI primitives.
- Keep generated proto TypeScript under `web/src/types/proto/` out of manual edits and Biome rewrites.

## Database And Proto Rules

- Schema changes require SQLite, MySQL, and PostgreSQL migrations plus `LATEST.sql` updates.
- Fresh-install SQL and incremental migrations must stay equivalent.
- Proto field changes must preserve compatibility unless the task explicitly allows a breaking API change. Record every
  allowed break in `proto/api/CHANGELOG.md`; compatibility is checked during review.
- Regenerate after proto edits and include both Go/OpenAPI and TypeScript generated outputs.

## Verification Policy

- Run the narrowest relevant checks while iterating.
- Before finishing, run the checks that match the changed surface from "Change Routing".
- For docs-only changes, `git diff --check` is sufficient unless the docs include runnable examples that should be tested.
- If a required check cannot run locally, report the reason and the exact command that remains.

## CI Reference

- Releases are cut by pushing a `YY.MM.N[-rc.K]` tag. To cut, promote, or check a release, follow
  `.agents/skills/release/SKILL.md`.
- Development builds use the HEAD committer date in UTC as `YY.MM.D-dev.<sha7>`; release builds inject the CalVer tag.
- `go build` embeds Git metadata automatically; `go run` needs `-buildvcs=true`. Builds without Git metadata must inject
  `github.com/usememos/memos/internal/version.Version` through `-ldflags`.
- Docker excludes `.git`; pass `--build-arg VERSION="$(bash scripts/release_version.sh development-version)"` and
  `--build-arg COMMIT="$(git rev-parse HEAD)"` when building locally (build frontend assets first).

- Backend CI: Go 1.27.2, `go mod tidy -go=1.27.2`, `go fix -diff ./...`, golangci-lint v2.14.0 (including goimports), test groups
  `store`, `server`, `internal`, `other` (`cmd`, `core`, `markdown`, `filter`, `provider`, `proto`).
- Frontend CI: Node 24, pnpm 11.0.1, `pnpm lint`, `pnpm test`, `pnpm build`.
- Proto CI: `buf lint` and `buf format` check.
- Docker: `scripts/Dockerfile`, Alpine 3.21 runtime, non-root user, port 5230, multi-arch amd64/arm64/arm/v7.