Clean documentation. Clear sources.
Collect the public documentation your project needs, search it locally, and let your coding assistant retrieve passages with source URLs and revision history through MCP.
Website · Download 1.0.0 · Getting started · MCP setup
- Collect: choose public documentation URLs, allowed paths, and optional version labels. Refresh manually when you need new content.
- Inspect: search retained pages, open their original sources, compare refresh outcomes, and read previous revisions.
- Connect: expose selected collections to a local coding assistant through five read only MCP tools.
Sift 1.0.0 is a local application for one user. Your collections live in a SQLite database on your computer. No Sift account, model API key, paid service, or telemetry is required. Current immutable archives and checksums are available from GitHub Releases. The companion website retains earlier downloads; the application runs on your machine.
Requires Node.js 24.15 or later within the Node 24 release line. Select Node 24 on the official download page, then open a new terminal and check node --version. Node 22 and Node 25 or later are not supported by this release. Version 1.0 requires the exact release archive to pass clean CLI, HTTP interface and stdio MCP installation checks on Windows, Ubuntu 22.04 and macOS with Node 24.19.0. The browser walkthrough runs on Windows; see the v1 contract and verification record for scope.
- Download the Sift archive and SHA256 checksum.
- Put the archive in a new folder you will keep, and open a terminal in that folder. See the installation guide for checksum commands and Windows instructions.
- Extract and start Sift:
tar -xzf sift-local-1.0.0.tgz
node package/dist/cli.js version
node package/dist/cli.js doctor
node package/dist/cli.js startExpect Sift 1.0.0, a doctor result with "ok": true, and a startup message containing http://127.0.0.1:4587.
- Open http://127.0.0.1:4587 in your browser. Keep the terminal running. Press Ctrl+C to stop.
The archive includes the built interface and backend. This quick start requires neither cloning the repository nor installing development dependencies. To start Sift next time, run node package/dist/cli.js start from the same folder. Collections persist between runs.
If you prefer a sift command, the installation guide covers installation with npm. The downloadable .tgz is the release package; Sift is not published to the npm registry.
- Choose Create your first collection and give it a name.
- Choose Add source. Enter a public documentation Start URL and matching Allowed paths, such as
/docs. Use commas for multiple paths. - Choose Save source, then Refresh. Saving alone does not fetch pages. Use Inspect to see outcomes and warnings.
- Open Search and try a word you know appears on a collected page. Open a result to read the retained revision and source details.
- Open Connect, choose Test MCP connection, then follow the MCP setup guide to configure your assistant.
For a small, repeatable walkthrough, use the one page first collection. The built in connection test checks Sift's MCP process; your assistant still needs its own configuration.
| I want to… | Read |
|---|---|
| Install, verify the download, and collect my first page | Getting started |
| Connect Codex or another local MCP client | MCP setup and tool reference |
| Find my data, back it up, upgrade, or troubleshoot | Operations |
| Build from source or propose a change | Development and contributions |
| Understand crawling, storage, and access boundaries | Architecture |
| Understand supported sources, stable interfaces and upgrade | v1 contract |
| See what was tested and what remains unverified | v1 checks · October 2 acceptance checks · 0.1.1 checks · 0.1.0 report |
| Prepare a release | Release procedure |
| See release history and dependency notices | Changelog · Third party notices |
Sift collects public, server rendered UTF-8 HTML. It does not sign in to websites, render JavaScript, import PDFs, or refresh on a schedule. Collection profiles can be exported; profile import is not included. A successful fetch records when Sift checked a page, not whether the upstream content is current.
The management interface binds to 127.0.0.1. MCP uses local stdio, with an explicit collection allowlist. The website address and management URL are not remote MCP endpoints.
Sift’s own source and bundled release are available under the MIT License. Third-party dependencies retain their original licenses in Third party notices. See the v1 contract for supported use and the initial release stopping point.