Local-first and Privacy

sivtr is designed around local agent memory. Terminal output, shell session logs, history, and agent transcripts can contain secrets, private code, credentials, internal URLs, and unfinished reasoning. The default posture is to keep that data on the machine that already produced it.

Local by default

sivtr reads and writes local files and databases:

• shell session logs from shell integration;
• local SQLite history for captured terminal output;
• provider-owned agent transcript files or databases;
• local config under the platform config directory.

It does not provide a hosted transcript service by default.

Explicit export

Export is an explicit user action. For example, Codex mirrors require a destination path:

sivtr codex export --dest /srv/sivtr/root-codex

After export, normal file-system permissions and your sharing setup control who can read the exported tree.

Explicit remote share

Cross-device memory access is also opt-in. Nothing leaves the machine until you create a share (sivtr share / share add), issue an invite (share invite), and a peer redeems it:

sivtr share                   # interactive; create share only
sivtr share invite alice-desk # single-use invite (stdout = bare key)
sivtr remote add desk <invite> # peer names the remote in their workspace

Remote access is read-only. Secret redaction is on by default before records leave the device (--no-redact to disable for a share). Invites expire (default 10m). Transport between daemons is encrypted iroh. Local-first remains the default: unregistered origins error.

Full guide: Remote Access.

Shared mirrors should be read-only

When sharing exported sessions across local accounts, prefer read-only access for consumers:

[codex]
session_dirs = ["/srv/sivtr/root-codex/sessions"]

Shared/mirrored Codex trees only participate in explicit picker browsing. They do not override implicit current-session lookup.

Clipboard is an output boundary

Copy commands place selected text on the system clipboard:

sivtr copy out
sivtr copy claude out

Treat clipboard contents as shared with your desktop environment and clipboard managers. Use --print to inspect text before copying sensitive content in risky contexts.

History retention is configurable

Captured terminal output is saved to history when enabled:

[history]
auto_save = true
max_entries = 0

Set auto_save = false if captures should not be written automatically. Set max_entries to a positive number to bound retained history.

Good operational habits

• Avoid exporting directories that include secrets unless access is controlled.
• Review copied text before pasting it into public chats, issues, hosted agents, or external AI tools.
• Use line and regex filters to copy only the necessary evidence.
• Keep shared Codex mirrors separate from the source account’s live config.
• Prefer --format json / --refs search output for tooling, but remember JSON content can still include sensitive text.
• Prefer short-lived invites and revoke grants (sivtr share revoke) when collaboration ends.