DevTime

What is DevTime?

DevTime is a local-first engineering intelligence tool that scans code, tests, configs, routes, and decisions in a software repository to identify supported software concepts, link claims to evidence files, surface uncertainty, and warn about a narrow set of risky changes. It operates entirely locally with no cloud, no telemetry, no code execution, and no AI requirement. It is designed for developers who need to understand a repository from evidence rather than memory.

How to use DevTime?

Install DevTime via pipx install devtime-ei (or with pip). After installation, run dtc demo init to create a local example repository, then dtc init, dtc scan, dtc concepts, and dtc explain "<concept>" to explore evidence-backed understanding. For use with MCP‑enabled coding agents, install with pipx install "devtime-ei[mcp]", run dtc init and dtc scan on a repo, then add the MCP server to your client (e.g., claude mcp add devtime -- dtc mcp start). The server provides three read‑only tools: list_concepts, explain_concept, and get_context_pack.

Key features of DevTime

• Detects six supported concept families from evidence in the repository.
• Explains concepts with linked claim files, confidence scores, and uncertainty.
• Surfaces missing or weak evidence as explicit uncertainty.
• Calculates an Understanding Score and Understanding Debt label.
• Reviews git diffs for risky changes using local evidence (advisory).
• Stores local repository memory in a SQLite database (.devtime/).
• Offers a read‑only MCP server for coding agents with governed context packs.

Use cases of DevTime

• Onboarding to an unfamiliar codebase to understand how features are implemented.
• Reviewing a pull request and verifying evidence that supports a behavior.
• Returning to a project after weeks or months to recall why something exists.
• Maintaining long‑lived projects where design decisions are easily lost.
• Obtaining repository understanding backed by code and recorded decisions instead of generated summaries.

FAQ from DevTime

What does DevTime do and how is it different from alternatives?

DevTime builds evidence‑backed repository memory by scanning code, tests, configs, and recorded decisions. It does not execute code, send data over the network, or require an AI model. It is not a documentation generator, static analyzer, observability tool, or AI coding agent.

What are the dependencies and runtime requirements?

DevTime requires Python >= 3.11 and git. It is installed via pipx install devtime-ei or with pip; the CLI command is dtc.

Where does DevTime store data and does it affect the source code?

DevTime stores local repository memory in a .devtime/ directory using a local SQLite database. It never modifies source code. dtc reset deletes local memory.

What are the known limitations of DevTime?

DevTime is a heuristic scanner, currently strongest on TypeScript, Next.js, Express, and FastAPI‑style repositories that resemble its fixtures. False positives and false negatives are possible. Understanding Debt is a product signal, not an objective universal truth. The V0 release only detects six concept families (Authentication, Billing Webhooks, Background Jobs, Data Export, Admin Permissions, File Uploads).

How does the MCP transport and authentication work?

The MCP server runs via local stdio only — no network listener, no write tools, and no source code returned (only evidence file paths). There is no authentication because the server never listens on a network socket. The MCP name in the registry is io.github.Shakargy/devtime.