[opensourcedex]

busabase is a free, open source documentation & knowledge base project written in TypeScript and released under MIT. It has 584 GitHub stars, 53 forks and 4 open issues, and was last pushed 36 hours ago. On this registry it ranks #89 of 99 tracked projects in Documentation & Knowledge Base, with 5 head-to-head comparisons available.

What is busabase?

Busabase is an open-source, local-first database and workspace for AI agents and their human teams, giving Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, and custom agents one shared base for structured records, durable knowledge, reusable skills, and runnable apps.

What it is

Busabase is a TypeScript, MIT-licensed system of record for AI agents in the documentation and knowledge-base ecosystem, with a focus on AI agent tooling. It makes Bases — typed records with relations, views, and forms — plus Docs, Files, Drives, Skills, AirApps, Whiteboards, and Workflows first-class nodes in one tree. Agents and people share the same data, documents, skills, and apps, and writes that matter become reviewed, trusted records. The project is local-first and self-hostable, using embedded PGlite and local file storage by default, with external Postgres and S3-compatible storage as options.

The concrete problem is fragmentation across agent sessions. Every session starts from zero: CLAUDE.md lives in one repository, good output dies in a chat, and switching tools means re-explaining the project. Busabase keeps agents stateless and work durable, so any connected agent reads the records, docs, skills, and apps left by a team and other agents, then writes back with a diff and history. Its topics include airtable-alternative, reflecting a shared structured-data role, while the workspace also holds the documentation, files, and apps around that data.

Key capabilities

  • Bases provide typed records, relations, views, and forms; Docs, Files, Drives, Skills, AirApps, Whiteboards, and Workflows are first-class nodes in the same workspace tree.
  • Shared SKILL.md playbooks and custom prompts live in the workspace, and Playbooks collects them into a catalog every connected agent can consult before acting.
  • Agent writes travel as Change Requests with a message, field-level diff, author, and history; permissions decide whether a change merges now or waits for review.
  • AirApps run inside Busabase on live workspace data, letting an agent turn a Base into a dashboard, CRM, or content desk with a SKILL.md the next agent can read.
  • Busabase ships no built-in model: agents connect through Agent Skill, MCP, OpenAPI, the busabase-cli client, or an ACP chat session.
  • Templates install a complete working setup in one command, including Bases, views, docs, sample data, apps, and the agent manual.

Who uses it and how

  • Multi-agent teams can have one agent record project updates and conventions, then open another agent and ask what changed this week; it answers from the workspace, not a clipboard.
  • Teams needing oversight use Change Requests and permissions to inspect a field-level diff before a write becomes a trusted record, while routine changes merge on the spot.
  • Individual developers can run the macOS, Windows, or Linux desktop app offline, with data under ~/.busabase/data/ in pgdata/ and storage/.
  • Self-hosters can run the Docker image busabase/busabase, a global npm install, or a source build, and point deployments at external Postgres and S3-compatible storage when embedded defaults are insufficient.

Getting started

The quickest start is npx busabase server, followed by opening http://localhost:15419/dashboard/local; it launches with embedded PGlite, local file storage, and a demo workspace, requiring no database, account, or configuration. Alternatively, run the Docker image busabase/busabase, install globally with npm i -g busabase, or download the desktop app for macOS, Windows, or Linux from busabase.com/download.

How it compares

The facts position Busabase as an Airtable alternative that also makes Docs, Files, Drives, Skills, AirApps, Whiteboards, and Workflows first-class nodes in the same tree. No other comparable open-source agent workspace is named, so it stands alone in this registry

project readme (upstream, from github) — read inline

Busabase

The System of Record for AI Agents

Different agents. One shared base.
The open-source database & workspace where Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, and your own agents keep the records, docs, skills, and apps the next task builds on.

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Busabase - The general system of record for AI agents | Product Hunt

npm busabase npm busabase-cli Docker image Download Busabase Desktop Glama MCP connector score License MIT GitHub stars

Quick Start  ·  Features  ·  Connect an Agent  ·  Use Cases  ·  Docs  ·  Community



Busabase is an open-source database and workspace for AI agents — agents and people share the same structured data, docs, skills, and apps, and writes that matter become reviewed, trusted records.

Every agent session starts from zero. Your CLAUDE.md lives in one repo, the best output dies in a chat, and switching tools means explaining the project all over again.

Busabase keeps the agents stateless and the work durable: connect any agent, and it reads the same records, docs, skills, and apps your team and other agents already left behind — then writes its own work back, with a diff and a history.

Quick Start

npx busabase server

Open http://localhost:15419/dashboard/local — no database, account, or config. It starts with embedded PGlite, local file storage, and a demo workspace.

Then point your agent at it. Paste into Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, Gemini CLI, or any agent that can read a URL:

Read and follow the Busabase Agent Skill — it is the single source of truth:
http://localhost:15419/SETUP_SKILL.md

Follow its onboarding to connect to this workspace. Don't choose a merge policy yourself unless I ask for one — submit the change and let Busabase apply my permissions to decide whether it merges now or waits for review. Reply to me in English.

Try this: have one agent record a project's updates and conventions, then open a different agent and ask "What changed on this project this week?" It answers from the workspace, not from your clipboard.

Docker · Desktop · global install · from source
# Docker (Docker Hub: busabase/busabase · GHCR: ghcr.io/busabase/busabase)
docker run --rm -p 15419:15419 -v ~/.busabase/data:/data busabase/busabase

# Global install
npm i -g busabase       # then: busabase server
npx busabase-cli --help # API client for any Busabase server

# From source
pnpm install
cp apps/busabase/.env.example apps/busabase/.env
pnpm --filter busabase dev

Desktop for macOS, Windows, and Linux: busabase.com/download — runs locally and works offline.

Local data lives in ~/.busabase/data/ (pgdata/ for the embedded PGlite database, storage/ for files). Set BUSABASE_DATA_DIR, PG_DATABASE_URL, or STORAGE_URL to use another location, external Postgres, or S3-compatible storage. Only one process can hold the same PGlite database at a time.

Features

  • One workspace for every kind of agent output — Bases (typed records, relations, views, forms), Docs, Files, Drives, Skills, AirApps, Whiteboards, and Workflows as first-class nodes in one tree. Node types →
  • Shared skills across agents — keep SKILL.md playbooks and custom prompts in the workspace. Playbooks collects them into one catalog every connected agent can look up before it acts.
  • Every write accounted for — agent writes travel as Change Requests with a message, a field-level diff, an author, and history. Permissions decide whether a change merges on the spot or waits for review.
  • Apps on live data — ask an agent to turn a Base into a dashboard, CRM, or content desk. AirApps run inside Busabase on workspace data, with a SKILL.md the next agent can read.
  • Bring any agent — no built-in model, no lock-in. Agent Skill, MCP, OpenAPI, CLI, or an ACP chat session.
  • Templates — install a whole working setup (Bases, views, docs, sample data, apps, and its agent manual) in one command.
  • Local-first and open source — MIT, embedded database, works offline. The same engine powers Busabase Cloud.
Structured Base for agent data Durable agent knowledge in a Doc
Database — typed, related, queryable records Knowledge base — durable docs with version history
Reusable agent Skill Workspace-native AirApps
Skills — reusable instructions and supporting files Apps — focused interfaces built on workspace data
Agent-proposed field diff Record history and audit trail
Change Requests — see exactly what an agent changed History — source, reviewer, commit, and timeline
Product launch Whiteboard Lead intake Workflow
Whiteboards — visual context shared with agents Workflows — processes kept beside their data
On mobile

Review agent Change Requests and open records from the Busabase mobile app.

     

Connect Your Agent

Works with Claude Code · Codex · Cursor · Gemini CLI · OpenCode · OpenClaw · Hermes · Buda AI · n8n — or your own process.

Connection Best for
Agent Skill Coding agents and local CLIs that can follow workspace instructions
MCP Tool-aware agents and IDEs that need typed workspace operations
OpenAPI / CLI Apps, scripts, automations, and custom agents
SDKs TypeScript (busabase-sdk) and Python (pip install busabase) apps, scripts, and notebooks
Email SDK busabase-email-sdk sends email through SMTP or SES, reads IMAP replies, and records conversations in your Bases
Agents view (ACP) Conversational sessions with inline tool activity and permission requests

Guides: Claude Code · DeepSeek Harness · Bring Your Own Agent. Open Agent Skills in the sidebar for the MCP endpoint and OpenAPI spec of your running instance (/api/v1/doc). Also on Glama's MCP directory.

How writes work
Agent reads workspace context
        ↓
Agent writes data, docs, skills, or app changes — always as a Change Request
        ↓
Your permissions decide: it merges on the spot, or it waits in the Inbox
        ↓
Either way the change stays inspectable, attributable, and reversible

A credential capped at changeRequest level can only propose; a single call can opt in with autoMerge: false; busabase-cli install … --require-review holds a package's content back for approval. Anything else that is allowed to write, writes — and still leaves a diff and a history behind.

Use Cases

Workspace What agents do What stays in Busabase
Software delivery Turn feedback into tasks, write and test code, ship, start the next cycle Feedback, tasks, specs, conventions, release notes
SEO & content Track search trends, plan, draft the next article in a shared CMS Keyword research, briefs, drafts, published pages
CRM Research prospects, follow up, log every visit Companies, contacts, visit notes, follow-ups
Team memory Capture decisions, sources, and operating context A knowledge base the next agent starts from
Datasets Label examples, attach evidence, score quality Reviewed training and evaluation data

Start from a template — the whole app, its data, and the manual that tells an agent how to use it:

busabase-cli install https://github.com/busabase/templates/tree/main/templates/busa-crm

Browse busabase.com/templates and all use cases.

How It Compares

Designed for Missing when agents do the work
Airtable, Notion, Baserow, NocoDB People editing directly Agent-native access, shared skills and apps, a proposal boundary
Postgres Applications reading and writing storage A workspace UI, knowledge model, review loop, and provenance
Agent memory, vector DBs One agent recalling context Structured facts people can open, cite, and correct
Busabase People and agents building one workspace —

Busabase runs on Postgres (or embedded PGlite) itself; it is the workspace on top, not a replacement for your app's database.

Editions

Open source / Personal Desktop Busabase Cloud
MIT-licensed and free Hosted, multi-user workspace
Local PGlite and file storage Managed Postgres and object storage
No login, works offline Spaces, roles, permissions, Team Insights
Data stays on your machine Web and mobile access

Cloud Connect links a local workspace to Busabase Cloud through an authenticated tunnel — your machine keeps the data and runs local agents. See pricing.

Architecture

apps/busabase is the local, single-workspace Next.js shell. The workspace engine lives in packages/busabase-core: nodes, records, file trees, rich node types, review primitives, search, agents, and API contracts — exposed through MCP, OpenAPI, and busabase-cli. Cloud runs the same engine with multi-tenant identity, permissions, and hosted storage.

Security: the open-source server is designed for a trusted local machine or private network. Do not expose write endpoints to the public internet without authentication and a reverse proxy; use scoped credentials and Cloud Connect for remote access.

Contributing

pnpm install
pnpm --filter busabase dev
pnpm --filter busabase typecheck
pnpm --filter busabase lint:err

Bug reports, ideas, docs, and pull requests are welcome in Issues and Discussions.

Community

Website · Docs · Forum · YouTube · X · LinkedIn

If Busabase is useful to you, a ⭐ helps other agent builders find it.

Busabase contributors

License

MIT © Busabase

Frequently asked questions

Is busabase free to use?

busabase is open source under the MIT licence. There is no licence fee and no seat count — you can self-host it or, where the project offers one, pay a vendor for a managed version instead.

What does busabase do?

Open-source database & workspace for AI agents — structured data, durable knowledge, reusable skills, runnable apps, and human review on the writes that matter.

What is busabase written in?

busabase is primarily written in TypeScript. Its source is publicly available at https://github.com/busabase/busabase, and it has 584 GitHub stars.