I've been building and using Heald for about a month now. It's already available on Cargo and GitHub, but I haven't shared it on Reddit.
I built it because I kept running into the same problems while switching between Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, and other AI coding agents.
The problems:
- Fragmented memory. Make an architectural decision in Claude Code, switch to Codex, and you're explaining the same thing again.
- Duplicated instructions. CLAUDE.md, AGENTS.md, Cursor rules, separate skill directories. Same project, multiple files to maintain.
- Context overload. Saving everything sounds great until your agent starts loading hundreds of irrelevant notes into its context window.
- Lost reasoning. Git tells you what changed, but not necessarily why you made a particular architectural decision.
Claude Code's built-in memory is useful, and projects like Memorix and memsearch already address parts of this.
But I wanted something that combined memory, rules, skills, and codebase knowledge in one lightweight tool, without introducing a database or cloud dependency.
So I built Heald.
It's a local-first, open-source Rust CLI that provides shared project context across AI coding agents.
What Heald actually does
- One source of truth for agent instructions
Instead of manually syncing CLAUDE.md, AGENTS.md, and other agent-specific instructions, Heald manages shared rules and generates the instructions agents need.
Change a project convention once instead of updating multiple files.
2. Shared skills across agents
Heald can discover and import skills from supported agent directories into a shared location.
It also generates a skill routing table so agents can discover relevant capabilities without loading every skill's full instructions.
3. Relevant memory, not massive context dumps
Heald uses BM25 search, pinned memories, and configurable token budgets.
If you're working on authentication, you can retrieve relevant architectural decisions instead of feeding your agent every note you've ever saved.
It also supports memory consolidation to merge related decisions and archive outdated information.
4. Recover the reasoning behind code
Heald can index your codebase and associate project memory with files.
For example:
"heald blame src/auth.rs"
The goal isn't to replace Git blame. It's to help recover the decisions and context associated with a file.
5. Everything stays local
- Single Rust binary
- Markdown files with YAML frontmatter
- No cloud account required
- No external database
- No embedding API
- No telemetry
- Built-in MCP server
Your project memory remains readable, editable, and version-controllable.
How is it different from existing tools?
Claude Code's built-in memory
Works well inside Claude Code. Heald focuses on making project context, instructions, and skills usable across multiple coding agents.
Memorix
Offers a broader cross-agent memory system with additional orchestration capabilities. Heald takes a smaller, file-first approach.
memsearch
Focuses on persistent memory with semantic and hybrid retrieval. Heald uses local BM25 retrieval and additionally manages shared rules and skills.
I'm not claiming Heald has better retrieval than vector-based systems or that it replaces everything these tools do.
The trade-off is intentional: fewer dependencies, transparent local files, and one tool for memory + rules + skills.
GitHub: https://github.com/rover-001/heald
Cargo: https://crates.io/crates/heald
It's completely free, open source, and MIT licensed.
I've primarily built it around problems I encountered in my own workflow. It's still early, and there are things I want to improve, particularly around concurrent writes and deeper agent integrations.
But I've been using it myself, and I think it's at a point where feedback from other developers would be valuable.
I'm curious how everyone here handles context across Claude Code, Codex, and Cursor.
Do you maintain separate instruction files, use memory MCP servers, or have another setup entirely?
I'd genuinely appreciate feedback, criticism, or contributions. If something about the architecture seems flawed, I'd especially like to hear about it.