dex-core

Dex by Dave — Your AI Chief of Staff

One personal Dex, built around your work. Keep your priorities, people, meeting notes and tasks in a folder you own. Work with Dex through your AI app to plan the day, prepare for a meeting or follow through on a promise. Your saved work stays with your vault when you change apps.

Start here or at heydex.ai. The Dex Guide walks through setup and everyday use; the steps below keep the same starting point in GitHub.

1. Choose your AI app

Your app	Route today
Claude Code, terminal or Code tab in the desktop app	Established full-vault route and reference for Dex's automatic session behavior. Use the install below, then open your Dex folder in Claude Code. Claude Code primer.
Cursor	Established full-vault setup for prompted skills and configured tools. Use the install below or the manual steps. Do not assume Claude Code's hooks run in Cursor.
Codex CLI/desktop and other new app integrations	Portable package files are distributed in v1.97.13. Complete supported install, workflow, update and removal journeys remain unverified. Developer preview and exact limits; no supported new-app install is promised here yet.

The AI app and the model it uses are separate choices. App subscriptions, usage limits and optional connected services have their own costs; check your provider before signing up.

2. Choose your vault

A vault is the folder containing your personal Dex notes and configuration.

Already use Dex? Open your existing folder in the app you already use. Keep your notes, profile and custom skills; changing apps is not a reason to create another vault or repeat onboarding. A new app must be granted access to that same folder before it can use your work.

Starting fresh? The established installer checks prerequisites and prepares Documents/Dex. Review its prompts before approving changes.

Quick install (Claude Code or Cursor)

Mac — Terminal:

curl -fsSL https://heydex.ai/install.sh | bash

Windows — Git Bash:

git clone --branch release --single-branch https://github.com/davekilleen/dex.git Dex
cd Dex
bash ./install.sh

Clone the official release, review install.sh, then run it from Git Bash in that folder. Git Bash comes with Git for Windows. Do not pipe a remote script into iex.

Then open the Dex folder in Claude Code or Cursor and say "hi". Dex guides you through your role and priorities. Installation help. If setup stops, keep the error message and use the help below; some prerequisites may already have been installed.

3. Get one useful result

Ask: "Plan my day from my priorities and tasks. Tell me which sources you can read."

In the established setup, /daily-plan guides that workflow. Start with the notes you have; calendar, email and meeting services are optional connections. Dex should name missing sources rather than imply it checked them. Review the proposed plan and ask where it was saved.

Next try "Brief me on this person from my notes" or "Help me capture the follow-up from this meeting." Available tools determine whether Dex can save the result. The released portable plugin alone provides read-only context, not the full task or meeting workflow.

How your app connects to Dex

Dex's bridge connects an app to the selected vault, exposes the tools it can use, and translates supported app events. Installing a plugin does not create a vault, connect accounts, start background jobs or prove that every workflow works in that app.

• Automatic: a configured and trusted app event runs the behavior.
• On demand: you ask for a registered tool or skill.
• Guided: Dex explains the steps that still need your participation.
• Unavailable: the installed surface cannot deliver that behavior.

These modes describe individual features, not whole apps. A package manifest or saved app selection is not proof of a successful session. See the surface and capability guide.

Privacy and control

Your notes live in your vault. That does not mean all processing stays on your computer: your AI app may send the context it reads to its model provider, and optional integrations contact their services. Grant access to the folder and services you intend to use; a local plugin does not grant a web app access to your files.

Dex's update service previews product changes and protects personal content through its ownership rules. Use the update and recovery guide. Review feedback before sending it under the configured consent policy; app permissions and diagnostic metadata do not establish who you are or authorize wider access.

Help, updates and leaving an app

• Ask "Check my Dex setup" or run /dex-doctor in your established full-vault setup. The four-tool portable plugin does not include Doctor.
• Ask "Show me the Dex update preview" or use /dex-update where the lifecycle service is available. Installing a plugin update and updating your vault are separate operations.
• Use the help guide for setup, or report a bug without posting private vault contents. The feedback guide explains reporting.
• To stop using an app, close its Dex session and revoke its folder access or disable its plugin in that app. Keep the vault if you want your notes. Removing an app or plugin does not stop independently installed background jobs. New-app removal instructions remain pending native verification.

Windows support status

Area	Status today
Install (Git Bash install.sh)	Preview — works on a clean Windows 11 with python.org 3.12/3.13
First setup and daily use (notes, tasks, MCP tools)	Preview
/dex-update and /dex-rollback	Not yet — a fix for how Dex read and wrote its own record files on Windows is in progress
Connected-service keys (.env) and trusted local MCPs	Not yet — Windows file-permission checks are in progress
Older vaults (before v1.80) moving to the current update engine	Not on Windows — start from a fresh install
Calendar, background meeting sync, launch-at-login jobs	Mac only
Supported shells and Pythons	Git Bash; python.org Python 3.12/3.13. Not supported: Cygwin, Microsoft Store Python, WSL folders under /mnt

Guides

• System guide: planning, meetings, people, tasks and reviews.
• Why the workflows exist.
• Background work, memory ownership and Obsidian.
• Technical guide, architecture map and release history.

Claude Code primer

This is the Claude Code route, including the desktop app's Code surface. Ordinary Claude Desktop chat has a separate read-only extension preview; it does not inherit Code hooks.

Install Claude Code using its official setup instructions, sign in through the app, and open your Dex folder. From a terminal already in that folder:

claude

Use /setup for a new vault, /daily-plan for planning, and /daily-review to close the day. Existing users should keep their configured vault. Trusted Claude Code hooks supply session context and tool checks; disabled hooks, missing runtimes or permissions can prevent those behaviors. Named sessions covers Claude-specific resume commands.

Manual Cursor setup and troubleshooting

Manual setup for Cursor

Prefer to see every step, or the quick install hit a snag? This section does the same thing by hand.

What You'll Need to Install (One-Time)

1. Cursor - Download and install; check current account and usage requirements
2. Git - Required for this manual repository setup
   • Mac: Installs automatically when needed (you'll see a prompt)
   • Windows: Download from git-scm.com/download/win
3. Node.js - Download the "LTS" version and install (this enables the system's automation features)
4. Python 3.11+ - Download and install (required for MCP servers and task sync)
   • Minimum version: Python 3.11 or newer
   • Windows users: ⚠️ During installation, check the box "Add Python to PATH" - this is critical
   • Mac users with old Python: If you have Python 3.9 or older, download fresh from python.org

All installers walk you through setup with default options.

Why Python 3.11+? The listed Python packages Dex installs need Python 3.11 or newer. This powers the Work MCP server that enables task sync - task updates through its tools can synchronize related pages. Manual checkbox edits need the separately configured sync service.

Mac users: If this is your first time using command-line tools, macOS will prompt you to install "Command Line Developer Tools" during setup. Click Install when prompted - it's safe and required. Takes 2-3 minutes.

About the Command Line

You'll use something called a "command line" (or "Terminal" on Mac, "Git Bash" on Windows) during setup. This is a text-based way to give your computer instructions - think of it as typing commands instead of clicking buttons.

Don't worry if this feels unfamiliar. You'll copy and paste a few commands, press Enter, and you're done. Takes less than 2 minutes.

Check Your Setup (Optional)

Want to verify everything's ready? Open your command line:

• Mac: Press Cmd+Space, type "Terminal", press Enter
• Windows: Open Git Bash (it comes with Git for Windows). Press Win, type "Git Bash", press Enter

Copy and paste this line exactly as you see it, then press Enter:

git --version

You should see a response like: git version 2.x.x (any version number is fine)

If you see "command not found": Download Git from git-scm.com, install it, then close and reopen your command line and try again.

---

Now copy and paste this line, then press Enter:

node --version

You should see a response like: v18.x.x or v20.x.x (must be version 18 or higher)

If you see "command not found": Download Node.js from nodejs.org, install it, then close and reopen your command line and try again.

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Finally, check Python:

python3 --version

Windows users: Try python --version if python3 doesn't work.

You should see a response like: Python 3.11.x or higher (3.12, 3.13, etc.)

If you see Python 3.10 or older: Dex setup needs Python 3.11+. Download and install a newer version:

• Mac/Windows: Download from python.org (get the latest stable version)
• After installing, restart your terminal and check the version again

If you see "command not found":