Self Hosted Companion

OrganizationPopular

topoteretes

self-hosted-companion

Chat with a companion that knows your notes folder (a journal, an Obsidian vault, any .md or .txt files) and every earlier chat, using cognee memory with local databases. Use when someone wants to ask questions about their own notes, or to talk with a companion that remembers past conversations. Runs locally; reads the notes folder, writes only to cognee's memory.

Overview

Publisher	topoteretes
Repository	`cognee`
Skill name	`self-hosted-companion`
Stars	32K
Forks	3.3K
Bundled files	Instructions only
License	Apache-2.0
Links	Skill source Repository Homepage

Markdown instructions
A SKILL.md file the model loads on demand, so it only costs tokens when a request actually matches.
Works with any LLM
AI skills are plain Markdown, not provider-specific code, so this works with GPT, Claude, Gemini, Grok, or a local model.
Self-contained
Everything the model needs lives in the instructions — no extra files to sync.
Open source
Published by topoteretes on GitHub. Read the source before you install it.

Installation

Install the Self Hosted Companion AI skill in TypingMind to use it with any LLM, or drop it into another agent that reads SKILL.md.

Install in TypingMind

TypingMind installs a skill straight from its GitHub folder — it reads SKILL.md, bundles the resource files, and stores the result locally.

Open the app and go to Plugins → Skills.
Choose "Install from GitHub".
Paste the skill folder URL below and confirm.
https://github.com/topoteretes/cognee/tree/main/.agents/skills/self-hosted-companion
Enable the skill in any chat where you want it available.

Plugins → Skills → Add skill → From GitHub URL, then paste the folder URL and press Continue.

Install in another agent

Any agent that reads the Agent Skills format can use this skill — copy the folder into that agent's skills directory.

Claude Code — .claude/skills

git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/topoteretes/cognee.git /tmp/cognee
mkdir -p .claude/skills
cp -r /tmp/cognee/.agents/skills/self-hosted-companion .claude/skills/self-hosted-companion

Restart Claude Code after copying so it picks up the new skill.

Use it in TypingMind

Enable Self Hosted Companion in any TypingMind chat and the model takes it from there. Its name and description sit in the system prompt, and the moment a request matches, the model loads the full instructions itself — you never invoke it by hand, and it costs no tokens until it is actually used.

The model loads Self Hosted Companion on its own as soon as a request matches it.

Works with any AI model

AI skills are plain Markdown instructions rather than provider-specific code, so Self Hosted Companion is not tied to the model it was written for. Install it once in TypingMind and use it with GPT-5, Claude, Gemini, Grok, DeepSeek, Mistral, Llama, or a local model you run yourself — all on your own API keys.

Loaded only when it is needed
The system prompt carries just the name and description. The instructions are fetched on the first matching request, so an idle skill costs nothing.
Switch models mid-chat
Because the skill is instructions rather than code, changing model does not break it — the next model reads the same SKILL.md.

Skill instructions

This is the SKILL.md content the model loads. Read it before installing — a skill is instructions your model will follow.

Self-hosted AI companion

Runs the self-hosted companion cookbook in examples/cookbooks/self_hosted_companion/. It remembers a notes folder in the cognee dataset self_hosted_companion, then answers messages about it; each chat is saved to memory, so a later one knows it. Setup, the scripts and what each one does are in the cookbook's README.md.

Run every command from the repo root.

Steps

Without a notes folder of the user's own, or to see it work first, leave out <folder> below: the run then uses sample notes (the [setup] line says so). It needs only LLM_API_KEY. Tell the user the answer comes from sample notes.

Run uv run python examples/cookbooks/self_hosted_companion/self_hosted_companion.py --check <folder> with the notes folder the user named.
- Exit 0: go to step 2.
- Exit 2: each [setup] MISSING: line names one fix. Tell the user which line to fix, using the README's "What it needs" table, and stop.
You can't type into the interactive chat, so pass the user's message with --ask: uv run python examples/cookbooks/self_hosted_companion/self_hosted_companion.py <folder> --ask "...". Once the folder is remembered, later messages only need uv run python examples/cookbooks/self_hosted_companion/scripts/chat.py --ask "...".
The answer is everything after [chat] companion>. Give it to the user. Each --ask is its own chat session, saved to memory, so a later one knows it.
If a script fails, self_hosted_companion.py exits 1 with a line naming what went wrong. Run that script from examples/cookbooks/self_hosted_companion/scripts/ on its own to look closer.

Rules

The notes are the user's private files. Don't quote them beyond what answers the question, and don't print .env.
Every run uses LLM credits, so run it only when the user asked for it.
A sample run forgets the cookbook's dataset self_hosted_companion before it ingests (the [clear] line). On the user's own data, pass --clear only when they asked to start over: it forgets everything the dataset holds, including the earlier chats.
Don't pass --ui unless the user asked to browse the graph: it keeps running until Ctrl+C.

Clean up

bash
uv run cognee-cli forget --dataset self_hosted_companion

Frequently asked questions

What does the Self Hosted Companion AI skill do?

Why use Self Hosted Companion on TypingMind?

Because you install it once and use it with any model. Self Hosted Companion is plain Markdown rather than provider-specific code, so the same skill runs on GPT-5, Claude, Gemini, Grok, or a local model — and you can switch model mid-chat without it breaking. TypingMind runs on your own API keys, so you pay providers directly instead of a per-seat subscription, and your skills and chats stay in your own storage.

How do I install Self Hosted Companion in TypingMind?

Open Plugins → Skills → Install from GitHub in TypingMind and paste https://github.com/topoteretes/cognee/tree/main/.agents/skills/self-hosted-companion. TypingMind reads its SKILL.md and installs it as a skill you can enable per chat.

Which AI models can use Self Hosted Companion?

Any model you connect in TypingMind. AI skills are plain Markdown instructions rather than provider-specific code, so GPT, Claude, Gemini, Grok, and local models can all load this skill when a request matches it.

How many AI models can I use with Self Hosted Companion?

As many as you like. As long as a model supports skills, you can use Self Hosted Companion with it — GPT, Claude, Gemini, Grok, DeepSeek, Mistral, Llama and more — all on TypingMind with your own API keys.

Is the Self Hosted Companion AI skill free?

Yes. It is published on GitHub by topoteretes under the Apache-2.0 license. You only pay your own AI provider for the tokens you use.

What are AI skills?

An AI skill is a reusable instruction bundle that teaches an AI model how to do one specific task. It follows the open Agent Skills format: a SKILL.md file with a name and description, plus any scripts, templates or reference files the model may need. The model reads the instructions only when your request matches the skill, so an installed skill costs nothing until it is used.

How are AI skills different from plugins or MCP servers?

A plugin or MCP server gives a model new tools to call — code that runs somewhere and returns a result. An AI skill gives the model knowledge and process instead: how to approach a task, which steps to follow, what good output looks like. Skills are plain Markdown, so they need no server, no API key and no runtime, and they work with any model.

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Overview

Installation

Install in TypingMind

Install in another agent

Use it in TypingMind

Works with any AI model

Skill instructions

Self-hosted AI companion

Steps

Rules

Clean up

Frequently asked questions

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