AllOurThings Server

Your things, understood by AI.

AllOurThings is an inventory system that works the way you do. Catalog anything you like from your home appliances to your Pokémon cards — then ask plain-English questions and get instant answers.

Website: allourthings.io

Packages

Package	npm	Description
packages/mcp-server	@allourthings/mcp-server	MCP server — connects your inventory to Claude Desktop and other MCP clients
packages/cli	@allourthings/cli	CLI — manage your inventory from the terminal

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Quick start

Desktop only. Requires macOS, Windows, or Linux with Claude Desktop or another MCP-compatible client.

1. Add to Claude Desktop

Edit ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json (macOS) or %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json (Windows):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "allourthings": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@allourthings/mcp-server", "--data-dir", "~/Documents/AllOurThings"]
    }
  }
}

Restart Claude Desktop. Your inventory vault will be created automatically on first use.

2. Start asking questions

• "Add my Bosch washing machine, bought from John Lewis for £649 in January 2024 with a 2-year warranty"
• "What appliances do I own?"
• "What's in the kitchen?"
• "When does my TV warranty expire?"
• "Search for anything Samsung"
• "How much have I spent on electronics?"

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How it works

The MCP server exposes your inventory to any MCP-compatible AI client via 10 tools:

Tool	Description
add_item	Add a new item to your inventory
get_item	Retrieve an item by ID or name
list_items	List all items, optionally filtered by category, location, or tags
update_item	Update fields on an existing item
delete_item	Delete an item by ID
search_items	Full-text search across all item fields
add_attachment	Attach a file (manual, receipt, photo, warranty) to an item
get_attachment	Retrieve an attachment as base64
delete_attachment	Remove an attachment from an item
attach_from_url	Download a file from a URL and attach it to an item

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Data

Vault structure

Your inventory lives in a vault — a plain directory on your filesystem. Each item gets its own folder:

~/Documents/AllOurThings/
  items/
    dyson-v15-detect-a1b2c3d4/
      item.json
      manual.pdf
      receipt.jpg
    samsung-65-qled-tv-b5c6d7e8/
      item.json
      warranty.pdf

Attachments (manuals, receipts, photos) sit alongside the item JSON. You can browse and edit the vault directly in Finder or File Explorer.

Item schema

Every item has required fields (id, name, created_at, updated_at) and well-known optional fields:

category brand model purchase_date purchase_price currency warranty_expires retailer location features notes tags attachments

The attachments field links PDFs and images stored in the item's folder:

{
  "attachments": [
    { "filename": "manual.pdf",  "type": "manual"   },
    { "filename": "receipt.jpg", "type": "receipt"  },
    { "filename": "photo.jpg",   "type": "photo"    }
  ]
}

You can also add any custom fields you like — they are preserved as-is.

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CLI

A standalone terminal tool for power users and scripting. Works on macOS, Windows, and Linux. No AI client required.

# Run without installing
npx @allourthings/cli list

# Or install globally
npm install -g @allourthings/cli

Commands

allourthings search <query>                          # full-text search across all fields
allourthings list [--category <c>] [-l <loc>] [-t <tag>]  # list items, optionally filtered
allourthings get <id-or-name>                        # show full item detail
allourthings add <name> [options]                    # add a new item
allourthings update <id> [options]                   # update item fields
allourthings delete <id>                             # delete an item (prompts for confirmation)

Attachment management:

allourthings attach add <item-id> <file>             # attach a local file to an item
allourthings attach url <item-id> <url>              # download a file and attach it
allourthings attach get <item-id> <filename>         # save an attachment to disk
allourthings attach rm  <item-id> <filename>         # delete an attachment

add and update options:

-c, --category <category>
-b, --brand <brand>
-m, --model <model>
    --purchase-date <date>    ISO date, e.g. 2024-01-15
    --price <price>
    --currency <currency>     e.g. GBP, USD
    --warranty <date>         warranty expiry ISO date
    --retailer <retailer>
-l, --location <location>
    --serial <serial>
-t, --tag <tag...>            repeatable
-n, --notes <notes>
    --set key=value           custom/extra fields (update only, repeatable)

Global options:

--data-dir <path>    path to inventory data directory (default: ~/Documents/AllOurThings)
--json               output raw JSON — useful for scripting and agent use

Data directory: defaults to ~/Documents/AllOurThings on all platforms. To avoid passing --data-dir every time, set it once in your shell profile:

export ALLOURTHINGS_DATA_DIR=~/Dropbox/AllOurThings

The directory is created automatically on first write. Read commands (list, search, get) return empty results against a missing directory rather than erroring.

Examples

# Add an item
allourthings add "Bosch Washing Machine" --brand Bosch --model "WGG244A9GB" \
  --category appliance --location kitchen \
  --purchase-date 2024-01-15 --price 649 --currency GBP \
  --warranty 2026-01-15 --retailer "John Lewis"

# Search and pipe to jq
allourthings search "warranty" --json | jq '[.[] | {name, warranty_expires}]'

# Attach a manual
allourthings attach add 6164c373 ~/Downloads/bosch-manual.pdf --label "User manual"

# Update a field
allourthings update 6164c373 --warranty 2027-01-15

# Use a custom data directory
allourthings --data-dir ~/Dropbox/AllOurThings list

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Development

Prerequisites

• Bun — brew install bun
• Task — brew install go-task

Install dependencies

bun install

Tasks

Task	Description
task dev	Seed vault + open MCP Inspector — fastest way to test
task dev:mcp	Start MCP server in watch mode (stdio)
task test:run	Run automated tests
task seed	Append test items to dev vault
task seed:reset	Clear dev vault and re-seed
task inspect	Open MCP Inspector (dev mode, no build required)
task inspect:prod	Build, then open MCP Inspector against compiled dist
task build	Compile MCP server to dist/
task build:cli	Compile CLI to dist/
task cli -- <args>	Run CLI from source against dev vault, e.g. task cli -- list
task typecheck	Run TypeScript type checking
task clean	Remove dist/
task clean:vault	Delete local dev vault

All tasks use ./dev-vault by default. Override with DATA_DIR=/your/path task <command>.

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License

MIT — see LICENSE.