FAQ

Does my code leave my machine?

No. Analysis makes zero network calls, enforced by a test that runs the whole analysis surface with the socket layer trapped.

Prism 2.0 has no optional network features. Nothing it does sends source code anywhere. See privacy.

Does Prism write code?

No. The analysis engine has no model in it and generates nothing. It answers structural questions and gives your coding agent real knowledge of your repository (see using MCP). Your agent makes the edit, in your chat. When it stops, the receipt runs the checks the change reaches.

Does it need my repository to be a git repository?

No, but several signals do. Churn, ownership, activity and change review all read git history. Without git, those are marked unavailable rather than shown as zero.

Shallow clones (--depth 1) have the same effect, which surprises people in CI.

How long does indexing take?

Seconds for most repositories; the first run in a very large monorepo takes longer. After that it is incremental — a save reindexes one file.

If it is slow, something generated is probably being indexed. See troubleshooting.

What is stored, and where?

~/.prism/ (or PRISM_HOME): one folder per workspace with the index (SQLite), memories and receipts; your lenses in ~/.prism/lenses/; install.json and events.jsonl. No credential is ever written there.

Workspace folders are derived caches; delete one at any time and the next run rebuilds it. prism uninstall --purge removes everything.

Should I commit .prism/?

No. Add it to .gitignore. It is a derived cache and it is machine-specific.

Do the CLI and the MCP server ever disagree?

They cannot. Both call the same engine, and shared values — risk bands, in particular — come from one function in @repo-prism/shared that both use.

What is a "band" and why not just show the number?

Numbers imply a precision the underlying signals do not have. See risk bands.

Why does something say "estimated"?

Because it was inferred rather than measured — ownership or churn from a shallow clone, most commonly. See signal provenance.

Why did a feature get grouped oddly?

Features are inferred, not declared. Confidence tells you how much evidence agreed; low confidence means it is a guess. See graphs.

Can I use it in CI?

Yes. The CLI exits 1 when a check fails, so any CI job can run it:

prism blast src/some/file.ts --fail-on high
prism cycles --fail-on any

Exit 1 means the gate fired. Exit 3 means Prism failed.

Can an AI agent turn on a network feature?

No. Consent-gated capabilities are not exposed to MCP at all — not guarded, absent. An agent cannot give informed consent on your behalf.

What is the receipt?

When your agent stops, the Prism stop hook runs the checks the change reaches: this repository’s own typecheck and lint scripts and the tests that reach the change. It prints a receipt with a verdict: SHIP, NOT PROVEN or NO-SHIP. It comes with the Prism plugin pack. Prism never commits or pushes.

Where did the background jobs go?

They were removed (ADR-0064). Your agent makes every edit in your own chat. Memories live in the CLI — see Remember context. prism data prune lists leftover local folders; --yes removes them.

Does Prism modify my code?

No. The tools — rename, safe-delete, blast radius, review — report what a change would touch; they never write. Your agent makes edits.

The only thing Prism writes on its own is its data under ~/.prism/.

What is prepare_change?

One call before you edit. It returns the files to open, helpers to reuse, three House Style exemplars, notes, and a work order — paths and names only, never file bodies. CLI: prism prepare. See Prepare a change.

When is a finding “fixed”?

When a re-scan drops its fingerprint. An edit alone is not enough. See Findings.

Does Prism write AGENTS.md into my repo?

No. prism agents-md generate writes only ~/.prism/workspaces/<key>/agents.md. Do not copy it into git. See Remember context.

Is there a hosted version?

No, and that is a design decision rather than a roadmap gap. Prism is local-first. There is no account, no server, and nothing to sign up for.

How much does it cost?

Nothing. See the repository for licence details.

Related

Troubleshooting · privacy