AskScout documentation

Q: Why does AskScout need GitHub authorization?

Two reasons. The read:user scope identifies you to AskScout so your digests save under your GitHub account. The repo scope is what lets AskScout fetch commits and diffs from your repos through the GitHub API. GitHub does not offer a finer-grained read-only repo scope, so granting repo necessarily includes write capabilities our code never uses. You can revoke access any time at github.com/settings/applications.

Q: Where does the CLI store my data?

Two places, both local. Your API key and provider live at ~/.askscout/config.json with owner-only permissions (chmod 600). Each repo also gets its own .askscout/state.json in the project root holding the last run timestamp, run count, project summary, and a small history of recent runs. The CLI sends no telemetry and stores nothing online.

Q: How do I reset or uninstall the CLI?

Run npm uninstall -g askscout to remove the binary. Delete ~/.askscout to clear your saved API key and provider. Delete .askscout inside any repo to clear that project's history and AI-maintained summary. These three are independent. You can uninstall the binary while keeping config, or wipe config while keeping the binary.

Last updated May 4, 2026

AskScout is an open source daily digest tool for developers and vibe coders. It reads your git activity and writes a digestible, plain-English summary of what you worked on each day. Use the web app or run the CLI locally on your device.

View on GitHub

Web app

Run AskScout right in your browser with the app, no install required. Sign in with GitHub and get your first digest immediately.

Sign in with GitHub

Your account is created on the spot, and your first digest starts streaming automatically.

Control your data

There is no setup step and no key to manage. You can revoke GitHub access any time at

Revoke access

CLI

Run AskScout locally on your machine, with your own LLM key. Works in any local git repo, including private ones and self-hosted git.

Install

Copy the command below into your terminal to install AskScout globally.

Setup

Run setup once to save your Anthropic or OpenAI API key locally. The key stays on your machine and never goes anywhere except the LLM provider you configured.

Run

Run AskScout in any git repo. Your first digest covers today, and every run after picks up from there.

Commands

Every command AskScout supports, with a quick note on when to use each one.

Generate a daily digest of what changed since your last run.

Generate a digest covering the past 7 days. Good for Friday wrap-ups or catching up after time off.

Format your digest as a Slack/Teams-ready standup with Done, Up Next, and Heads Up sections.

Generate a context block (tech stack, recent work, current focus, key files) for Claude, Cursor, or Codex. Lets the AI pick up your project on a new session without you explaining it.

Output the digest as machine-readable JSON. Useful for scripts, dashboards, or CI.

Save or replace your API key. Cannot be combined with other options.

Preview which commits AskScout would include, without calling the LLM. No cost and nothing gets saved.

Pricing

A typical digest runs about $0.001 to $0.003.

The CLI is free open source software. You bring your own Anthropic or OpenAI API key, paid directly to your provider. AskScout is designed to be cost-effective. A single API call per digest covers everything, which keeps token usage low and avoids the repeated round trips most LLM products rack up.

Frequently asked questions

How do I switch repos in the web app?

Use the repo selector at the top of the sidebar in the dashboard. Picking a different repo loads its digest history immediately. To change which repo loads when you open AskScout, go to Settings and set a Default Repository there.

Why does AskScout need GitHub authorization?

Two reasons. The read:user scope identifies you to AskScout so your digests save under your GitHub account. The repo scope is what lets AskScout fetch commits and diffs from your repos through the GitHub API. GitHub does not offer a finer-grained read-only repo scope, so granting repo necessarily includes write capabilities our code never uses. You can revoke access any time at github.com/settings/applications.

Why is there a 30-digest-per-day cap?

The hosted web app uses our own LLM API key, and the cap keeps API costs predictable. 30 digests per day per account covers daily standup and end-of-day reviews. If you need more, the CLI has no AskScout-imposed cap. You bring your own API key and pay your provider directly.

How do I delete my AskScout account and data?

Settings, then Danger Zone, then Delete Account. The action removes every record tied to your user ID from our database: digests, project summaries, settings, and check-ins. You will need to sign in with GitHub again to use AskScout afterwards. To clear individual repo histories without deleting your account, use Settings, then Clear History instead.

How do I share or export a digest?

Every digest in the dashboard has three share actions in the header. Copy puts the digest on your clipboard as markdown, ready to paste into Slack or any markdown-aware tool. Download saves the same markdown as a .md file named after the repo and date. Email sends the digest to the address tied to your account.

Does the AskScout CLI work in a monorepo?

Yes. The CLI walks up from your current directory to find the nearest .git root and reads every commit in that repo. It does not filter by subdirectory, so a digest from a monorepo covers every package and workspace inside. To scope a digest to one package, run the CLI from a separate clone of just that package.

Where does the CLI store my data?

Two places, both local. Your API key and provider live at ~/.askscout/config.json with owner-only permissions (chmod 600). Each repo also gets its own .askscout/state.json in the project root holding the last run timestamp, run count, project summary, and a small history of recent runs. The CLI sends no telemetry and stores nothing online.

Why does the CLI reject my API key?

Three reasons setup will reject a key. The key is shorter than 20 characters. The key contains characters outside letters, numbers, hyphens, or underscores. Or the prefix is not sk-ant- (Anthropic) or sk- (OpenAI). To replace a stored key, run askscout --setup again. The existing config is overwritten in place.

Can I run the AskScout CLI in CI or cron?

Yes. When the CLI runs without a TTY (piped to a file, in CI logs, or cron emails), it automatically suppresses the spinner and swaps emoji headers and unicode bullets for bracketed plain text and ASCII characters. For machine-readable output, use askscout --json. Setting NO_COLOR=1 also forces plain-text mode.

How do I reset or uninstall the CLI?

Run npm uninstall -g askscout to remove the binary. Delete ~/.askscout to clear your saved API key and provider. Delete .askscout inside any repo to clear that project's history and AI-maintained summary. These three are independent. You can uninstall the binary while keeping config, or wipe config while keeping the binary.

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