Bessel

As AI advances, its ability to optimize our lives grows — but only as fast as the data behind it. The missing piece isn't intelligence, it's context.

Bessel is a personal life dashboard that aggregates data across all domains of your life: finances, health, fitness, travel, habits, and more. The goal is a single place where your data lives, so AI has the full picture it needs to actually understand your life and surface meaningful ways to improve it.

Stack

• Backend: Python / FastAPI, PostgreSQL, Redis
• Frontend: TypeScript / TanStack Start
• Workers: Dramatiq background jobs

Development

See CLAUDE.md for architecture overview and development commands.

Connect Claude (MCP)

Bessel runs a remote MCP server, so Claude can work with your Bessel data. It can plan your day from your tasks and calendar, find free time, add calendar events, add, update and complete tasks, search, save and update recipes, read your sleep, workouts and computer activity, and check the weather anywhere (from Yr). It can also read your accounts, monthly spending, transactions and investments, for both you and your company, but never change them. It can't delete anything. In Claude's prompt menu, Plan my day and Weekly review start those conversations.

Server URL: https://api.getbessel.com/mcp

Claude (web, desktop and mobile)

1. In claude.ai, go to Settings → Connectors → Add custom connector.
2. Name it Bessel, paste the server URL, and click Add. Leave the advanced settings empty.
3. Click Connect and sign in with your Bessel account.
4. In a chat, turn on the Bessel connector and ask something like "What's on my calendar this week?"

Once it's added, the connector also works in the Claude desktop and mobile apps.

Claude Code

claude mcp add --transport http bessel https://api.getbessel.com/mcp

Then run /mcp in Claude Code, choose bessel, and sign in.

Local development

The local API serves the same endpoint at http://localhost:8100/mcp. Claude's web and desktop apps can't reach localhost, so test with Claude Code (claude mcp add --transport http bessel-local http://localhost:8100/mcp) or MCP Inspector (npx @modelcontextprotocol/inspector).

Sign-in goes through Auth0. For it to work, the tenant needs an API whose identifier exactly matches each MCP URL. It also needs Dynamic Client Registration and the Resource Parameter Compatibility Profile turned on, and the login connection promoted to domain level. The tools live in services/api/src/api/mcp/.

Desktop app (macOS)

The macOS build isn't code-signed or notarized, so Gatekeeper will refuse to open it and say "Bessel is damaged and can't be opened, you should move it to the Trash". The app isn't actually damaged — macOS just shows this for any unsigned app downloaded via a browser. To open it, clear the quarantine flag after installing:

xattr -cr /Applications/Bessel.app

Desktop app (Windows)

The Windows build isn't code-signed either, so SmartScreen will show "Windows protected your PC" on first launch. Click More info → Run anyway to proceed.