Narnia is a single ASP.NET Core app — both an MCP server and a Blazor web UI — for browsing and searching GitHub Copilot CLI session history, recovering lost terminal windows, and managing scheduled Copilot jobs.
If you use Copilot CLI heavily, you know the pain: a Windows update reboots your machine and every active session terminal is gone. Narnia makes it easy to find and resume sessions — either by asking a new Copilot session to search for you (via MCP), or by browsing a local web interface.
- MCP Server — one shared HTTP endpoint (
/mcp) exposing 27 tools that any MCP-compatible client (including Copilot CLI) can call to search session history, recover incompatible sessions, inspect storage, clean up local sessions, and manage or transfer scheduled jobs — no per-client process to launch, every client talks to the same running instance - Web UI — Blazor Static SSR local web interface for browsing, searching, favoriting, and reading session details, checkpoints, and conversation turns, with persistent browser-local table column widths
- Scheduled Jobs — create, edit, monitor, export, share, and safely import Windows Task Scheduler-backed
copilot -pjobs with hidden execution, live logs, portable file packages, and disabled-first destination registration - Terminal window recovery — continuously records your open Windows Terminal windows of Copilot tabs so you can reopen a whole multi-tab window after it is closed or lost, like restoring a browser window
- Live process diagnostics — map Copilot sessions to Copilot, shell, and Windows Terminal PIDs, then inspect sampled CPU, memory, and spawned child-process trees
- Collections — organize related sessions across repositories, capture selected live sessions, and reopen all or part of a collection as one tabbed window or separate windows
- Window Layouts — visually compose Collection and individual-session windows on a monitor-aware canvas, then launch the complete workspace with one action
- Broken-session recovery — detect malformed or oversized Copilot event history, block unsafe blank-session fallbacks, archive the original stream, and have Copilot reseed the same session ID and folder
- Session storage — measure per-session disk usage and growth, identify stale or risky sessions, and delete validated local data through the official Copilot SDK
- Session workspace — reads supplemental metadata from
~/.copilot/session-state/including git root and session artifact files
- Windows x64 for the supported prebuilt release and the complete recovery/scheduling feature set
- Copilot CLI with an existing
~/.copilot/session-store.db - .NET 10 SDK only when building from source or using the rolling plugin/source-build channel
Narnia is a single process: starting the web app also starts the MCP server. There is no separate MCP server to build or launch.
Download narnia-win-x64.zip and SHA256SUMS.txt from the
Releases page, verify the archive, and install it
into Narnia's application directory. Stop an existing server first and replace the directory
instead of overlaying another deployment:
$expected = ((Get-Content .\SHA256SUMS.txt) -split '\s+')[0]
$actual = (Get-FileHash .\narnia-win-x64.zip -Algorithm SHA256).Hash.ToLowerInvariant()
if ($actual -ne $expected) { throw "Narnia release checksum mismatch." }
$runDir = Join-Path $env:LOCALAPPDATA 'narnia\app'
if (Test-Path -LiteralPath $runDir) {
Remove-Item -LiteralPath $runDir -Recurse -Force
}
New-Item -ItemType Directory -Path $runDir -Force | Out-Null
Expand-Archive .\narnia-win-x64.zip -DestinationPath $runDir -Force
Start-Process (Join-Path $runDir 'NexusLabs.Narnia.Web.exe') `
-ArgumentList '--urls','http://127.0.0.1:5244' `
-WorkingDirectory $runDir `
-WindowStyle HiddenThe release is self-contained and does not require .NET to be installed. Release executables are currently unsigned, so Windows SmartScreen may identify the publisher as unknown; verify the published SHA-256 checksum before running the archive.
To update a downloaded release, call POST http://127.0.0.1:5244/shutdown, wait for the server to
exit, replace the application directory with the new ZIP contents, and start it again. Settings,
schedules, and window history live outside the application directory.
dotnet run --project src/NexusLabs.Narnia.WebThen open http://localhost:5244 in your browser.
You can also ask an LLM to do this for you via the narnia-web-server skill — the rolling plugin channel resolves the plugin's current source, publishes a stamped development build, launches it detached, and health-checks it. Once Narnia is installed as a plugin, a sessionStart hook (hooks.json) relaunches an existing published server automatically at the start of every Copilot CLI session.
The MCP server uses Streamable HTTP transport (not stdio), served at /mcp on the running instance. Point any MCP-compatible client at it:
{
"mcpServers": {
"narnia": {
"type": "http",
"url": "http://127.0.0.1:5244/mcp",
"tools": ["*"]
}
}
}This is exactly what this repo's own .mcp.json contains, so a Copilot CLI plugin install picks it up with no manual configuration. Because one server instance backs every client, they all see the same session data and scheduled jobs — there's no per-client env block or launch command to configure, just the URL.
| Tool | Description |
|---|---|
list_recent_sessions |
Most recently updated sessions |
search_sessions |
Search Copilot session names, Narnia aliases, turns, checkpoints, and workspace artifacts |
get_session_details |
Full session metadata and statistics |
get_session_checkpoints |
All checkpoints with structured content |
get_session_turns |
Conversation turns (paginated) |
get_session_workspace |
Git root and session artifact files from the filesystem |
list_sessions_by_repository |
Filter sessions by git repository |
list_sessions_by_cwd |
Filter sessions by working directory |
get_session_storage_overview |
Cached local storage totals and largest sessions |
scan_session_storage |
Queue a background metadata-only storage scan |
preview_local_session_cleanup |
Dry-run local cleanup safety and reclaim estimates |
delete_local_sessions |
Permanently delete validated local session data through Copilot SDK |
preview_session_migration |
Inspect resume compatibility and recoverable history |
migrate_broken_session |
Reseed a broken session in its existing folder and ID |
get_session_recovery_packet |
Read archived recovery context in bounded chunks |
get_session_worktrees |
List a session's Git worktrees and flag branch-override mismatches |
list_schedules |
All cataloged scheduled jobs joined to live task status |
get_schedule |
A single scheduled job's full catalog entry by id |
get_schedule_log |
Read the latest run log and whether the job is still running |
create_schedule |
Create a scheduled job and (by default) register its task |
update_schedule |
Replace a scheduled job's definition and re-register it |
set_schedule_enabled |
Enable/disable a scheduled job's task |
run_schedule_now |
Start a scheduled job's task immediately |
delete_schedule |
Remove a scheduled job's task, wrapper, and catalog entry |
export_schedule_package |
Export selected jobs as a transfer package or share template |
build_schedule_package |
Package definitions reconstructed from non-Narnia tasks |
preview_schedule_package |
Inspect destination bindings, dependencies, conflicts, and timezone |
import_schedule_package |
Import an accepted preview as new disabled jobs |
Narnia ships with agentic skills that can be loaded by Copilot CLI or Claude Code via their plugin systems. Skills provide reusable workflows and deterministic scripts for web-server lifecycle, scheduled jobs, and explicit report delivery.
| Skill | Description |
|---|---|
narnia-web-server |
Start, stop, restart, and check status of the Narnia web UI |
narnia-scheduler |
Create, migrate, move, share, and manage scheduled Copilot jobs |
narnia-report-email |
Render Markdown reports as HTML and explicitly deliver them through a reusable SMTP profile |
Narnia follows the standard plugin layout with plugin.json at the repo root.
Copilot CLI:
copilot plugin install ncosentino/narniaClaude Code:
claude plugin install ncosentino/narniaRegister Narnia as a marketplace first, then install from it. This is useful if you want to browse available plugins before installing.
Copilot CLI (from inside a session):
/plugin marketplace add ncosentino/narnia
/plugin install narnia@narnia
Claude Code:
/plugin marketplace add ncosentino/narnia
/plugin install narnia@narnia
copilot plugin install ./path/to/narniacopilot plugin list # List installed plugins
copilot plugin update narnia # Update to latest
copilot plugin uninstall narnia # Remove the pluginOnce installed, skills are automatically available. Just ask the LLM to perform the task (e.g., "start the Narnia web server").
Narnia reads configuration from environment variables (or appsettings.Development.json for local development — see appsettings.Development.json.example), set once on the machine running the server. Since the web UI and MCP server are the same process, there is a single place to configure them — not a per-MCP-client env block.
| Variable | Description | Default |
|---|---|---|
NARNIA__DatabasePath |
Path to session-store.db |
~/.copilot/session-store.db |
NARNIA__SessionStatePath |
Path to session state directory | ~/.copilot/session-state |
NARNIA__SettingsDatabasePath |
Path to Narnia's own settings database (overrides, favorites, schedules, recorded terminal windows) | <LocalAppData>/narnia/settings.db |
NARNIA__RecoveryDirectory |
Narnia-owned bounded recovery packets for migrated sessions | <LocalAppData>/narnia/recoveries |
NARNIA__SnapshotterEnabled |
Whether the terminal-window snapshotter runs by default | true |
NARNIA__SnapshotterIntervalSeconds |
Snapshot interval in seconds (minimum 5) | 60 |
NARNIA__SnapshotterRetentionCount |
Number of recently-closed windows to retain | 50 |
git clone https://github.com/ncosentino/narnia.git
cd narnia
dotnet build narnia.slnx
dotnet test narnia.slnxThe web app is a standard ASP.NET Core Blazor Static SSR app — not NativeAOT (Blazor SSR doesn't yet support NativeAOT or full trimming as of .NET 10):
dotnet publish src/NexusLabs.Narnia.Web -c Release -o <output-dir>The narnia-web-server skill does this automatically, stamping a content-derived build identity so /health always reflects whether the running server matches the latest source.
pwsh -File .\scripts\Publish-NarniaRelease.ps1 `
-Version "0.1.0-beta.1" `
-OutputDirectory .\artifacts\releaseThis creates and smoke-tests the self-contained narnia-win-x64.zip, then writes
SHA256SUMS.txt. Tagged releases run this same script in GitHub Actions. Packaging requires
PowerShell 7; installing and running the resulting release does not.
narnia/
skills/
narnia-web-server/ # Agentic skill for web UI + MCP server lifecycle management
narnia-scheduler/ # Create/migrate/export/import/verify scheduled Copilot jobs
narnia-report-email/ # Deterministic Markdown report rendering + explicit SMTP delivery
src/
NexusLabs.Narnia.Core/ # Shared library — trim-safe, AOT-compatible
NexusLabs.Narnia.Web/ # Blazor Static SSR web app + HTTP MCP server (/mcp), one process
tests/
NexusLabs.Narnia.Core.Tests/ # xUnit v3 test suite
NexusLabs.Narnia.Web.Tests/ # WebApplicationFactory integration tests
The Core library is the only place where data access logic lives. Web is the single entry point: it registers Core services, serves the Blazor UI, and hosts the MCP server (ModelContextProtocol.AspNetCore) over Streamable HTTP at /mcp — all in the same process. There is no separate MCP server project anymore: an earlier NativeAOT stdio NexusLabs.Narnia.McpServer project was replaced by this in-process HTTP server so every MCP client shares one always-on instance instead of each spawning its own.
session-store.db— SQLite with FTS5 full-text search (opened read-only)session-state/{guid}/workspace.yaml— flat key:value YAML with filesystem metadata (e.g.git_root)session-state/{guid}/files/— session artifact files (plan.md, context files, etc.)
- google-search-console-mcp -- Google Search Console MCP server: query clicks, impressions, CTR, and ranking position from your Search Console properties
- google-keyword-planner-mcp -- Google Ads Keyword Planner MCP server: keyword ideas, search volume, competition, and CPC data
- google-psi-mcp -- Zero-dependency MCP server for Google PageSpeed Insights Core Web Vitals
This tool was built by Nick Cosentino, a software engineer and content creator known as Dev Leader. Nick creates practical .NET, C#, ASP.NET Core, Blazor, and software engineering content for intermediate to advanced developers -- covering everything from performance optimization and clean architecture to real-world career advice.
Narnia was born out of a real frustration: Windows forcing a restart and wiping every active Copilot CLI session with no easy way to recover. It serves as a practical example of hosting an MCP server directly inside an ASP.NET Core Blazor Static SSR app, following modern .NET standards.
Find Nick online:
- Blog: https://www.devleader.ca
- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@devleaderca
- Newsletter: https://weekly.devleader.ca
- LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/nickcosentino
- All My Links: https://links.devleader.ca
BrandGhost is a social media automation platform built by Nick that lets content creators cross-post and schedule content across all social platforms in one click. If you create content and want to spend less time on distribution and more time creating, check it out.
Contributions are welcome! Please:
- Open an issue describing the bug or feature request before submitting a PR
- Run
dotnet buildwith zero warnings before submitting - Run
dotnet test-- all tests must pass
MIT License -- see LICENSE for details.