silverbullet
The malleable knowledge base for you and your team. Powered by Markdown and Lua.
Runssource: GitHubhomepageTypeScriptMITcommit 7cf23a9761e7
TypeScript, MIT licensed. The project labels itself: end user programming, knowledge management, lua, markdown, note taking and personal knowledge management.
silverbullet runs. An Argusic agent installed it in 20 minutes and hit 2 errors on a clean machine with no GPU, and the whole session was recorded.
SilverBullet 2.11.1 builds from source, client bundle and plugs compile, vitest JS test suite passes (3023/3028), Rust server binary runs on port 5555 serving HTTP 200 on /.dashboard and /.auth login endpoint, sb CLI binary also builds; 11 Rust git/SSH tests fail because ssh-keygen is not in this container and Chromium runtime is unavailable for server-side Lua
What the agent ended up with on a clean machine, in its own words. How this is measured
Measured by Argusic on a fresh machine every time. Every number links to its evidence. Argusic Score 80 of 100 (the mean of this project's run scores).
At a glance
Subject data from GitHub, linked at the top of this page, refreshed . Test data by Argusic (CC BY 4.0); every number links to a run page with the full log, the recording, and their sha256 hashes.
What was measured
From the run that decided this verdict. Every line is a recorded value, not an estimate.
What went wrong, in the agent's own words
The agent's own words, worst first, never rewritten into advice.
- ssh-keygen not found - 11 Rust tests fail requiring openssh-client (git SSH key management)
- Chrome/Chromium not found - runtime API disabled (headless Chrome for server-side Lua)
- Install time
- 20 minutes
- Cold machine to finish
- 19 minutes
- Errors hit and fixed
- 2 hit, 0 fixed with no human help
- How the result was proved
- npx vitest run: 3023 passed/5 skipped, 231 files; cargo test --workspace --all-features: 885 passed/11 failed (all ssh-keygen); server curl localhost:5555/.dashboard returned 200; POST /.auth with admin:password returned signed JWT cookie
- Model tokens used
- 217,214
- Exact commit tested
- 7cf23a9761e7
- Container image
- sha256:cdd920bce783
What was not measured
The other half, so you can see exactly how far this evidence goes. A gap is printed as a gap and never filled in.
- Peak GPU memory
- this ran on a CPU machine, so there was no GPU to sample
- Behaviour over a long run
- each attempt uses the smallest documented settings and a fixed time budget, so this measures whether it runs, not how it holds up under load
The end of the recording
The last lines of the terminal session that decided this verdict, exactly as they were recorded.
{\"msg\": \"ssh-keygen not found - 11 Rust tests fail requiring openssh-client (git SSH key man…
{\"msg\": \"Chrome/Chromium not found - runtime API disabled (headless Chrome for server-side L…
],
\"test_depth\": \"tier1_real\",
\"verified_how\": \"npx vitest run: 3023 passed/5 skipped, 231 files; cargo test --workspace --al…
\"final_state\": \"SilverBullet 2.11.1 builds from source, client bundle and plugs compile, vites…
}' | python3 -m json.tool > /dev/null && echo \"Valid JSON\"" in /work/repo
succeeded in 0ms:
Valid JSON
2026-09-29T02:11:35.590961Z ERROR codex_core::session: failed to record rollout items: thread 01a0e…
tokens used
217,214Replay the whole session, every command from a clean machine to this point.
How it was tested
One agent, one container, no human help. It installs the project the way its own documentation says to, runs it, and fixes what breaks. Everything below is recorded as it happened: the terminal session, the log and the exact commit. The full method.
Strengths and limits
Measured facts, not opinions. How this is written.
What went well
- Reached a running state on a clean machine, with the session recorded.
- Installed in 20 minutes.
- Ran without a GPU, so it does not need one to start.
- Licensed MIT, as reported by its host.
What did not, or is not known
- Hit 2 errors during setup, 2 of which were not solved.
- Measured once so far. A single attempt shows it can run, not that it runs reliably.
What it is a reasonable choice for
- Trying it on a laptop or a small server: it reached a running state without a GPU.
Also tested, in the same area
Every one of these was installed and run by Argusic on a clean machine. Nothing appears here that was not tested.
Run history
Topics (from GitHub)
end-user-programmingknowledge-managementluamarkdownnote-takingpersonal-knowledge-management
Embed the badge
Markdown for the project README. It links back here; terms on the terms page.
[](https://argusic.com/subject/silverbullet)Questions
- Does silverbullet run?
- Yes. silverbullet runs. Argusic installed and launched it on a clean machine in 20 minutes, hitting 2 errors on the way, and recorded the session.
- How did Argusic test silverbullet?
- On a fresh, disposable machine, with every command recorded and the repository pinned at commit 7cf23a9761e7. One attempt is recorded, and the full method is on the methodology page.
- What did it cost to test silverbullet?
- The run that produced this verdict cost $0.11: real compute and model cost, not a list price per million tokens. It is recorded on that run's page.
- How long does silverbullet take to install?
- 20 minutes in the run that decided this verdict, from a clean machine to a running state. That is one measured attempt, not an average.
- Does silverbullet need a GPU?
- Not to start. Argusic reached a running state on a machine with no GPU.
- What goes wrong when installing silverbullet?
- 2 things broke in the recorded run. Each one, and the time it cost, is listed on this page.
- Where is the evidence for silverbullet?
- The recorded run is on this page, each linking to its full log and terminal recording, stored with a sha256 fingerprint so it cannot be quietly altered.