> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.mesa.dev/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Introduction

Mesa is a programmable storage layer and virtual filesystem, built specifically for AI agents and developers building agentic products.

Mesa enables versioning with either simple checkpointing or complex branch-based workflows. We provide full Git compatibility, but Mesa is far more powerful than a traditional Git hosting platform. You can read more about our versioning model [here](/content/concepts/versioning).

## How it works

In Mesa, you organize resources using a special kind of folder called a `repository`. Each repository gets its own version history and permissions policy.

A repository is a chain of `Changes`, or snapshots of the folder's contents at points in time. You can always go back and view the state of files at an older
`Change` and even restore the state of one or more files from that older `Change`.

In Mesa, reads and writes are durable automatically. All writes are automatically persisted to the `Change` checked out in your active
MesaFS instance.

See [Quickstart](/content/getting-started/quickstart) for more.

## Use cases

Mesa is designed for high-throughput, machine-driven workflows where you need reliable
versioning, low-latency reads and writes, and infinite scaling across many different repositories.

It works wherever your agents run, whether in a sandbox or in-process.
You can use it with a variety of tools and frameworks.

Some common use cases that Mesa is optimized for:

* Memory and skill management
* Prompt-to-app builders
* SWE agents
* Knowledge bases / company brains
* Agent infrastructure like sandboxes

## Benefits over traditional Git hosting

* APIs designed to be used by agents
* Architected for high-volume automated workflows
* Fine-grained access tokens for precise permissioning
* Virtual filesystem for easy agent access

## Pricing

See our [pricing page](https://mesa.dev/pricing) for more details.

## Up Next

<Columns cols={2}>
  <Card title="Quickstart" icon="rocket" href="/content/getting-started/quickstart">
    Create your first repository and experiment with versioning.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Versioning" icon="code-commit" href="/content/concepts/versioning">
    Learn about Mesa's versioning model and how it maps to your use case.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Filesystem" icon="folder-tree" href="/content/concepts/filesystem">
    Explore Mesa's virtual filesystem for easy reads and writes.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Usage Patterns" icon="route" href="/content/usage-patterns/overview">
    Learn the common patterns for building agent workflows on Mesa.
  </Card>
</Columns>

## FAQ

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="Do I need to use Git with Mesa?">
    No. You can use Mesa entirely through the SDK and REST API without ever running a Git command.
    Mesa handles versioning, branching, and history behind the scenes.
    If you choose to instead use Mesa as a standard Git server, it is fully compatible with standard Git clients over HTTPS.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Can I use standard Git commands with Mesa?">
    Yes. Mesa supports clone, fetch, push, and branch operations over HTTPS using any Git client. Authenticate with your API key as the password:

    ```bash theme={null}
    git clone https://t:<API_KEY>@api.mesa.dev/<org>/<repo>.git
    ```

    See the [Git docs](/content/integrations/git/overview) for details.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="How is Mesa different from GitHub?">
    GitHub is built for human developers collaborating through pull requests.
    Mesa is built for machines. Our APIs, virtual filesystem, and versioning model are designed for high-throughput automated workflows where thousands of ephemeral agents read and write concurrently.
    Mesa also supports more ergonomic checkpoint-style versioning that doesn't require the ceremony of Git, making it easier to use in agentic applications.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="What languages and frameworks does Mesa support?">
    Mesa offers official SDKs for [TypeScript](/content/reference/ts/index), [Python](/content/reference/py/index), and [Rust](/content/reference/sdk-rust). The REST API can be called from any language. Mesa works with agent frameworks like Vercel AI SDK, Langchain, and Mastra, and integrates with sandbox providers like [Daytona](/content/integrations/sandboxes/daytona) and [E2B](/content/integrations/sandboxes/e2b).
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="What are 'changes' and 'bookmarks'?">
    Changes are Mesa's core versioning primitive — similar to Git commits. Each change captures a snapshot of edits with a message and author. Bookmarks are lightweight pointers to changes — similar to Git branches. Together they support everything from simple linear checkpoints to full branching and merging workflows. See [Versioning](/content/concepts/versioning) for more.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="What operating systems does the virtual filesystem support?">
    The FUSE-based virtual filesystem supports **macOS** (via macFUSE) and **Linux** (via FUSE3), including both Debian/Ubuntu and Alpine distributions. For environments where FUSE isn't available, the TypeScript SDK includes an app mount that works anywhere Node.js runs. See [Filesystem](/content/concepts/filesystem) for details.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Can I sync my Mesa repos with GitHub?">
    Yes. Attach a GitHub upstream to any Mesa repository, then trigger syncs via `syncUpstream` in the SDK or the upstream syncs REST API. Mesa is also fully Git-compatible, so you can also keep pushing and pulling with standard Git client commands. See [GitHub](/content/integrations/github/sync) for setup and auth options.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Is there a self-hosted version of Mesa?">
    Mesa supports custom on-prem deployments for enterprise customers. By default, Mesa runs as a hosted service at [app.mesa.dev](https://app.mesa.dev). If you're interested in on-prem deployment, reach out to us over email at [founders@mesa.dev](mailto:founders@mesa.dev).
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>