kanon-cli 3.0.0

Kanon (Kanon Package Manager) CLI tool

Kanon (Kanon Package Manager)

A standalone Python CLI for managing versioned DevOps automation packages via declarative manifests.

License: Apache 2.0

---

Table of Contents

• Platform support
• Quick Start: Find and Add Dependencies
• Tab Completion
• Subcommands
• Git Authentication
• Migration from kanon bootstrap
• What is Kanon?
  • Fully customizable
  • Core Purpose
• Use Cases
  • Unify Disparate Automation
  • Platform Engineering
  • Multi-Project Consistency
• Quick Start
  • Prerequisites
  • Install the Kanon CLI
  • Standalone Usage (No Task Runner Required)
  • Integrating with Task Runners (Optional)
• CLI Reference
  • kanon search
  • kanon add
  • kanon remove
  • kanon install
  • kanon clean
  • kanon outdated
  • kanon why
  • kanon doctor
  • kanon validate
  • kanon catalog audit
  • kanon repo
  • kanon completion
  • kanon bootstrap (removed in 3.0.0)
• .kanon Variable Reference
  • Core Variables
  • Source Variables
  • Environment Variables
  • Example .kanon
• Architecture
  • How It Works
  • Directory Structure After Install
  • Multi-Source Isolation
  • Environment Variable Portability (envsubst)
• Creating a Manifest Repository
  • Structure
  • Catalog entry
  • remote.xml -- Git Remote Definition
  • packages.xml -- Package Declarations
  • Entry-point manifest
  • Include Chains for Hierarchy
  • Updating Package Versions
• Creating Packages
  • Package Structure
  • Versioning
  • Registering a Package
  • Symlinks via linkfile
• Creating Marketplace Packages
  • Marketplace Manifest Structure
  • Key Requirements
  • Cascading Includes
  • Validation
• Manifest Features (PEP 440 Constraints)
  • PEP 440 Version Constraints in Manifests
  • PEP 440 Version Resolution in .kanon
  • Absolute Linkfile Destinations
• SSH Authentication Setup
• Developer Setup
  • Prerequisites
  • Install from Source
  • Set Up Git Hooks
  • Run Tests
  • Build
  • Project Structure
  • Contributing
  • CI/CD Pipeline
• Documentation
• License

---

Platform support

Kanon runs on macOS and Linux. Windows is not currently supported (planned). Native Windows support is on the roadmap but not yet available; in the meantime, run kanon under WSL2 (Windows Subsystem for Linux), where the Linux instructions throughout this documentation apply unchanged.

The shell-completion docs describe a cross-platform PowerShell Core (pwsh) completer that also runs on macOS and Linux; see docs/shell-completion.md. PowerShell Core support is not a claim of native Windows support.

---

Quick Start: Find and Add Dependencies

The following five-step workflow shows how to discover, inspect, add, and install a dependency from a remote manifest catalog -- using the placeholder URL https://example.com/org/manifest-repo.git@main throughout.

Step 1: Discover available packages.

kanon search --catalog-source 'https://example.com/org/manifest-repo.git@main'

Lists every package declared in the remote catalog so you can see what is available.

Step 2: Inspect a package.

kanon search my-package \
  --catalog-source 'https://example.com/org/manifest-repo.git@main' \
  --detail

Shows the full metadata for my-package -- version history, description, and source URL.

Step 3: Add the package at a pinned version.

kanon add 'my-package@==1.2.3' \
  --catalog-source 'https://example.com/org/manifest-repo.git@main'

Writes my-package@==1.2.3 into your .kanon manifest file. The == prefix pins to an exact version; PEP 440 range constraints (e.g., ~=1.2.0, >=1.0.0,<2.0.0) are also accepted.

Step 4: Install (first run writes .kanon.lock).

kanon install

kanon install is hermetic: it resolves the declared packages from the committed .kanon (it does not re-read the catalog), clones them into the shared KANON_HOME store under .kanon-data/sources/, aggregates symlinks under .packages/ in that store, and writes .kanon.lock with exact resolved versions so every subsequent install is reproducible.

Step 5: Commit both .kanon and .kanon.lock.

git add .kanon .kanon.lock
git commit -m "feat: add my-package 1.2.3"

Committing both files ensures the entire team installs the same resolved package versions. The synced artifacts live in the shared KANON_HOME store (~/.kanon by default), never in your project, so there is nothing package-related to commit beyond .kanon and .kanon.lock.

---

Tab Completion

Kanon ships built-in shell completion for bash, zsh, and PowerShell Core (pwsh) via the kanon completion <shell> subcommand. Run eval "$(kanon completion bash)" (or zsh) once in your shell session, or add it to your shell RC file, to enable tab-completion of subcommand names, flags, and catalog entries. For PowerShell, pipe kanon completion powershell into Out-String | Invoke-Expression. For persistent installation and advanced options, see docs/shell-completion.md.

---

Subcommands

Subcommand	Summary	Doc
kanon search	List packages available in a catalog or show detail for one	docs/list-and-add.md
kanon add	Add a package (with optional version constraint) to .kanon	docs/list-and-add.md
kanon remove	Remove a package from .kanon	docs/list-and-add.md
kanon outdated	Show packages in .kanon that have newer versions available	docs/outdated-and-why.md
kanon why	Explain why a specific package version was resolved	docs/outdated-and-why.md
kanon install	Resolve, clone, and symlink all packages; writes .kanon.lock	docs/lockfile.md
kanon doctor	Diagnose the local Kanon installation and report problems	docs/doctor.md
kanon catalog audit	Audit a catalog for missing or malformed entries	docs/catalog-author-guide.md
kanon validate xml	Validate XML manifests under repo-specs/	docs/repo/manifest-format.md
kanon validate marketplace	Validate marketplace XML manifests under repo-specs/	docs/repo/manifest-format.md
kanon validate metadata	Validate catalog entry metadata	docs/catalog-author-guide.md
kanon clean	Remove synced packages and Kanon state (--orphans also prunes unreferenced marketplaces)	docs/lifecycle.md
kanon repo	Low-level manifest-driven repo sync subsystem	docs/repo/README.md
kanon marketplace	Manage the per-dependency Claude marketplace install flag in .kanon (enable / disable / status)	docs/configuration.md
kanon completion	Emit a shell completion script for bash, zsh, or powershell	docs/shell-completion.md
kanon bootstrap	removed in 3.0.0 -- not a registered subcommand (argparse invalid choice, exit 2); use kanon search / kanon add instead	docs/migration-to-add.md

---

Git Authentication

Kanon uses the git binary for all remote operations and never prompts for credentials or caches them itself -- authentication is delegated entirely to the operator's git client (SSH keys, credential helpers, GIT_TOKEN, etc.). For setup instructions covering SSH key forwarding, HTTPS token helpers, and URL rewriting for private Git hosts, see docs/git-auth-setup.md.

---

Migration from kanon bootstrap

The kanon bootstrap subcommand was removed in kanon 3.0.0 (a breaking change) -- it is no longer a registered subcommand, so kanon bootstrap exits non-zero with an argparse invalid choice error. Its catalog-discovery and project-scaffolding responsibilities have been replaced by kanon search (discover and inspect packages) and kanon add (add a pinned dependency to .kanon). If your workflow currently uses kanon bootstrap <entry>, the docs/migration-to-add.md guide walks through the equivalent kanon search + kanon add + kanon install steps and explains the lockfile model that replaces hand-editing .kanon.

---

What is Kanon?

Kanon is a DevOps Platform Dependency Manager that brings version-controlled, reproducible automation to your projects through declarative manifests. Kanon enables you to centralize, version, and share automation across your organization without replacing your existing tools.

Solves a common problem: Organizations have quality automation and operational knowledge scattered across teams -- build conventions, linting rules, security scanning, test frameworks, local dev tooling, and shared markdown documentation that work well but are not widely adopted because they are hard to discover, version, test, and distribute. Kanon enables you to package this automation and share it across projects in a tested, reproducible way.

Fully customizable

• Public or Private -- Use public repositories or host everything privately within your organization
• Your Infrastructure -- Point to your own Git repositories and package sources
• Your Standards -- Define your own manifests, packages, and automation
• Portable -- Teams retain access to automation even after external partnerships end

Core Purpose

• Platform Dependency Management -- Centralize and version your DevOps automation, shared knowledge, dependencies, and standards
• Flexible Overlay -- Works alongside your preferred build tools and dependency managers, or standalone with no task runner at all
• Team Standards -- Share tested, versioned automation, tasks, and approaches across teams dynamically
• Tool Agnostic -- Adapts to your workflow, not the other way around

Use Cases

Unify Disparate Automation

Your organization has quality automation scattered across teams -- testing frameworks, linting configs, deployment scripts, security scans -- but they are not widely adopted because they are hard to find, version, and integrate. Kanon lets you package this automation, version it, and make it available to all teams through simple manifests.

Platform Engineering

Provide golden paths and paved roads to development teams. Package your organization's standards, policies, automation, and shared operational knowledge as versioned dependencies that teams can pull into their projects.

This can include CI/CD workflows, security policies, deployment automation, coding standards, architecture guidance, operational runbooks, and shared markdown knowledge bases used by both developers and AI coding agents.

Multi-Project Consistency

Ensure the same testing, linting, security scanning, and deployment automation across projects without copy-pasting or manual synchronization.

---

Quick Start

Prerequisites

• Python 3.11+
• pipx on PATH (python3 -m pip install --user pipx && pipx ensurepath)
• Git
• If authenticating with Git via SSH, see SSH Authentication Setup

Install the Kanon CLI

kanon-cli is published to PyPI. The recommended install method depends on the use case:

Production / general use -- isolated CLI install via pipx:

pipx install kanon-cli

Local development on this repository -- editable install into the project's virtualenv:

pip install -e .

(Editable mode lets local source edits take effect immediately without reinstalling. CI uses pip install kanon-cli for ephemeral runners; see docs/pipeline-integration.md.)

Standalone Usage (No Task Runner Required)

Kanon works directly from the command line. No task runner is needed. The workflow is declarative: you discover entries in a remote catalog, add the ones you want to .kanon, install them, and (optionally) clean up. Every command that resolves a catalog needs a catalog source -- either the --catalog-source <url>@<ref> flag or the KANON_CATALOG_SOURCES environment variable.

# Set once in your shell rc file -- pin to the current major version
export KANON_CATALOG_SOURCES='https://github.com/your-org/your-catalog-repo.git@>=2.0.0,<3.0.0'

1. Discover entries in the catalog:

kanon search                   # all entry names, one per line
kanon search --detail          # human-readable record per entry
kanon search my-tool --detail  # narrow to entries matching a substring

kanon search reads the catalog entry manifests (any repo-specs/**/*.xml file with a <catalog-metadata> block) in the manifest repo and prints one catalog entry name per line.

2. Add entries to .kanon:

kanon add my-tool                       # pin to the highest available version
kanon add 'my-tool@>=1.0.0,<2.0.0'      # pin with a PEP 440 constraint
kanon add my-tool --marketplace-install # also enable the marketplace lifecycle

kanon add resolves each entry against the catalog and writes the alias-keyed KANON_SOURCE_<alias>_{URL,REF,PATH,NAME} block into .kanon (plus one optional KANON_SOURCE_<alias>_<VAR> env-var line per ${VAR} the entry's manifest references -- GITBASE auto-derived, others empty -- and a _MARKETPLACE=true line for marketplace entries), creating the file when it does not yet exist. There is no global header.

3. Install (sync all packages, write .kanon.lock):

kanon install

kanon install is hermetic: it reads only the committed .kanon and .kanon.lock (it does not accept --catalog-source and ignores KANON_CATALOG_SOURCES). It reconciles .kanon against .kanon.lock, runs the repo init/envsubst/sync lifecycle for every source, aggregates packages into .packages/ via symlinks under the shared KANON_HOME store, creates source workspaces under .kanon-data/sources/ in that store, and writes .kanon.lock with the exact resolved SHAs.

4. Clean (full teardown):

kanon clean              # remove .packages/, .kanon-data/, marketplace dir
kanon clean --orphans    # also prune kanon-owned marketplaces no longer referenced

kanon clean removes this project's synced packages and Kanon state from the shared KANON_HOME store, prunes the content-addressed entries it no longer references, and (for any source with KANON_SOURCE_<alias>_MARKETPLACE=true) uninstalls marketplace plugins.

Important: All synced artifacts live in the shared KANON_HOME store and are never committed. Commit only .kanon and .kanon.lock to your repository.

The @<ref> portion of a catalog source accepts a branch name, a tag, the special value latest (which resolves to the highest PEP 440 tag), or a PEP 440 version constraint (e.g., ~=2.0.0, >=2.0.0,<3.0.0). Version constraints are resolved against the repository's git tags via git ls-remote. The manifest repo IS the catalog: every repo-specs/**/*.xml file carrying a <catalog-metadata> block is one catalog entry (the -marketplace.xml suffix is a convention, not a requirement). There is no separate catalog/ directory.

Manifest repositories should use semantic versioning for git tags. Pinning to a major version range (e.g., >=2.0.0,<3.0.0) allows automatic pickup of minor and patch releases while preventing unexpected breaking changes.

Integrating with Task Runners (Optional)

Kanon works standalone via kanon install and kanon clean. You can wrap these commands in any build tool or task runner by creating targets that delegate to the CLI.

Tab Completion

Kanon ships with built-in shell completion for bash, zsh, and PowerShell Core (pwsh) via the kanon completion <shell> subcommand. The generated script enables tab-completion of subcommand names and flags in your shell session.

Quick setup:

# bash -- add to ~/.bashrc or source once in your current session
eval "$(kanon completion bash)"

# zsh -- add to ~/.zshrc
eval "$(kanon completion zsh)"

# PowerShell -- add to your $PROFILE
kanon completion powershell | Out-String | Invoke-Expression

For persistent installation and advanced options (system-wide install, oh-my-zsh), see docs/shell-completion.md.

---

CLI Reference

kanon --help                              # Top-level help
kanon --version                           # Show version

Run kanon <command> --help for the full option list of any command. The sections below summarise each command. A catalog source (the --catalog-source <url>@<ref> flag or a single KANON_CATALOG_SOURCES entry) is required by search, add, outdated, why, and catalog audit. install is hermetic: it reads only .kanon and .kanon.lock, does not accept --catalog-source, and has no lock [catalog] fallback.

kanon search

Discovers catalog entries. Prints one entry name per line to stdout, sorted lexicographically, by reading the catalog entry manifests (any repo-specs/**/*.xml file carrying a <catalog-metadata> block) in the catalog source.

kanon search                       # all entry names
kanon search foo                   # substring filter (name/desc/keywords)
kanon search --regex '^foo'        # regex filter
kanon search --detail              # human-readable record per entry
kanon search --format json         # structured JSON array
kanon search --tree                # three-layer ASCII dependency tree
kanon search -A                    # walk historical tagged versions

Key options: --format {names,json}, --detail, --tree (with --max-depth N, --no-filter-required), -A/--all (with --limit N, --no-limit, --since-version <spec>), --regex <pattern>, --match-fields <csv>. A positional <substring> and --regex are mutually exclusive; --format json is incompatible with --tree.

kanon add

Resolves catalog entries from the catalog source and appends the alias-keyed KANON_SOURCE_<alias>_{URL,REF,PATH,NAME} block to .kanon (plus one optional KANON_SOURCE_<alias>_<VAR> env-var line per ${VAR} the entry's manifest references and a _MARKETPLACE=true line for marketplace entries), creating the file when absent. There is no global header.

kanon add my-tool                       # pin to highest PEP 440 tag
kanon add 'my-tool@>=1.0.0,<2.0.0'      # pin with a PEP 440 constraint
kanon add my-tool --marketplace-install # enable the marketplace lifecycle
kanon add my-tool --dry-run             # print the diff without writing

Each entry is <name> or <name>@<spec> (PEP 440 constraint). Key options: --as <alias> (override the auto-computed alias), --kanon-file <path> (default ./.kanon, env KANON_KANON_FILE), --force (overwrite an existing block), --dry-run, and the mutually-exclusive --marketplace-install / --no-marketplace-install (force the added dependency's marketplace flag, overriding the auto-detected <catalog-metadata><type>).

kanon remove

Removes the alias-keyed KANON_SOURCE_<alias>_* block (the structural _URL, _REF, _PATH, _NAME, plus any optional per-dependency env-var line such as _GITBASE and the optional _MARKETPLACE) for one or more entries from .kanon.

kanon remove my-tool                      # canonical source OR entry name
kanon remove my-tool --dry-run            # preview removed lines
kanon remove my-tool --force              # skip not-fully-present sources

Each <name> may be the canonical source alias (e.g. foo_bar) or the original entry name (e.g. Foo-Bar); both normalise to the same keys. Removal is atomic: if any requested name is not fully present (fewer than the expected number of block keys) and --force is not set, the command exits non-zero and the file is unchanged.

kanon install

Executes the full install lifecycle and reconciles .kanon against .kanon.lock.

kanon install                     # auto-discover .kanon by walking up from cwd
kanon install .kanon              # explicit path to .kanon file
kanon install --reconcile         # opt in to prune/re-resolve when .kanon and .kanon.lock drift
kanon install --strict-lock       # error when an orphaned lock entry survives a hash match
kanon install --strict-drift      # error when a branch source has drifted
kanon install --refresh-lock      # re-resolve every transitive version from scratch
kanon install --refresh-lock-source NAME  # re-resolve one source's chain only

Behavior:

• Parses .kanon, then runs the repo init/envsubst/sync lifecycle for each source (alphabetical order).
• Aggregates packages into .packages/ via symlinks under the shared KANON_HOME store; detects cross-source name collisions (fail-fast). When the store lives inside a git repo, writes a .gitignore safety net into the store root.
• Reconciles against .kanon.lock like npm ci: a plain install fails fast (exit 1) without mutating the lock when .kanon and .kanon.lock have drifted (a source added, removed, or with a changed ref). --reconcile opts in to the lenient prune-and-re-resolve (prune orphaned entries, re-resolve added/changed sources, replay unchanged ones, rewrite the lock on success). --strict-lock additionally rejects an orphaned lock entry that survives a kanon_hash match. Branch drift (a locked SHA differing from the branch's current tip) reuses the locked SHA with an info-line; --strict-drift promotes that to an error.
• Marketplace prune: when a source is removed from .kanon and the lock is rebuilt (via --reconcile, --refresh-lock, or kanon clean --orphans), the marketplaces that source registered are unregistered.
• For any source with KANON_SOURCE_<alias>_MARKETPLACE=true: runs the marketplace install lifecycle.

--refresh-lock and --refresh-lock-source NAME re-resolve transitive versions from the committed .kanon declarations. They do not take or require a catalog source: kanon install is hermetic on every path.

kanon clean

Executes the full teardown lifecycle.

kanon clean                       # auto-discover .kanon by walking up from cwd
kanon clean .kanon                # explicit path to .kanon file
kanon clean --orphans             # also unregister orphaned marketplaces

Behavior:

1. For any source with KANON_SOURCE_<alias>_MARKETPLACE=true: uninstalls plugins and removes the marketplace directory.
2. Removes the .packages/ and .kanon-data/ directories and prunes this project's content-addressed entries from the shared KANON_HOME store.

With --orphans, before the normal teardown kanon also unregisters any kanon-owned marketplaces recorded in .kanon.lock that are no longer referenced by .kanon, pruning them from ~/.claude.

kanon outdated

Compares each source in .kanon against the catalog and emits a table of name | current | latest-matching-spec | latest-available | upgrade-type.

kanon outdated                    # table output, always exits 0
kanon outdated --format json      # JSON array, one object per source
kanon outdated --fail-on-upgrade  # exit 1 when any source has an upgrade (CI gate)

The current column comes from .kanon.lock when present, or is live-resolved against the catalog when absent. Key options: --fail-on-upgrade, --format {table,json}, --kanon-file, --lock-file.

kanon why

Explains why a transitive dependency is in the tree. Reads .kanon, resolves the full dependency tree (from .kanon.lock when present, else live-resolves against the catalog), and prints every chain reaching the requested node.

kanon why my-project              # by source name, repo URL, or XML path
kanon why https://example.com/org/project.git
kanon why remote                  # a transitive include, by its name
kanon why --format json my-project

The argument is matched four ways: a <project> repo URL (canonicalized), a transitive XML manifest path (exact-string equality), a top-level source name, or a transitive include name (the last two normalized via derive_source_name). When a single logical node is reached by many chains -- for example a transitive include pulled in by several sources -- every chain is printed; an error is raised only when the argument matches two or more distinct interpretations. A catalog source is required only on the live-resolve path (when .kanon.lock is absent).

kanon doctor

Diagnoses .kanon / .kanon.lock health against the current project directory.

kanon doctor                            # run all health checks
kanon doctor --strict-drift             # promote branch-drift findings to errors
kanon doctor --refresh-completion-cache # invalidate the shell completion cache
kanon doctor --prune-cache              # prune stale cache files (age-based)

Reports findings including .kanon/.kanon.lock consistency (via kanon_hash), hand-edit detection, orphaned lock entries, branch drift, dangling-SHA detection, a NO_SOURCES finding for a zero-source .kanon, and a remote-reachability sanity check (warning only). See docs/doctor.md for the full subcheck reference.

kanon validate

Validates manifest XML files. Subcommands:

kanon validate xml          # well-formedness, attributes, include chains
kanon validate marketplace  # linkfile dest, includes, uniqueness, tag format
kanon validate metadata     # catalog-metadata soft-spots (no network access)
kanon validate lockfile     # .kanon <-> .kanon.lock consistency

• validate xml -- checks well-formed XML, required attributes on <project> and <remote>, and that <include> names point to existing files.
• validate marketplace -- checks <linkfile dest> attributes, include chain integrity, project path uniqueness, and revision tag format.
• validate metadata -- checks the <catalog-metadata> blocks for required/recommended fields, source-name derivation, and entry-name uniqueness, without cloning or calling git. Supports --format {text,json}.
• validate lockfile -- checks that the .kanon declarations agree with the .kanon.lock entries (alias uniqueness, alias-set parity, ref-spec parity) -- the same check kanon install runs implicitly. Accepts a <kanonenv_path> and --lock-file PATH.

The xml, marketplace, and metadata subcommands accept --repo-root REPO_ROOT (default: auto-detect via git rev-parse).

kanon catalog audit

Audits a manifest repo against the catalog standards contract (the five soft-spot rules).

kanon catalog audit                       # audit the current directory
kanon catalog audit ./scratch --strict    # promote warnings to errors
kanon catalog audit https://example.com/org/repo.git@main  # audit a remote source
kanon catalog audit --check metadata,tag-format            # run a subset of checks

<dir-or-source> is a local directory (must contain repo-specs/) or a remote <git_url>@<ref> source; defaults to .. Options: --check <subset> (valid values: all, entry-name-uniqueness, metadata, remote-url, source-name-derivation, tag-format), --format {text,json}, --strict. See docs/catalog-author-guide.md.

kanon repo

Catalog-author / low-level subcommand: runs kanon's repo dispatcher. All trailing arguments after kanon repo are forwarded verbatim to it.

kanon repo init -u <url> -b <branch> -m <manifest>
kanon repo sync --jobs=4
kanon repo help

--repo-dir REPO_DIR sets the .repo directory (default: ${KANON_REPO_DIR} or .repo). See docs/repo/README.md.

kanon completion

Emits the shell completion script for kanon to stdout.

kanon completion bash > /etc/bash_completion.d/kanon
kanon completion zsh  > "${fpath[1]}/_kanon"
kanon completion powershell | Out-String | Invoke-Expression

Target shell choices: bash, zsh, powershell (PowerShell Core / pwsh). cmd.exe has no programmable tab-completion and is not a supported target. See docs/shell-completion.md.

kanon bootstrap (removed in 3.0.0)

kanon bootstrap was removed in kanon 3.0.0 (a breaking change). There is no compatibility shim: bootstrap is no longer a registered subcommand, so kanon bootstrap (with any args or flags) exits non-zero with an argparse invalid choice: 'bootstrap' error that lists the valid subcommands. The catalog model changed: a manifest repo no longer has a separate catalog/<name>/ location and the kanon wheel no longer bundles a catalog. Use kanon search to discover entries and kanon add to add them. See docs/migration-to-add.md.

---

.kanon Variable Reference

The .kanon file is a shell-compatible KEY=VALUE configuration file that drives the Kanon lifecycle. Lines starting with # are comments. Values can reference environment variables using ${VAR} syntax (e.g., ${HOME}/.claude-marketplaces). Every .kanon variable can be overridden by an environment variable of the same name, enabling CI/CD pipelines to customize behavior without modifying the file.

Core Variables

There is no required global header. The only global variable kanon reads is:

CLAUDE_MARKETPLACES_DIR (Auto-managed) Directory for marketplace symlinks. Auto-added (as CLAUDE_MARKETPLACES_DIR=${HOME}/.claude-marketplaces) by kanon add of a claude-marketplace entry and by kanon marketplace enable, and pruned by kanon remove / kanon marketplace disable once the last KANON_SOURCE_<alias>_MARKETPLACE=true dependency is gone. Hand-set the line only to override the directory; a custom value is preserved and never clobbered.

Source Variables

Sources are auto-discovered from KANON_SOURCE_<alias>_URL variable patterns and processed in alphabetical order by alias. Each source carries the following alias-keyed variables:

KANON_SOURCE_<alias>_URL (Required) Git URL for the source's manifest repository.

KANON_SOURCE_<alias>_REF (Required) Branch, exact tag, or PEP 440 constraint (e.g. refs/tags/~=1.1.0) for the source.

KANON_SOURCE_<alias>_PATH (Required) Path to the entry-point manifest XML for the source.

KANON_SOURCE_<alias>_NAME (Required) The original catalog entry name (the pre-normalization manifest name).

KANON_SOURCE_<alias>_<VAR> (Optional, open-ended) Per-dependency env vars used to resolve ${VAR} placeholders in this source's manifest at install time. kanon add writes one line per ${VAR} the entry's manifest actually references: the var named exactly GITBASE is auto-derived from the source URL (e.g. KANON_SOURCE_<alias>_GITBASE=https://github.com/your-org, replacing the removed global GITBASE header), and every other var name is written empty for you to fill in. An entry whose manifest references no ${VAR} gets no env-var line. At install time each declared var is injected into that source's manifest substitution; if a ${VAR} remains unresolved, install fails fast naming the KANON_SOURCE_<alias>_<VAR> key to set.

KANON_SOURCE_<alias>_MARKETPLACE (Optional) Per-source marketplace toggle. Set to true to enable the marketplace lifecycle for this source; absence means false (kanon never writes =false). Written by kanon add --marketplace-install; manage it with kanon marketplace enable / disable / status.

Environment Variables

KANON_CATALOG_SOURCES Newline-delimited list of remote catalog sources, each as url[@ref] where ref is a branch, tag, latest, or PEP 440 constraint (e.g., >=2.0.0,<3.0.0). Commands that resolve a catalog use the single configured entry, or the --catalog-source flag overrides it. A catalog source is required by kanon search, kanon add, kanon outdated, kanon why, and kanon catalog audit. kanon install is hermetic: it reads only .kanon and .kanon.lock and does not consult a catalog source.

KANON_HOME Root of the shared kanon store and caches (default ~/.kanon). The --home / --store-dir <path> global flag overrides it for a single invocation; precedence is flag > KANON_HOME > ~/.kanon. Replaces the removed KANON_WORKSPACE_DIR / KANON_CACHE_DIR variables. Synced artifacts and the per-.kanon workspace lock both live under ${KANON_HOME}/store/, so the project directory holds only .kanon (plus .kanon.lock after the first install) and never a .kanon-data/ lock directory.

KANON_SKIP_UPDATE_CHECK Set to 1 to skip the PyPI update-available check (equivalent to the --no-update-check global flag).

See docs/configuration.md for the full environment-variable reference.

Example .kanon

# Auto-added by `kanon add` of a claude-marketplace entry / `kanon marketplace
# enable`; pruned on the last `kanon remove` / `kanon marketplace disable`.
# Hand-set it only to override the directory.
CLAUDE_MARKETPLACES_DIR=${HOME}/.claude-marketplaces

# Source: build -- build tooling packages.
# The _GITBASE line below is present only because this source's manifest
# references ${GITBASE}; a manifest with fully-literal remotes has no env-var line.
KANON_SOURCE_build_URL=https://github.com/your-org/kanon-manifests.git
KANON_SOURCE_build_REF=main
KANON_SOURCE_build_PATH=repo-specs/build/meta.xml
KANON_SOURCE_build_NAME=build
KANON_SOURCE_build_GITBASE=https://github.com/your-org

# Source: marketplaces -- plugin marketplaces (per-source marketplace toggle)
KANON_SOURCE_marketplaces_URL=https://github.com/your-org/kanon-manifests.git
KANON_SOURCE_marketplaces_REF=main
KANON_SOURCE_marketplaces_PATH=repo-specs/marketplaces/meta.xml
KANON_SOURCE_marketplaces_NAME=marketplaces
KANON_SOURCE_marketplaces_GITBASE=https://github.com/your-org
KANON_SOURCE_marketplaces_MARKETPLACE=true

---

Architecture

                    ┌─────────────────────────┐
                    │     Kanon CLI           │
                    │ (search / add / install/│
                    │   clean / validate)     │
                    └───────────┬─────────────┘
                                │
               defines          │            uses
                                v
              ┌────────────────────────────────────────┐
              │       Manifest Repository              │
              │  - Top-level dependency manifests      │
              │  - Declares relationships between      │
              │    domain and automation repos         │
              └──────────────────┬─────────────────────┘
                                 │
        references               │                references
                                 │
             v                                       v
┌───────────────────────┐                ┌────────────────────────┐
│  Package Repositories │                │ Automation Repositories│
│ (build conventions,   │                │ (shared tasks,         │
│  linting, security)   │                │  validation, scanning) │
└────────────┬──────────┘                └───────────┬────────────┘
             │                                       │
             └───────────────────┬───────────────────┘
                                 │
                                 v
                   ┌────────────────────────────┐
                   │   kanon repo subsystem     │
                   │ (manifest-driven sync with │
                   │  envsubst + PEP 440)       │
                   │ Executes manifests, syncs  │
                   │ repos, manages workspace   │
                   └────────────────────────────┘

How It Works

Kanon's kanon repo subsystem orchestrates dependencies across Git repositories via XML manifests. Manifests define what to clone, where to place it, and how to wire it together.

The install lifecycle follows three steps per source:

1. kanon repo init -- Clones the manifest repository. ${VARIABLE} placeholders remain as-is in the XML.
2. kanon repo envsubst -- Reads variables from .kanon (e.g., GITBASE) and replaces ${VARIABLE} placeholders in all manifest XML files.
3. kanon repo sync -- Clones packages using the now-resolved URLs into .packages/.

After all sources are synced, Kanon aggregates their packages into a single .packages/ directory using symlinks, giving consumers a unified view regardless of which source provided each package.

Directory Structure After Install

Fetched artifacts live in the shared KANON_HOME store ($KANON_HOME, default ~/.kanon), content-addressed and deduped across projects. Only .kanon and .kanon.lock live in (and are committed to) the project itself:

project/
  .kanon                            # Configuration (committed)
  .kanon.lock                       # Resolved SHAs (committed)

$KANON_HOME/                        # Shared store (default ~/.kanon; not in the repo)
  store/
    .kanon-data/
      sources/
        build/                      # Isolated source workspace
          .repo/
          .packages/
            my-build-conventions/
        marketplaces/               # Isolated source workspace
          .repo/
          .packages/
            my-marketplace-plugin/
    .packages/                      # Aggregated symlinks
      my-build-conventions -> \
        ../.kanon-data/sources/build/.packages/my-build-conventions
      my-marketplace-plugin -> \
        ../.kanon-data/sources/marketplaces/.packages/my-marketplace-plugin

Relocate the store for a single invocation with --home / --store-dir, or persistently with the KANON_HOME environment variable. When the store happens to live inside a git repository, kanon install writes a .gitignore safety net into the store root so fetched artifacts are never committed.

Multi-Source Isolation

Each source is initialized and synced in its own isolated directory under .kanon-data/sources/<name>/. Sources cannot interfere with each other -- each gets its own kanon repo init / kanon repo sync cycle. If two sources produce a package with the same name, Kanon detects the collision and fails immediately with an actionable error message.

Environment Variable Portability (envsubst)

The envsubst feature makes manifests portable across organizations. Instead of hard-coding Git URLs in manifest XML, you use ${GITBASE} placeholders:

<!-- Portable -- resolved from .kanon at install time -->
<remote name="origin" fetch="${GITBASE}"/>

Each dependency carries its own org base in KANON_SOURCE_<alias>_GITBASE, which is exported as ${GITBASE} while that source's manifests are processed. Adopting Kanon for a different organization means pointing a dependency at a different base:

KANON_SOURCE_my_dep_GITBASE=https://github.com/your-company

CI/CD pipelines can override a dependency's base via environment variables without modifying .kanon (environment variables take precedence over .kanon file values):

KANON_SOURCE_my_dep_GITBASE=https://git.internal.company.com kanon install

For full documentation, see docs/how-it-works.md.

---

Creating a Manifest Repository

A manifest repository contains repo-specs/ with XML manifests that define what packages to sync, from which repositories, and at which versions. The manifest repo IS the catalog -- there is no separate catalog/ directory. Each catalog entry is a single *.xml file under repo-specs/ (any filename) that carries a nested <catalog-metadata> block; the <catalog-metadata><name> child is the entry name consumers pass to kanon add <name>. See docs/creating-manifest-repos.md for the full catalog-author guide and docs/repo/manifest-format.md for the underlying XML schema.

Structure

my-manifest-repo/
  repo-specs/
    git-connection/
      remote.xml             # Git remotes with ${GITBASE} placeholders
    my-archetype/
      my-archetype-marketplace.xml  # Catalog entry (carries <catalog-metadata>)
      packages.xml           # Package repos with pinned versions

Catalog entry

Each catalog entry is an XML file under repo-specs/ (any filename) containing exactly one nested <catalog-metadata> block. Required fields are name, display-name, description, and version; recommended fields are type, owner-name, owner-email, and keywords (comma-separated). The legacy flat-attribute scheme (metadata as XML attributes) is rejected.

<package>
  <catalog-metadata>
    <name>my-archetype</name>
    <display-name>My Archetype</display-name>
    <description>Build conventions and lint config for service repos.</description>
    <version>1.0.0</version>
    <type>library</type>
    <owner-name>Platform Team</owner-name>
    <owner-email>[e-mail]</owner-email>
    <keywords>build,lint,conventions</keywords>
  </catalog-metadata>
  <include name="repo-specs/my-archetype/packages.xml" />
</package>

kanon validate metadata and kanon catalog audit enforce the <catalog-metadata> contract.

remote.xml -- Git Remote Definition

Defines where packages are hosted using ${GITBASE} for portability:

<manifest>
  <remote name="origin" fetch="${GITBASE}" />
  <default remote="origin" revision="refs/tags/1.0.0" />
</manifest>

packages.xml -- Package Declarations

Lists each package repository, its local path, and the pinned version:

<manifest>
  <include name="repo-specs/git-connection/remote.xml" />

  <project name="my-build-conventions"
           path=".packages/my-build-conventions"
           remote="origin"
           revision="refs/tags/1.0.0" />

  <project name="my-lint-config"
           path=".packages/my-lint-config"
           remote="origin"
           revision="refs/tags/2.1.0" />
</manifest>

Entry-point manifest

The *-marketplace.xml catalog entry is the entry point referenced by the KANON_SOURCE_<name>_PATH value that kanon add writes into .kanon. It pulls in the package declarations via <include>:

<package>
  <catalog-metadata>
    <!-- ... required + recommended fields ... -->
  </catalog-metadata>
  <include name="repo-specs/my-archetype/packages.xml" />
</package>

Include Chains for Hierarchy

Manifests can include other manifests via <include> tags, forming a hierarchy. This enables cascading configurations where common packages are defined once and specialized packages are layered on top:

my-archetype-marketplace.xml
  └── packages.xml (leaf -- e.g., specific project type)
        └── packages.xml (framework level)
              └── packages.xml (language level)
                    └── packages.xml (common/base)

Each level includes its parent and adds its own package entries. The kanon repo subsystem recursively resolves all includes, accumulating a unified set of packages.

Updating Package Versions

1. Tag the package repository with the new semver version
2. Update the revision attribute in the corresponding packages.xml
3. Run kanon validate xml to verify manifests remain valid
4. Tag and push the manifest repository

Projects pick up the new versions on next kanon install.

For more details, see CONTRIBUTING.md.

---

Creating Packages

A package is a Git repository containing automation scripts (configuration files, shell scripts, etc.) tagged with semver versions. Kanon syncs packages to .packages/ where build tools can discover and apply them.

Package Structure

my-package/
  automation-script.sh        # Shell scripts, config files, etc.
  config/                     # Optional: configuration files
  README.md                   # Package documentation
  CHANGELOG.md                # Version history

Versioning

Use semantic versioning with Git tags:

• MAJOR -- Breaking changes (renamed tasks, removed config, changed behavior)
• MINOR -- New features (new tasks, new config options)
• PATCH -- Bug fixes (corrected config, fixed task behavior)

git tag -a 1.0.0 -m "Release 1.0.0"
git push origin 1.0.0

Registering a Package

Add the package to a manifest's packages.xml:

<project name="my-package"
         path=".packages/my-package"
         remote="origin"
         revision="refs/tags/1.0.0" />

Symlinks via linkfile

Some packages contain assets (configuration files, templates) that tools expect at conventional paths. The <linkfile> element creates symlinks from the package directory to the project root:

<project name="my-lint-config"
         path=".packages/my-lint-config"
         remote="origin"
         revision="refs/tags/1.0.0">
  <linkfile src="config/checkstyle/checkstyle.xml"
            dest="config/checkstyle/checkstyle.xml" />
</project>

After kanon repo sync, the project has config/checkstyle/checkstyle.xml as a symlink pointing into .packages/. These symlinked paths should be gitignored since they are regenerated by kanon install.

---

Creating Marketplace Packages

Marketplace packages use <linkfile> symlinks to expose plugins to Claude Code. They follow a cascading manifest hierarchy where each level includes its parent, enabling shared tools across project types while adding specialized plugins at each level.

Marketplace Manifest Structure

<manifest>
  <!-- Include shared remote definitions -->
  <include name="repo-specs/git-connection/remote.xml" />

  <!-- Add this level's marketplace project -->
  <project name="my-marketplace-packages"
           path=".packages/my-marketplace-dev-lint"
           remote="origin"
           revision="refs/tags/development/dev-lint/1.0.0">
    <linkfile src="development/dev-lint"
              dest="${CLAUDE_MARKETPLACES_DIR}/my-marketplace-dev-lint" />
  </project>
</manifest>

Key Requirements

• All <linkfile dest> attributes must start with ${CLAUDE_MARKETPLACES_DIR}/
• Each <project path> must be unique across all manifests
• The per-source KANON_SOURCE_<alias>_MARKETPLACE flag in .kanon must be set to true for the marketplace source
• CLAUDE_MARKETPLACES_DIR must be present in .kanon (auto-added by kanon add / kanon marketplace enable; hand-set only to override the dir)

Naming Convention

Marketplace manifest files must be named *-marketplace.xml (e.g., claude-history-marketplace.xml, immutable-audit-trail-marketplace.xml). The kanon validate marketplace command discovers files matching this pattern under repo-specs/.

Cascading Includes

Manifests support cascading <include> chains where each level includes its parent. This enables shared remote definitions, common project entries, and layered composition across project types. Currently marketplace manifests use a flat structure (each manifest includes remote.xml directly), but cascading hierarchies are fully supported when needed.

Validation

kanon validate marketplace

This checks linkfile destination prefixes, include chain integrity, project path uniqueness, and revision format validity.

For full documentation, see docs/claude-marketplaces-guide.md.

---

Manifest Features (PEP 440 Constraints)

Kanon adds the following capabilities to manifest-driven sync:

PEP 440 Version Constraints in Manifests

<project revision> accepts PEP 440 version constraint syntax in addition to a branch, tag, or commit SHA. Constraints resolve to the best matching tag at sync time.

How It Works

The resolver splits the revision attribute at the last / into a tag-path prefix and a constraint. It filters available tags by that prefix, evaluates the constraint, and returns the highest matching version.

revision="refs/tags/example/development/dev-lint/~=1.2.0"
         |------------- prefix ----------------| |- constraint -|

1. Filter tags starting with  refs/tags/example/development/dev-lint/
2. Parse version suffixes:    1.0.0, 1.2.0, 1.2.3, 1.3.0, 2.0.0
3. Evaluate ~=1.2.0:          1.2.0   1.2.3   (others excluded)
4. Return highest match:      refs/tags/example/development/dev-lint/1.2.3

Supported Constraint Types

Operator	Syntax	Meaning
Patch-compatible	~=1.2.0	>=1.2.0, <1.3.0 (any patch in 1.2.x)
Range	>=1.0.0,<2.0.0	Any version up to (not including) 2.0.0
Wildcard	*	Any available version (selects the latest)
Exact	==1.2.3	Only version 1.2.3
Minimum	>=1.0.0	1.0.0 or higher
Exclusion	!=1.0.1	Any version except 1.0.1

XML Escaping

Certain characters are reserved in XML and must be escaped inside attribute values. The most common case is < in range constraints:

Character	Escape	When required
<	&lt;	Always (reserved XML character)
&	&amp;	Always (reserved XML character)
"	&quot;	Inside " delimited attributes
'	&apos;	Inside ' delimited attributes
>	&gt;	Optional (> also valid in attributes)

Example with range constraint:

<project name="my-package"
         path=".packages/my-package"
         remote="origin"
         revision="refs/tags/my-package/>=1.0.0,&lt;2.0.0" />

PEP 440 Version Resolution in .kanon

The CLI supports PEP 440 constraint syntax in KANON_SOURCE_<alias>_REF entries in .kanon. Constraints are resolved against available git tags before being passed to the sync engine.

Supported Operators

Operator	Syntax	Meaning
Compatible release	~=1.2.0	>=1.2.0, <1.3.0
Range	>=1.0.0,<2.0.0	Any version in range
Exact	==1.2.3	Only 1.2.3
Minimum	>=1.0.0	1.0.0 or higher
Exclusion	!=1.0.1	Any version except 1.0.1
Wildcard	*	Latest available

Plain strings without PEP 440 operators pass through unchanged.

Prefixed Constraints (KANON_SOURCE_<alias>_REF)

Source refs support an optional refs/tags/ prefix. This is recommended because the resolved value is passed to kanon repo init -b, which accepts full ref paths:

# Resolves to refs/tags/1.1.2 -- works directly with kanon repo init -b
KANON_SOURCE_build_REF=refs/tags/~=1.1.0

# Namespaced -- only considers tags under that path
KANON_SOURCE_build_REF=refs/tags/dev/python/my-lib/~=1.2.0

# Also supported -- resolves against all tags
KANON_SOURCE_build_REF=~=1.1.0

For full details, see docs/version-resolution.md.

Absolute Linkfile Destinations

<linkfile dest> accepts absolute paths after envsubst expansion, enabling marketplace symlinks to directories outside the project (e.g., ${CLAUDE_MARKETPLACES_DIR}/...).

---

SSH Authentication Setup

Kanon uses HTTPS Git URLs internally. If you authenticate with GitHub via SSH instead of HTTPS tokens, configure Git to rewrite HTTPS URLs to SSH globally:

git config --global url."[e-mail]:".insteadOf "https://github.com/"

This tells Git to use SSH for all github.com requests, which Kanon's git clone, git ls-remote, and kanon repo commands will then use automatically.

Note: The --global flag is required. Using --local will not work because kanon repo operates in its own working directories with their own local Git configuration.

For other Git hosts, adjust the URL accordingly:

git config --global url."[e-mail]:".insteadOf "https://gitlab.com/"
git config --global \
  url."[e-mail]:".insteadOf "https://bitbucket.org/"

To verify the configuration:

git config --global --get-regexp url

---

Developer Setup

Prerequisites

• Python 3.11+
• uv

Install from Source

make install-dev

Set Up Git Hooks

make install-hooks

Run Tests

make test              # All tests with coverage
make test-unit         # Unit tests only
make test-integration  # Integration tests (modules end-to-end)
make test-functional   # Functional tests (CLI via subprocess)
make test-scenarios    # End-to-end scenario tests
make test-cov          # Tests with coverage report

Build

make publish       # Clean, build, and check distribution

Project Structure

src/kanon_cli/
  cli.py              # Entry point
  commands/           # Subcommand implementations
  core/               # Core logic (install, clean, kanon parsing, lockfile)
  completions/        # Shell-completion generators
  utils/              # Shared helpers
  repo/               # kanon repo subsystem (manifest sync, PEP 440)
tests/                # Unit and functional tests
docs/                 # Configuration, lifecycle, version resolution docs
pyproject.toml        # Package config (hatchling, entry point: kanon)

Contributing

See CONTRIBUTING.md for commit conventions, PR process, and how the automated release pipeline works.

CI/CD Pipeline

This project uses a fully automated SDLC pipeline:

1. PR Validation -- Lint, build, test (90% coverage), security scan on every PR
2. Main Branch Validation -- Full validation + CodeQL on merge to main
3. Manual QA Approval -- Human gate before release
4. Automated Release -- Semantic versioning from conventional commit prefixes, changelog generation, tagging
5. PyPI Publishing -- Automated publish via OIDC trusted publishing

PR titles must follow Conventional Commits format (e.g., feat: add feature, fix: resolve bug) as they drive automatic version bumps.

---

Documentation

• How It Works -- Technical deep-dive into Kanon internals
• Setup Guide -- Step-by-step setup for new and existing projects
• Configuration -- .kanon format and variable expansion
• Lifecycle -- Install and clean lifecycle step-by-step
• Multi-Source Guide -- Configuring multiple manifest sources
• Version Resolution -- PEP 440 resolver details
• Creating Manifest Repos -- Authoring manifest repositories
• Creating Packages -- Authoring individual package repositories
• Claude Marketplaces Guide -- Marketplace architecture and plugin lifecycle
• Pipeline Integration -- Using Kanon tasks in CI/CD pipelines
• Integration Testing -- End-to-end CLI test plan
• kanon repo reference -- Manifest format, .repo/ layout, hooks, smart sync, Python support (Windows is not currently supported; see Platform support and use WSL2)
• Contributing -- How to create and maintain Kanon packages and marketplaces

---

License

Apache 2.0. See LICENSE.