knowledgevault 0.9.0

CLI-first personal knowledge base for AI agents — structured, navigable, zero extra cost

kvault

Tell your AI agent to build you a knowledge base. That's it.

pip install knowledgevault

kvault gives your coding agent persistent, structured memory. It runs as a CLI tool that any agent can call via shell: terminal coding agents, editors, IDE assistants, or any tool that can execute commands. kvault itself requires no extra API keys, hosted service, or database.

Your agent creates nodes (people, projects, notes, categories), navigates the hierarchy via parent summaries, and keeps everything in sync — all through simple CLI commands.

Who is this for?

Developers using AI coding tools who want their agent to remember things between sessions — contacts, projects, meeting notes, research — in a structured, navigable format.

What makes it different?

	kvault	Flat memory files	Hosted docs / memory apps	Note-vault templates
Structure	Hierarchical nodes with navigable tree	Flat JSON	Rich docs, flat search	Obsidian vault
Agent-native	CLI commands, works in any subprocess	MCP server	Chat/sidebar workflow	Template, not runtime
Service model	Plain files + local CLI	Local server	Hosted workspace	Local vault
Navigation	Parent summaries at every level	None	AI-generated	Manual
Search	Structured node search + native grep/find	Built-in	Built-in	Manual

Quickstart (30 seconds)

1. Install

pip install knowledgevault

2. Initialize a knowledge base

kvault init ./my_kb --name "Your Name"

3. Tell your agent

"Use kvault CLI commands to manage my knowledge base at ./my_kb"

Your agent reads the generated AGENTS.md for workflow instructions and starts working. Use --kb-root ./my_kb from the directory containing my_kb, or pass an absolute path.

Tool setup tips:

Tool	Setup
Project-instruction agents	Keep AGENTS.md in the KB root so the agent reads the workflow automatically
Terminal agents	Tell the agent: "Read AGENTS.md for the kvault workflow, then use shell commands to manage ./my_kb"
Custom-instruction agents	Paste the generated AGENTS.md workflow into the workspace or system instructions

Try it: import an exported history

The best way to see kvault in action is to point it at data you already have. Many chat, email, calendar, and notes tools can export JSON, Markdown, CSV, mbox, or zip archives. Your agent can turn those raw exports into a structured, navigable knowledge base in minutes.

Exports can contain sensitive information. kvault stores files locally in your KB, but your agent may read excerpts while processing them and send those excerpts to its model provider. Review or redact exports first if that matters for your use case.

1. Export source data

Download an archive from a tool you already use. Keep the raw files under sources/ so they stay separate from curated nodes.

2. Unzip it into your KB

mkdir -p my_kb/sources/conversations
unzip conversation-export.zip -d my_kb/sources/conversations

3. Tell your agent to process it

Read through the exported files in sources/conversations.
Extract the people, projects, and ideas I've discussed most frequently.
Create nodes for each one in the knowledge base.

Your agent will use kvault CLI commands to create structured nodes with frontmatter and propagate summaries.

The 2-call write workflow

# Call 1: Write node (stdin = frontmatter + markdown body)
kvault write people/contacts/acme --create --reasoning "New customer" --json --kb-root ./my_kb <<'EOF'
---
source: meeting_2026-02-25
aliases: [ACME Corp]
---
# ACME Corp
Key customer acquired at trade show...
EOF
# → {"success": true, "ancestors": [{path, current_content, has_meta}, ...]}

# Call 2: Agent reads ancestors, composes updated summaries
kvault update-summaries --json --kb-root ./my_kb <<'EOF'
[
  {"path": "people/contacts", "content": "# Contacts\n...updated..."},
  {"path": "people", "content": "# People\n...updated..."}
]
EOF
# → {"success": true, "updated": ["people/contacts", "people"], "count": 2}

What a node looks like

Each node is a directory with a single _summary.md file containing YAML frontmatter. Leaf nodes often represent entities such as people, projects, or notes; parent nodes summarize their descendants.

---
created: 2026-02-06
updated: 2026-02-06
source: manual
aliases: [Morgan Lee, [e-mail]]
email: [e-mail]
---
# Morgan Lee

Research collaborator tracking evaluation notes and follow-up questions.

Required frontmatter: source, aliases (kvault sets created/updated automatically)

What a knowledge base looks like

my_kb/
├── _summary.md                          # Root: executive overview
├── AGENTS.md                            # Agent workflow instructions
├── people/
│   ├── _summary.md                      # "12 contacts across 3 categories"
│   ├── family/
│   │   └── _summary.md
│   ├── friends/
│   │   ├── _summary.md
│   │   └── alex_rivera/
│   │       └── _summary.md
│   └── contacts/
│       ├── _summary.md
│       └── sarah_chen/
│           └── _summary.md
├── projects/
│   ├── _summary.md
│   └── launch_plan/
│       └── _summary.md
├── journal/
│   └── 2026-02/
│       └── log.md
└── .kvault/
    └── logs.db                          # Observability

CLI commands

Category	Commands
Node	kvault search, kvault read, kvault write, kvault list
Compatibility	kvault read-summary, kvault write-summary, kvault ancestors, kvault delete, kvault move
Journal	kvault journal
Status	kvault status, kvault tree
Validation	kvault validate, kvault check
Artifacts	kvault artifact daily
Logs	kvault log summary
Init	kvault init

Agent-facing commands support --json for machine-readable output. --kb-root overrides auto-detection on KB-bound commands, and it works before or after the subcommand:

kvault read people/friends/alice --json --kb-root ./my_kb
kvault search "alice project notes" --json --kb-root ./my_kb
kvault artifact daily --json --kb-root ./my_kb

kvault search is structured node discovery: it searches visible _summary.md files, ranks title, path, alias, heading, and body matches, and returns node paths with snippets. Raw filesystem search is still useful for exact text investigation:

rg -n "alice|project" ./my_kb
kvault search "alice project" --json --kb-root ./my_kb
kvault read people/friends/alice --json --kb-root ./my_kb

kvault read <path> is canonical context retrieval. It returns the full requested node plus its immediate parent summary by default.

File-native browsing

kvault is just Markdown files and CLI tools. For navigation, combine structured commands with native file search or your preferred Markdown viewer:

kvault tree --kb-root ./my_kb
kvault search "alice project" --json --kb-root ./my_kb
kvault read people/friends/alice --json --kb-root ./my_kb
rg -n "alice|project" ./my_kb

Optional MCP compatibility

CLI remains the primary interface for shell-capable agents. For MCP-native clients, kvault also ships a stdio MCP compatibility server:

pip install "knowledgevault[mcp]"
kvault-mcp --kb-root /absolute/path/to/my_kb

knowledgevault[mcp] requires Python 3.10+. The server is bound to one KB root per process; use a separate kvault-mcp process for each KB. You can pass the root with --kb-root or set KVAULT_KB_ROOT.

Generic MCP client config:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "kvault": {
      "command": "kvault-mcp",
      "args": ["--kb-root", "/absolute/path/to/my_kb"]
    }
  }
}

Root-pinned config for shared runtimes:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "kvault": {
      "command": "kvault-mcp",
      "args": ["--kb-root", "/absolute/path/to/my_kb"],
      "env": {
        "KVAULT_ALLOWED_ROOTS": "/absolute/path/to/my_kb"
      }
    }
  }
}

The compatibility server exposes root-bound tools for node search/read/write/list, legacy entity and summary calls, ancestor lookup, journaling, daily artifact generation, validation, and phase logging:

Category	Tools
Lifecycle	kvault_init, kvault_status
Nodes	kvault_search, kvault_read_node, kvault_write_node, kvault_list_nodes
Compatibility	kvault_read_entity, kvault_write_entity, kvault_list_entities, kvault_read_summary, kvault_write_summary, kvault_delete_entity, kvault_move_entity
Summaries	kvault_update_summaries, kvault_get_parent_summaries, kvault_get_ancestors, kvault_propagate_all
Journal / artifacts	kvault_write_journal, kvault_generate_daily_artifact
Validation / logging	kvault_validate_kb, kvault_log_phase

Compatibility tools accept an optional kg_root argument for older clients, but it must match the server-bound root. kvault_init reports bound-root status and rejects mismatched roots; it does not create or reinitialize a KB.

MCP clients should use the same propagation workflow as the CLI:

1. Call kvault_status, kvault_list_nodes, or kvault_search to orient.
2. Call kvault_read_node before editing; it returns the node plus parent context.
3. Call kvault_write_node with durable frontmatter and body content.
4. Use the returned ancestors or kvault_get_parent_summaries to update parent summaries.
5. Call kvault_update_summaries so every parent remains a useful rollup.
6. Call kvault_validate_kb after larger edits.

Optional root pinning (multi-tenant hardening)

For shared runtimes, pin allowed roots:

export KVAULT_ALLOWED_ROOTS="/absolute/path/to/my_kb"

Python API

from pathlib import Path
from kvault.core import operations as ops

kg_root = Path("my_kb")

# Read/write/search nodes
node = ops.read_node(kg_root, "people/contacts/sarah_chen")
result = ops.write_node(kg_root, "people/contacts/new_person", "# Content", create=True)
matches = ops.search_nodes(kg_root, "sarah follow up")

# Entity reconciliation remains available for dedup decisions
from kvault import scan_entities, EntityResearcher
entities = scan_entities(kg_root)
researcher = EntityResearcher(kg_root)
action, target, confidence = researcher.suggest_action("Morgan Lee")

Integrity check

Run kvault check to catch stale summaries and weak parent rollups:

kvault check --kb-root /absolute/path/to/my_kb

[KB] warnings keep the existing nonzero exit behavior. SUMMARY: warnings are warn-only by default, capped at 5 lines, and call out parent summaries that are too short, omit immediate children, or contain placeholder/redirect language. Use --no-summary-quality to skip that audit.

If your tool supports pre-prompt hooks, you can automate this:

{
  "hooks": {
    "UserPromptSubmit": [
      {
        "type": "command",
        "command": "kvault check --kb-root /absolute/path/to/my_kb"
      }
    ]
  }
}

It's just files

kvault produces Markdown with YAML frontmatter in a plain directory. No proprietary format, no database to export from. Your existing tools work out of the box:

Want to...	Use
Semantic search	Embed the .md files with any vector tool
Exact text search	rg -n "phrase" ./my_kb
Visual browsing	Open the KB directory in Obsidian or Logseq
Publish as a site	Point Hugo, Jekyll, or Astro at the directory
CI validation	Run kvault validate or kvault check in a GitHub Action
Bulk export	find . -name _summary.md + yq over the frontmatter

Development

pip install -e ".[dev,mcp]"
pytest -q
ruff check .
black --check kvault/ tests/
mypy kvault/ --ignore-missing-imports

License

MIT