CLI Reference

The Context Nest CLI (ctx) provides commands for managing vaults, documents, queries, and version history.

Install


npm install -g @promptowl/contextnest-cli

Commands

Vault management

Command	Description
`ctx init`	Initialize a new vault
`ctx init --starter <recipe>`	Initialize with a starter recipe
`ctx init --list-starters`	List available starters
`ctx index`	Regenerate `context.yaml` and INDEX.md files
`ctx welcome`	Regenerate and open the welcome page

Document operations

Command	Description
`ctx add <path>`	Create a new document
`ctx update <path>`	Update a document
`ctx delete <path>`	Delete a document and its history
`ctx publish <path>`	Publish (bump version, create checkpoint)
`ctx validate [path]`	Validate against the spec
`ctx list`	List documents (filter with `--type`, `--status`, `--tag`)
`ctx search <query>`	Full-text search

Querying

Command	Description
`ctx query <selector>`	Query context from vault or cloud
`ctx resolve <selector>`	Resolve a selector (metadata only)

Versioning

Command	Description
`ctx history <path>`	Show version history
`ctx reconstruct <path> <version>`	Reconstruct a specific version
`ctx verify`	Verify all hash chains

Packs

Command	Description
`ctx pack list`	List context packs
`ctx pack show <id>`	Show pack details

Checkpoints

Command	Description
`ctx checkpoint list`	List checkpoints
`ctx checkpoint rebuild`	Rebuild checkpoint history

Global options

Flag	Description
`--json`	JSON output (supported by most commands)
`--version`	Show CLI version
`--help`	Show help

Vault discovery

The CLI walks up from the current directory to find the nearest vault root (a directory containing .context/config.yaml), similar to how git finds .git/.

Override with the CONTEXTNEST_VAULT_PATH environment variable.

Starter recipes

Recipe	For	What you get
`developer`	Engineering teams	Architecture, API reference, dev setup
`executive`	Leadership	Strategic vision, market landscape, decision log
`analyst`	Research / OSINT	Case files, source registry, methodology
`team`	General teams	Handbook, onboarding guide, runbook