Create a Vault

Using a starter recipe

Starter recipes scaffold a vault with documents, packs, and agent instructions tailored to a role:


ctx init --starter developer    # Engineering teams
ctx init --starter executive    # Strategic leadership
ctx init --starter analyst      # Research / OSINT
ctx init --starter team         # General team knowledge base

See all starters


ctx init --list-starters

Empty vault


ctx init --name "My Project"

This creates the vault structure without any starter content. You can apply a starter later by running ctx init --starter <recipe> in the same directory.

What gets created


my-project/
├── CONTEXT.md           # Vault-level system prompt for AI agents
├── context.yaml         # Machine-readable index
├── nodes/               # Knowledge documents
│   └── INDEX.md
├── sources/             # Source nodes (live data)
├── packs/               # Context packs
└── .context/
    └── config.yaml      # Vault configuration

Layout modes

Context Nest supports two layout modes:

Mode	Structure	Best for
`structured` (default)	`nodes/`, `sources/`, `packs/` directories	Teams, CI/CD, programmatic access
`obsidian`	Flat folder structure	Obsidian users, personal vaults


ctx init --layout obsidian --name "My Notes"