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Documentation Index

Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.4stax.com/llms.txt

Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

This page documents the kontxt CLI as it ships from npm. Every example uses npx -y @4stax/kontxt so you do not need a global install. If you prefer a global command, you can install the package globally and run kontxt directly. The flags and subcommands are the same.

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Setup and initialization

npx -y @4stax/kontxt init              # create vault + configure supported MCP hosts
npx -y @4stax/kontxt init --key sk-... # same + store OpenAI key (optional)
init creates the local directory at ~/.kontxt/ and the SQLite vault at ~/.kontxt/vault.db. It also tries to configure supported MCP hosts.

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Writing memories

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add

Use add when you want to explicitly store a durable memory. 
npx -y @4stax/kontxt add "I prefer TypeScript over JavaScript" -t preference
npx -y @4stax/kontxt add "We use Next.js 15 and Tailwind in this repo" -t fact -p web
npx -y @4stax/kontxt add "Chose JWT for auth with 7 day expiry" -t decision -p api
Tips:
  1. Use short, declarative sentences.
  2. Attach a project label with -p when it belongs to a specific repo or product.
  3. Use decision for irreversible choices so they are always easy to retrieve later.

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Reading and searching

Use search to retrieve relevant memories. Search quality depends on your embedding backend. 
npx -y @4stax/kontxt search "language preferences"
npx -y @4stax/kontxt search "auth architecture"

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list

Use list to browse what is stored. 
npx -y @4stax/kontxt list
npx -y @4stax/kontxt list -p 4stax

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Editing and deleting

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edit

Use edit when a memory is mostly correct but needs updating. 
npx -y @4stax/kontxt edit <id> "Updated content"

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delete

Use delete to remove a memory by id. Partial id matches are supported. 
npx -y @4stax/kontxt delete <id>

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Capture from transcripts

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capture

Use capture to extract durable context from a text file or stdin. 
npx -y @4stax/kontxt capture --file conversation.txt
npx -y @4stax/kontxt capture -p myproject < conversation.txt

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extract

extract is an alias for capture: 
npx -y @4stax/kontxt extract --file transcript.txt

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Scanning a codebase

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scan

Use scan when you want kontxt to ingest stable facts about a repo or directory. 
npx -y @4stax/kontxt scan --dir ./my-project --project myapp
What to scan:
  1. Project name and purpose
  2. Tech stack
  3. Repo structure
  4. Commands you run often
What not to scan:
  1. Secrets
  2. Large logs
  3. Files you would not want summarized into memory

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MCP server commands

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serve

Run the MCP server in the foreground. This is what most MCP hosts run. 
npx -y @4stax/kontxt serve

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start and stop

Use these when you want kontxt running as a background daemon. 
npx -y @4stax/kontxt start
npx -y @4stax/kontxt status
npx -y @4stax/kontxt stop

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Maintenance

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status

Use status to see vault stats and embedding mode. 
npx -y @4stax/kontxt status

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vacuum and decay

Use these when you want to remove superseded and low signal memories. 
npx -y @4stax/kontxt vacuum
npx -y @4stax/kontxt decay
For the most up-to-date flags and examples, see the GitHub repo.