Getting started

Installation

One command sets up local storage, writes MCP config for your clients, and updates agent instruction files.

Terminal

$ npx knowit install

Requires Node.js 20+. No global install needed — the wizard runs via npx and can install knowit globally for you if you want faster future starts.

The interactive installer can:

initialize the local memory store
register or write the Knowit MCP server configuration for supported clients
update agent instruction files
connect a preferred source
optionally migrate architecture or ADR-style markdown into Knowit

Non-interactive installs

Every choice the wizard makes can be passed as a flag, which is useful in scripts and CI:

Terminal

$ npx knowit install --client claude,cursor --scope project --yes
$ npx knowit install --dry-run # preview the plan only

MCP client support

Knowit generates MCP configs that run npx -y knowit@latest serve when the knowit binary is not installed globally. Project installs do not set KNOWIT_DB_PATH; they rely on the client working directory and the project-local .knowit/knowledge.jsonl store.

Client	Installer behavior	MCP config requirement
Claude Code	Runs `claude mcp add`	CLI-managed MCP config
Codex	Runs `codex mcp add`	CLI-managed MCP config
Cursor	Writes `.cursor/mcp.json` (project) or `~/.cursor/mcp.json` (global)	JSON with `mcpServers`
Windsurf	Writes `~/.codeium/windsurf/mcp_config.json`	JSON with `mcpServers`
VS Code / GitHub Copilot	Writes `.vscode/mcp.json` for project scope	JSON with `servers`
Gemini CLI	Writes `.gemini/settings.json` (project) or `~/.gemini/settings.json` (global)	JSON with `mcpServers`
Kiro	Writes `.kiro/settings/mcp.json` (project) or `~/.kiro/settings/mcp.json` (global)	JSON with `mcpServers`
Cline	Writes `~/.cline/data/settings/cline_mcp_settings.json`	JSON with `mcpServers`
Continue	Writes `.continue/mcpServers/knowit.yaml` for project scope	YAML MCP block
Zed	Writes `~/.config/zed/settings.json`	JSON with `context_servers`
JetBrains AI Assistant	Updates instructions only and prints a warning	Add the generated JSON through Settings > Tools > AI Assistant > Model Context Protocol

Update notifications

Interactive CLI commands show a non-blocking notice when a newer npm release is available. Notifications are skipped for knowit serve (so MCP stdio traffic stays clean), in CI, in tests, and in non-interactive terminals. Disable them with NO_UPDATE_NOTIFIER=1 or --no-update-notifier.