Skald CLI

This is the official CLI for Skald. It enables you to add memos, chat with your knowledge base, and even generate docs from your knowledge base.

Installation

npm install -g @skald-labs/cli

# you should run this before any other commands, it will prompt you for an API key
skald auth

Usage

After installation, you can use the skald command:

# Show help
skald --help

# Authenticate with your API key (first time setup)
skald auth

# Initialize documentation structure
skald docs init

# Add a memo from a file
skald memo add --title "Meeting Notes" --file-path ./notes.md

# Add a memo with tags
skald memo add -t "Project Update" -f ./update.md --tags "project,update"

# Write a memo using vi editor
skald memo write

# Write a memo with tags
skald memo write --tags "meeting,notes"

# Ask a question to your knowledge base
skald chat ask "What are our quarterly goals?"

# Ask about specific topics
skald chat ask "Tell me about the API authentication process"

# Show help for a specific command
skald docs --help

# Generate documentation (uses current directory by default)
skald docs generate

# Generate with custom paths
skald docs generate --config-path ./config --output-path ./dist/docs

# Using short flags
skald docs generate -c ./config -o ./dist/docs

Commands

Authentication

• skald auth - Authenticate with your project API key
  • Prompts for API key and stores it securely in ~/.skald/config (macOS/Linux) or %USERPROFILE%\.skald\config (Windows)
  • Required: Must run this command before using any other commands

Documentation Commands

• skald docs init - Initialize documentation structure with example outline.yml
  • --config-path, -c <path> - Path to configuration directory (defaults to current directory)
• skald docs generate - Generate documentation (requires authentication)
  • --config-path, -c <path> - Path to configuration file (defaults to current directory)
  • --output-path, -o <path> - Path to output directory (defaults to current directory)
  • Required files:
    • <config-path>/.skald/outline.yml - Outline configuration file (YAML format)
  • Optional files:
    • <config-path>/.skald/example.md - Example template (warns if not found)
    • <config-path>/.skald/rules.md - Custom rules for documentation generation

Memo Commands

• skald memo add - Add a new memo from a file (requires authentication)
  • --title, -t <title> - Title of the memo (required)
  • --file-path, -f <path> - Path to the file containing memo content (required)
  • --tags <tags> - Comma-separated tags for the memo
  • --source <source> - Source of the memo (defaults to "cli")
  • --reference-id <id> - External reference ID for the memo
• skald memo write - Write a new memo using vi editor (requires authentication)
  • --tags <tags> - Comma-separated tags for the memo
  • --source <source> - Source of the memo (defaults to "cli")
  • --reference-id <id> - External reference ID for the memo

Chat Commands

• skald chat ask <question> - Ask a question to your knowledge base (requires authentication)
  • Streams the response in real-time to the console

Expected Directory Structure for Documentation

When running skald docs generate, your project should have:

<config-path>/
└── .skald/
    ├── outline.yml     # Required: documentation outline (YAML format)
    ├── example.md      # Optional: example template
    └── rules.md        # Optional: custom generation rules

YAML Outline Format

The outline.yml file uses the _docs key to define documentation files:

api:
  _docs:
    - name: authentication.md
      title: Authentication
      description: API authentication guide
  reference:
    _docs:
      - name: user.md
        title: User API
        description: User endpoints

features:
  _docs:
    - name: features.md
      title: Features Overview

Development

Install dependencies:

npm install

Build the project:

npm run build

Link the CLI globally to make the skald command available:

npm link

Uninstall:

npm unlink