Install
Requirements
Section titled “Requirements”- Node.js
>=24.15.0 - npm for the primary global install path
- A Git repository when you want reviewable project memory
Check your runtime:
node --versionnpm --versionInstall globally
Section titled “Install globally”npm install -g mdkgmdkg --versionThe public-alpha install path promotes the globally installed CLI because that is the path covered by release validation. One-off runners such as npx, pnpm dlx, and bunx may be useful later, but verify them in your own tooling before documenting them for a team.
Package-manager notes:
- The npm package publishes the
mdkgbinary and validates global install in release smoke tests. - Keep one canonical global CLI on your machine when comparing behavior across repos.
- If a repo pins a local toolchain, use the repo docs first and then compare with
mdkg --version. - Do not put npm tokens, registry credentials, or private package config in mdkg graph nodes or checkpoints.
- Low dependency is part of mdkg’s security posture: Markdown and Git stay authoritative, generated caches are rebuildable, and optional SQLite-backed state remains local infrastructure.
Initialize a repo
Section titled “Initialize a repo”mdkg init --agentmdkg indexmdkg statusmdkg validatemdkg index builds rebuildable access caches. Markdown files remain the durable source of truth.
Expected result:
.mdkg/exists and contains repo-owned project memory.- agent startup guidance exists for coding agents.
mdkg statusreports graph, git, selected-goal, cache, and optional project DB state.mdkg validateeither passes or gives actionable warnings/errors to fix before closeout.
Next, run the quickstart or read Local-first and Low-dependency before introducing mdkg to a larger repo.