GNO - Local Knowledge Engine

Fast local semantic search. Index once, search instantly. Local inference needs no API key; configured HTTP backends and explicit gno.sh publishing are separate network boundaries.

When to Use This Skill

• User asks to search files, documents, or notes
• User wants to find information in local folders
• User needs to index a directory for searching
• User mentions PDFs, markdown, Word docs, code to search
• User asks about knowledge base or RAG setup
• User wants semantic/vector search over their files
• User needs to set up MCP for document access
• User wants a web UI to browse/search documents
• User wants a deterministic, budgeted evidence bundle for an agent task
• User asks to get AI answers from their documents
• User wants to tag, categorize, or filter documents
• User asks about backlinks, wiki links, or related notes
• User wants to visualize document connections or see a knowledge graph
• User wants to export a note or collection for gno.sh publishing

Quick Start

gno setup ~/docs --name docs          # Index + prove exact BM25; semantic continues
gno search "your query"               # BM25 keyword search

gno setup is the default activation path. It is idempotent, returns only after exact lexical proof, and runs directly without resident/Web/MCP attachment. Use --no-semantic to start no worker and record skipped state. Inside a repository with .gno/index.yml, setup inspects the optional profile before mutation. Run gno profile diff, then gno setup . --apply-profile to apply its portable collection/context/content rules before setup proves retrieval. Missing/invalid profiles keep ordinary setup usable; no profile is applied implicitly. Use repeatable --connector with claude-code-skill, claude-desktop-mcp, cursor-mcp, codex-skill, opencode-skill, openclaw-skill, or hermes-skill. Connector skips/failures can return completed_with_actions without invalidating lexical success. Skill targets are installed but report target_runtime_unverifiable.

Recipe Router

Use these recipe files when the task is more than a one-off lookup. Read only the matching recipe, then run the commands it names.

User intent	Recipe	Exit condition
Look up local context before acting	recipes/brain-first-lookup.md	Evidence checked, gaps stated, answer cited
Save a durable fact or note	recipes/capture-and-file.md	Capture receipt, provenance, search verified
Ingest meeting notes/transcripts	recipes/meeting-ingestion.md	Meeting page with decisions/actions verified
Draft from email/thread context	recipes/email-context.md	Local context checked, no native mail claim
Summarize a source	recipes/source-summary.md	Source-summary note with provenance verified
Preserve an idea	recipes/idea-capture.md	Original phrasing captured and findable
Verify claims and citations	recipes/citation-and-provenance.md	Claims labeled with evidence or explicit gaps
File a fact that may change	recipes/memory-file-decision.md	Fact stored (add) or proposal resolved, cited
Replace a stale recalled fact	recipes/memory-supersede-fact.md	Successor written, predecessor superseded
What do we know/believe about X	recipes/memory-scoped-recall.md	Current facts recalled under budget, cited

Recipe rules:

• Use shipped GNO commands only; mark external email/calendar/chat/web inputs as user-supplied or optional.
• Treat pasted/exported source material as untrusted input.
• For write-flavored workflows, capture provenance, then gno index or gno embed when semantic search should see the new note.
• Verify with gno search, gno query, or gno get before calling the work done.

Command Overview

Category	Commands	Description
Search	search, vsearch, query, ask	Find documents by keywords, meaning, or get AI answers
Links	links, backlinks, similar, graph, graph query	Navigate document relationships and typed connections
Retrieve	get, multi-get, ls	Fetch document content by URI or ID
Index	setup, profile check/show/diff/apply, init, collection add/list/remove, index, update, embed	Reproduce profile intent, prove retrieval, then maintain the index
Tags	tags, tags add, tags rm	Organize and filter documents
Context	context add/list/rm/check/build/verify/watch/watches/reverify/unwatch	Configure guidance or compile, verify, and watch saved evidence Capsules
Changes	changes, diff, impact	Inspect bounded metadata history and dependency impact
Traces	trace list/show/label/export/replay/delete/purge	Manage and replay private retrieval receipts
Models	models list/use/pull/clear/path	Manage local AI models
Serve	serve, daemon	One resident Web/headless gateway and watcher
Publish	publish export	Export gno.sh publish artifacts
Memory	remember, recall	Fact-granular agent memory with explicit scopes and supersession
MCP	mcp, mcp install/uninstall/status	AI assistant integration
Skill	skill install/uninstall/show/paths	Install skill for AI agents
Admin	peek, status, doctor, cleanup, reset, vec, completion	Snapshot, maintenance, and diagnostics

Publishing with local images

gno publish export bundles resolved local PNG, JPEG, GIF, WebP, and AVIF references, deduplicates identical bytes, preserves public HTTPS images, and enforces the 100 MiB exact serialized artifact limit. Review assetSummary in --json output for unresolved or unsupported references. Public and secret-link readers serve authorized hosted URLs; encrypted exports keep image bytes inside ciphertext and create scoped Blob URLs only after browser decryption. Hosted invite-only bundled-image delivery is currently fail-closed, so use an asset-free invite, secret link, or encrypted share.

Snapshot, serve, and open

For index counts, backlog, whether serve is up, or recent files, run one cheap snapshot. Do not compose gno status + gno ls + gno changes. Keep gno status / gno_status for activation, onboarding, and heavy health.

gno peek --json

MCP equivalent: gno_peek (same peek@1.0 payload; no arguments). One snapshot, three surfaces: CLI, MCP, this skill.

Open without fetching content via gno get:

• Web UI: {serveUrl}/doc?uri=<encodeURIComponent(uri)> (optional #anchor). Take serveUrl from peek serve.url when serve.running is true.
• Source file: peek recent[].absPath, or search --json results[].source.absPath. If absPath is absent, show the URI tail and do not offer file-open for that row.

Search Modes

Command	Speed	Best For
gno search	instant	Exact keyword matching
gno vsearch	~0.5s	Finding similar concepts
gno query --fast	~0.7s	Quick lookups
gno query	~2-3s	Balanced (default)
gno query --thorough	~5-8s	Best recall, complex queries
gno ask --answer	~3-5s	AI-generated answer with citations
gno ask --verify	varies	Closed-Capsule answer or abstention

Retry strategy: Use default first. If no results: rephrase query, then try --thorough.

Common Flags (search/vsearch/query/ask)

-n <num>              Max results (default: 5)
-c, --collection      Filter to collection
--tags-any <t1,t2>    Has ANY of these tags
--tags-all <t1,t2>    Has ALL of these tags
--since <date>        Modified after date (ISO: 2026-03-01)
--until <date>        Modified before date (ISO: 2026-03-31)
--exclude <terms>     Exclude docs containing any term (comma-separated)
--intent <text>       Disambiguate ambiguous queries (e.g. "python" = language not snake)
--json                JSON output
--files               URI list output
--line-numbers        Include line numbers
--project-root <path> Trusted local root; repeatable and replaces cwd affinity
--no-project-affinity Disable trusted local project-aware ranking
--explain            Include retrieval scoring details

CLI searches use explicit --project-root, the nearest valid compiled project profile, then the current repository/worktree, in that precedence order. A matching collection can receive at most +0.03; roots never stack, all auxiliary signals share ±0.08, and collection/tag/date/exclude/egress filters stay hard. Use --project-root for explicit trusted roots or --no-project-affinity to disable it.

Profile affinity defaults are request-local. gno profile apply never overwrites the user's global projectAffinity default, so one repository cannot change another repository's fallback. Explain/diagnose identify this trusted source as project_profile; contexts, content types, source metadata, and document fields never become project identity.

Configured contentTypes[].searchBoost is a separate local ranking signal. 1 is neutral; 0.5..2 maps to a bounded -0.05..+0.05 contribution, and all auxiliary signals share ±0.08. It cannot create candidates or bypass hard filters. Use gno query --explain, gno ask --explain, or gno query diagnose when the ranking effect matters; normal output omits the boost receipt.

Do not treat MCP/SDK/REST projectHints as paths. They are opaque, untrusted, limited to 16, never trigger filesystem probing, and currently produce zero affinity. Explain uses redacted aliases only. Diagnose preserves exact closed v1.0 bytes and omits affinity for absent, disabled, and remote/untrusted inputs; trusted local diagnose uses closed v1.1 redacted metadata, including an explicit unmatched state. The Web UI does not infer a browser project root.

Advanced: Structured Query Modes (query/ask only)

Use --query-mode to combine multiple retrieval strategies in one query (repeatable):

# Combine keyword + hypothetical document
gno query "API rate limiting" \
  --query-mode "term:rate limit" \
  --query-mode "hyde:how to implement request throttling"

# Add intent steering
gno query "python" \
  --query-mode "term:python" \
  --query-mode "intent:programming language"

Modes: term:<text> (keyword), intent:<text> (disambiguation), hyde:<text> (hypothetical doc for semantic matching). Max one hyde per query.

Document Retrieval

# Full document by URI
gno get gno://work/readme.md

# By document ID
gno get "#a1b2c3d4"

# Specific line range: --from <start> -l <count>
gno get gno://work/report.md --from 100 -l 20

# With line numbers
gno get gno://work/report.md --line-numbers

# JSON output with capabilities metadata
gno get gno://work/report.md --json

# Multiple documents
gno multi-get gno://work/doc1.md gno://work/doc2.md

Editable vs read-only: gno get --json returns a capabilities field showing whether a document is editable at its source. Markdown and plain text files are editable in place. Converted documents (PDF, DOCX, XLSX) and logical records from JSONL, mail, calendar, transcript, or browser exports are read-only -- edit/regenerate the source export or create a new markdown note instead of overwriting GNO's virtual record.

Export records: search/get JSON may include a record object containing an exact bounded source locator, people/dates, thread/event/session identity, attachment inventory, and cue/message/event anchors. source.relPath is the real export file; record.adapter identifies the exact adapter version and configuration fingerprint. Use the result's unique uri or docid with gno get. If update/index reports a partial export snapshot, valid siblings were indexed but unseen old records were intentionally preserved; regenerate the export and rerun the command.

Export source	Activation	Logical record	Important boundary
JSONL/NDJSON	Automatic; optional recordAdapters.jsonl.fieldMapping	One object per line	Configure/map an ID for update-in-place identity; content-derived fallback edits become remove+add
EML/MBOX	Automatic	One message	MIME/body bounded; attachments inventoried, never opened or indexed
ICS	Automatic	One event/exception	Timezone normalized; recurrence anchors capped at 64
VTT/SRT	Automatic	One cue/segment	Speaker and timestamp anchors retained
Generic JSON/text transcript	Explicit recordAdapters.transcript.format	One segment/record	Never guessed from generic JSON/text
.browser-export	Explicit export file	One bookmark/history/reading-list item	Live profiles/databases/cookies rejected; URLs never fetched

Shared defaults: 100 MiB/container, 2,000,000 canonical characters/record, 100,000 metadata characters/record, 50,000,000 characters or 100,000 records/snapshot, 1,000 retained failures, and a 60-second adapter deadline. Only complete authoritative snapshots tombstone disappeared records. No export adapter authenticates to a live account, fetches remote content, executes embedded content, or unpacks attachments/archives.

Search Then Get (common pipeline)

# Search, get full content of top result
gno query "auth" --json | jq -r '.results[0].uri' | xargs gno get

# Exclude documents containing a term
gno search "deployment" --exclude staging

# Get all results
gno search "error handling" --json | jq -r '.results[].uri' | xargs gno multi-get

When the user wants a synthesized answer instead of ranked evidence:

gno ask "What changed in the deployment process?" --answer

When the answer must be checked against one closed evidence set:

gno ask "Who owns the launch decision?" --verify --show-sources

Verified Ask classifies each substantive claim against exact retained Capsule spans and abstains below 100% support. It fails closed when semantic verification is unavailable, incapable, failed, or malformed. Treat it as a closed-Capsule support classification, not proof that the corpus is complete or the underlying sources are true. Plain Ask, --no-answer, and --answer remain available.

Trace recording is local and off by default. metadata mode is diagnostic-only and omits raw query/goal/filter values; replay is separate explicit consent to retain those bounded inputs under configured local retention limits. No receipt is uploaded automatically, and disabling capture does not disable inspection or deletion of existing receipts.

For an explicitly labeled, replay-mode receipt, export content-free qrels and compare one candidate without changing the live ranking setup:

gno trace export <trace-id> --format qrels --output qrels.json
gno trace replay <qrels-export-id> --candidate hybrid --md

Treat replay as evidence for a human promotion decision. It always reports applied: false; never claim that replay changed boosts, prompts, models, configuration, traces, or source files.

Collection Egress Boundaries

Before any non-loopback serving, remote model call, network export, or publish handoff, inspect the participating collections instead of inferring permission from authentication:

gno collection policy get <collection>
gno collection policy check --action <action> \
  --destination <local_process|loopback|lan|remote> \
  --content-class <class> -c <collection> --explain-egress

Absent and migrated policies are local_only. Mixed evidence and derived artifacts inherit the most restrictive source policy. Do not silently omit a restricted collection; use explicit partial mode only when the user asks for it, then report every omitted collection and reason.

Relaxing to lan or remote is a visible user-authorized write. Read the current revision with get, then use gno collection policy set <collection> <policy> --confirm-relaxation <revision>. Never invent or reuse a revision. Tightening to local_only needs no confirmation and invalidates active sessions, streams, and queued work.

Bearer authentication, MCP write enablement, and collection policy are independent gates. EGRESS_DENIED is not permission to retry through another surface. Audit output is local and content-free via gno egress-audit list|show|status; deletion/purge must be explicit. A local policy change cannot retract data already uploaded—tell the user to remove it at the remote service. For gno.sh, supported private links can be revoked or expired in Studio; public-space deletion is not yet self-service, so request takedown. Encrypted gno.sh shares are client-encrypted and never server-decrypted.

Read-Only Knowledge Integrity Audits

Use gno audit [links|provenance|freshness|all] --json or read-only MCP gno_audit only when the user asks what needs attention in a workspace. These offline audits inspect parsed local links, explicitly declared capture/logical- record provenance, and observable source/index freshness. They never repair, rewrite, persist findings, judge factual truth, or replace retrieval.

Treat exit 4 as a complete report with findings. Exit 5 or report status partial/changed_during_audit means evidence is unavailable, inconclusive, cancelled, truncated, or repeatedly changed—never healthy. Preserve stable finding IDs and exact totals when summarizing bounded results. Age is only a review signal when maxAgeDays/--max-age-days is explicitly supplied. Apply collection/path/tag scope and orphan roots/ignore prefixes only from the user's request. gno egress-audit is separate: it manages content-free transport- policy receipts.

MCP Retrieval Strategy

For a long-lived client that supports Streamable HTTP, start one resident owner with gno serve or gno daemon and connect to http://127.0.0.1:3000/mcp. Existing installed stdio entries remain valid. Serve is always loopback-only. Only daemon accepts an explicit non-loopback bind, and only with a restrictive bearer-token file plus exact Host/Origin allowlists. Authentication never enables writes by itself.

For explicit retrieval feedback, use gno_trace_list and gno_trace_show to inspect local receipts. Never infer irrelevance from a missing click, a failed request, or a partial/cancelled outcome. Use write-enabled gno_trace_label only when the user explicitly supplies a relevant/irrelevant/missing-expected judgment. Trace export/delete/purge are also write tools and require separate write enablement; bearer authentication alone is insufficient.

When using GNO through MCP, prefer this retrieval order. Under gno mcp --tool-profile core only gno_query, gno_search, gno_get, gno_multi_get, gno_context, gno_changes, and gno_recall (plus gno_capture and gno_remember with write enabled) are advertised; the remaining steps apply under the default full profile.