Get started

Your first five minutes

Install one binary, point your AI client at it, restart. The vault is a folder of markdown files on your machine. No account needed.

1
Install
shell
```
curl -fsSL https://context-vault.com/install.sh | bash
```
Installs a native binary to ~/.local/bin/context-vault. No Node.js needed. If that folder is not on your PATH, the installer prints the line to add.
2
Connect your AI client
This adds Context Vault to the config of every AI client it finds on this machine; Claude Code is always included. Add --dry-run first to preview.
shell
```
context-vault setup
```
Or pick your client to see exactly what gets written:
Write the config for Claude Code only:
shell
```
context-vault setup --client claude-code
```
This adds the entry below to ~/.claude.json.
json
```
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "context-vault": {
      "command": "context-vault",
      "args": ["mcp"]
    }
  }
}
```
Restart Claude Code, then run /mcp to confirm context-vault is connected.
3
Restart your client
MCP servers are loaded at startup. Quit and reopen Claude Code, Cursor, Codex or Windsurf so it picks up the new entry.
4
Check the install
shell
```
context-vault doctor
```
Prints the database path, the vault folder and engine health. You want to see engine health: OK. The vault folder defaults to ~/.vault.
5
Save something, then ask for it in a new session
In your client, say:
prompt
```
Save a decision: we use SQLite for local storage because it needs no infra.
```
Open a fresh session and ask:
prompt
```
Search my vault: what database do we use, and why?
```
Your agent calls save_context and get_context. The entry is a markdown file in your vault folder you can open and edit.

Teach your agent when to save Full setup reference

Prefer a web dashboard? Use a hosted vault. Local and hosted storage are separate. Create a hosted account.

Install

Connect your AI client

Restart your client

Check the install

Save something, then ask for it in a new session