Quick start

This page starts a new knowledge base from the starter kit. The starter kit is a generic knowledge base with zero findings, its checks, and Claude Code skills that fill its skeletons (SaaS features, design system, conventions, architecture decision records).

You need git, and Python 3.10 or later with PyYAML 6 for the starter kit’s checks (see requirements). Install cube first.

1. Get the starter kit

Download the starter kit, kit-starter-<version>.tar.gz, from the release on the releases page.

2. Make it a git repository

Extract it into a new git repository and commit its files:

tar -xzf kit-starter-0.1.0.tar.gz
mv kit-starter-0.1.0 my-kb
cd my-kb
git init
git add -A
git commit -m "Start from The Cube's starter kit"

3. Let The Cube adopt it

cube adopt

cube adopt writes .cube/cube.toml, .cube/cube.lock, the hook scripts in .cube/hooks/ and the agent skill in .claude/skills/cube/, and commits them. It changes no content file.

4. Check it, list it, open the explorer

cube check                  # every check; exit 1 when a finding is an ERROR
cube check --format agent   # the fix brief an AI agent reads
cube ls                     # every indexed file: path, kind, title, state
cube                        # the terminal explorer

The finding codes page lists every code that cube check can report.

5. Render the agent skill again after a change

After you update cube or change kit.yml, write the agent skill for Claude Code again, and commit it:

cube skill render --install

cube check reports a stale copy of the skill (SKILL_STALE).

6. Install the git hooks (Linux)

On Linux, install the git hooks, so that no commit with an ERROR gets in:

cube setup

cube setup writes the absolute paths of cube, git, gh and python3 into your global git config, and core.hooksPath and merge.ff=false into the repository. Do not run it on macOS or Windows yet: the hooks refuse there in the alpha. Hooks and the ratchet says what the hooks refuse, and what to do when cube setup warns that the hooks will refuse a program.

When something is wrong

cube doctor checks your environment (git, Python, the hooks, the kit’s tools) and says what to fix. cube --help lists every command; the commands page shows the help of each.