Sync

Apply project config after cloning — skills, instructions, models, and search index

Sync

knowns sync reads .knowns/config.json and applies all settings locally. This is the recommended command after cloning a repo that uses Knowns.

Quick Start

git clone <repo>
knowns sync        # sets up everything from config.json

What It Does

  1. Skills — copies built-in skills to platform directories (.claude/skills/, .agent/skills/, .kiro/skills/)
  2. Instructions — generates agent instruction files (KNOWNS.md, CLAUDE.md, AGENTS.md, etc.) for configured platforms. Always overwrites to stay in sync with templates.
  3. Git integration — applies .gitignore rules based on gitTrackingMode setting
  4. Model download — downloads the configured embedding model if not installed locally
  5. Import sync — syncs git-based imports
  6. Search index — rebuilds the semantic search index
  7. MCP configs — syncs MCP config files to use the local binary

Flags

Flag Description
--skills Sync skills only
--instructions Sync instruction files only
--model Download embedding model only
--platform <name> Sync specific platform (claude, gemini, copilot, agents)

Config Fields Used

Config field Sync action
settings.platforms Which platform dirs to sync skills/instructions to
settings.gitTrackingMode Which .gitignore rules to apply
settings.semanticSearch.model Which embedding model to download
settings.semanticSearch.enabled Whether to download model and reindex
settings.autoSyncOnUpdate Whether to auto-sync skills on CLI version change

Git Tracking Modes

Mode Behavior
git-tracked All .knowns/ content is committed. No gitignore rules added.
git-ignored Only config.json, docs/, and templates/ are committed. Tasks stay local.
none No gitignore changes. User manages manually.

Auto-Setup Warning

When running any knowns command in a project where semantic search is configured but the model is not installed, a warning is shown:

⚠ This project uses semantic search but the embedding model is not installed locally.
  Model: GTE Small (gte-small, ~67MB)

Run: knowns sync

Related

  • knowns init — interactive wizard for first-time setup
  • knowns search --reindex — rebuild search index only
  • knowns model download <id> — download a specific model

[Configuration

Configure Knowns CLI for your project](https://knowns.sh/docs/configuration) [Validate

Check tasks, docs, and templates for quality and reference integrity](https://knowns.sh/docs/validate)

On this page

Sync Quick Start What It Does Flags Config Fields Used Git Tracking Modes Auto-Setup Warning Related

Knowns v0.20.5