episteme — command reference
A one-page map of every episteme subcommand, grouped by lifecycle phase.
Run episteme <command> --help for flags and arguments.
Scope key:
- global — targets
~/epistemeor~/.claude/~/.hermes, ignores CWD - project — takes a path arg (default
.), acts on the current project - framework — operates on internal episteme state (hash chain, protocols, evolution)
Daily
| Command | Scope | What it does |
|---|---|---|
episteme bootstrap [path] / new-project [path] | project | Scaffold AGENTS.md, CLAUDE.md, docs/*, .claude/settings.json, .gitignore into the given directory. |
episteme sync | global | Propagate kernel memory + governance policies into ~/.claude/ and ~/.hermes/. Run after editing anything under ~/episteme/core/memory/global/. |
episteme start [claude|...] | project | Launch the preferred agent surface in the current project. |
episteme doctor | global | Verify runtime wiring — Conda presence, core CLI tools, optional integrations. |
episteme audit | project | Check whether the current project session addressed its cognitive unknowns. |
episteme memory {record,list,search,promote} | global | Create, list, search memory records; promote stable episodic patterns to semantic-tier proposals. |
Setup & admin
| Command | Scope | What it does |
|---|---|---|
episteme init | global | One-shot: seed kernel global memory from core/memory/global/examples/*.example.md. Only meaningful on a fresh kernel clone. |
episteme setup | global | Interactive wizard that runs profile + cognition surveys end-to-end. |
episteme profile {survey,infer,hybrid,gap,show,audit} | global | Manage operator-profile axes (planning strictness, risk tolerance, testing rigor, etc.). |
episteme cognition {survey,infer,hybrid,show} | global | Manage cognitive-style axes (dominant lens, noise signature, abstraction entry, etc.). |
episteme update | global | Pull the latest episteme from git. |
episteme list | global | Show installed agents, skills, plugins, and active hooks. |
episteme validate | global | Check manifest integrity — every declared skill must have a SKILL.md. |
Project tools
| Command | Scope | What it does |
|---|---|---|
episteme detect [path] | project | Score which harness type fits the project. |
episteme harness {list,apply} | project | List available harnesses; apply one to a project. A harness defines execution profile + workflow constraints for a project type. |
episteme worktree | project | Create a git worktree for a bounded task in the current repo. |
episteme viewer | project | Start a local read-only dashboard over this repo. |
episteme capture | project | Draft a reasoning-surface.json skeleton from unstructured text (Slack thread, PR desc, ticket, email). Reads stdin. |
Framework internals
| Command | Scope | What it does |
|---|---|---|
episteme kernel {verify,update} | framework | Kernel integrity manifest — verify working tree against kernel/MANIFEST.sha256, or regenerate it. |
episteme chain {verify,reset,upgrade} | framework | Pillar 2 hash-chain operations over the framework's synthesized protocols. |
episteme guide [--deferred] | framework | List synthesized framework protocols and (with --deferred) open deferred discoveries. |
episteme inject | framework | Deploy cognitive enforcement to any directory in one command. |
episteme log | framework | Show audit log of reasoning-surface checks (passed / advisory / blocked). |
episteme review | framework | Review sampled Layer 8 spot-check entries (operator verdicts). |
episteme evolve {run,report,promote,rollback,friction} | framework | Run and manage gated self-evolution episodes. |
episteme bridge {am,substrate} | framework | Bridge external runtime event logs into memory-contract envelopes. |
episteme private-skill | framework | Enable or disable a private experimental skill. |
Quick maps
Starting from scratch on a new machine:
git clone <episteme> ~/episteme
episteme init # seed global memory from examples
episteme setup # profile + cognition wizard
episteme sync # propagate to ~/.claude / ~/.hermes
episteme doctor # verify wiring
Starting a new project:
cd ~/my-new-project
episteme bootstrap . # scaffold docs + settings
# edit docs/REQUIREMENTS.md and docs/PLAN.md
episteme start claude # launch agent surface
After editing your operator profile:
# edit ~/episteme/core/memory/global/operator_profile.md
episteme sync # propagate changes
Scope rule of thumb. If a command takes a [path] argument, it's project-scoped. If it doesn't, it's almost certainly global.