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 ~/episteme or ~/.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,recover}`	framework	Pillar 2 hash-chain operations over framework + reflective streams. `recover` covers reset / selective / migrate modes (CP-CHAIN-RECOVERY-PROTOCOL-01).
`episteme guide [--deferred]`	framework	List synthesized framework protocols and (with `--deferred`) open deferred discoveries.
`episteme history {axis,policy,protocol}`	framework	Walk Cognitive Arm A supersede-with-history streams: profile axis trajectories (Event 82), policy section changes (Event 83), synthesized-protocol supersede chains (Event 84).
`episteme cognitive-budget {--summary,--check,--record,--list,--tail}`	framework	Inspect operator approval-time observations + D11 fatigue signal (Event 88, Cognitive Arm A).
`episteme profile {show,audit,override,survey,infer,hybrid,gap}`	framework	Profile inspection + Phase 12 audit + per-project override (Event 85, CP-CONTEXT-AWARE-PROFILE-OVERRIDE-01). `audit ack <audit-id>` acknowledges a drift verdict (Event 78).
`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.