Go from a directory of Markdown to a checked workspace. You need Rust 1.89 or newer to install the CLI from source. Prebuilt binaries are also available on GitHub Releases.
1. Install the CLI
cargo install --locked docvera-cli
docvera --version
The Cargo package is named docvera-cli; the installed command is docvera.
2. Create a workspace
Run this from the parent directory of your new workspace:
docvera --root knowledge init
init creates a configuration, document schemas, and sample ADR, Feature and Test Plan documents. It refuses to overwrite existing files.
3. Check the documents
docvera --root knowledge check
Try renaming the ## Context heading in the generated ADR. Run the command again: a missing or unexpected section becomes a diagnostic. Restore the heading to make the workspace valid again.
For machine-readable diagnostics, including source spans:
docvera --root knowledge check --format json
4. Ask a question
docvera --root knowledge query sql \
"SELECT declared_id, type, path FROM documents ORDER BY path" \
--format json
The engine projects the current workspace in memory. No separate indexing command or database setup is required.
5. Use validation as a gate
Run docvera check from your workspace root in CI after installing the CLI. Invalid documents cause a nonzero exit status. Keep the same schemas in version control alongside the documents so a pull request reviews both the contract and its changes.
Using Node.js instead
npm install @a5i/docvera
The package root loads the native addon on supported platforms. Browser integrations must explicitly use @a5i/docvera/wasm. See Browser & WASM for the in-memory API.
Next steps
Read Document schemas to describe your own document types, or use the playground to experiment without installing anything.