Get started

Your first five minutes

Install one binary, point your AI client at it, restart. The vault is a folder of markdown files on your machine. No account needed.

1
Install
shell
```
curl -fsSL https://context-vault.com/install.sh | bash
```
Installs a native binary to ~/.local/bin/context-vault. No Node.js needed. If the installer says that folder is not on your PATH, run the line it prints, then open a new terminal.
2
Connect your AI client
This adds Context Vault to the config of every AI client it finds on this machine; Claude Code is always included. Add --dry-run first to preview.
shell
```
context-vault setup
```
Or pick your client to see exactly what gets written:
Write the config for Claude Code only:
shell
```
context-vault setup --client claude-code
```
This adds the entry below to ~/.claude.json.
json
```
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "context-vault": {
      "command": "context-vault",
      "args": ["mcp"]
    }
  }
}
```
Restart Claude Code, then run /mcp to confirm context-vault is connected.
3
Restart your client
MCP servers are loaded at startup. Quit and reopen Claude Code, Cursor, Codex or Windsurf so it picks up the new entry. The first start downloads the search model (about 90 MB) once.
4
Check the install
shell
```
context-vault doctor
```
Prints the database path, the vault folder and engine health. You want to see engine health: OK. The vault folder defaults to ~/.vault.
5
Save something, then ask for it in a new session
In your client, say it with the words “my vault”. Claude Code has its own built-in memory, and a plain “remember this” can land there instead.
prompt
```
Save to my vault: we use SQLite for local storage because it needs no infra.
```
Open a fresh session and ask:
prompt
```
Search my vault: what database do we use, and why?
```
Your agent calls save_context and get_context. The entry is a markdown file in your vault folder you can open and edit.

Teach your agent when to save Full setup reference

Prefer a web dashboard? Use a hosted vault. Local and hosted storage are separate. Create a hosted account.

Install

Connect your AI client

Restart your client

Check the install

Save something, then ask for it in a new session