Settings

A configured repository has a .vault/ folder at its root:

.vault/
  settings.jsonc      every setting, in one file
  instructions.md     what the assistant should know about this repository
  types/<name>.md     one file per note type
  tools/<name>.md     one file per special tool

Settings are data, prose is Markdown. The server alone reads .vault/: no tool reads or writes it, and the admin keeps it by hand, like any other file in the repository.

`settings.jsonc`

JSON with comments. Acme’s projects repository:

{
  "format": 3,
  "role": "root",
  "name": "projects",
  "prompts": [],
  "resources": [],

  // One line for every reader's tool list, at most 120 characters.
  "summary": "One folder per project: plans, decisions and meeting notes.",

  // The folders that belong to the vault; "/" opens the whole repository.
  "folders": ["active/", "archive/"],

  // Where a note names its type, and where it sums itself up.
  "typeField": "type",
  "summaryField": "summary",

  // A note without a type: a "hint" or an "error".
  "untyped": "hint"
}

Key	What it says	Default
`format`, `role`, `name`	The format (3), the repository’s role (`root`), and its name.	required
`prompts`, `resources`	MCP prompts and resources the repository offers.	required, may be empty
`summary`	The repository’s one line in the tool list. Only the admin writes it: it reaches every reader.	none
`folders`	The folders the tools work in, relative to the root.	`["/"]`
`typeField`	The frontmatter field that holds a note’s type.	`type`
`summaryField`	The frontmatter field that sums a note or a folder up.	`summary`
`untyped`	How a note without a type is reported: `hint` or `error`.	`hint`
`frontmatterSchema`	How a note that breaks its type’s schema is reported: `hint` or `warning`.	`hint`
`exempt`	Paths no type rule applies to, such as templates.	`[]`
`defaultType`	The type `create_note` uses when a call names none.	none
`order`	The order of the repository’s special tools in the list.	by name
`overview`	Which frontmatter field is a note’s topic, and which fields `list_notes` shows with each note.	none

`instructions.md`

Plain Markdown, sent with initialize to everyone who can read the repository, under a heading with its name. Keep it short: every reader’s assistant gets it at the start of every chat. Acme’s projects says:

Every decision names who made it and when.

Major Vault is made by majortom.ai. The tool pages are generated from the code of this build. For agents: llms.txt, llms-full.txt.