/discovery

name: open-knowledge-discovery
description: "Read when the user asks what OpenKnowledge is, wants to install it on a repository, wants to open or preview a single markdown file that is not part of an OpenKnowledge project, wants to share an OpenKnowledge project with collaborators, asks whether OpenKnowledge supports a particular capability, or asks how `ok init` / `ok cowork` / OK Desktop set up a project. Do NOT load to perform OpenKnowledge reads/writes — the runtime guidance for editing markdown inside an initialized OK project ships as a separate project-local skill installed into each detected agent's skills dir (for example `.claude/skills/open-knowledge/`) whenever `ok init` runs."
compatibility: "Any agent host — no MCP server required. Pure discovery + install guidance."
metadata:
  author: "Inkeep"
  repository: "https://github.com/inkeep/open-knowledge-skills"

OpenKnowledge — what it is and how to install it

OpenKnowledge (OK) is a markdown-CRDT collaboration platform. It turns a directory of `.md` / `.mdx` files into a live, multi-writer knowledge base: agents and humans edit the same documents in real time, every change is attributed, and a browser preview renders edits as they land.

This skill covers **discovery, install, and opening OpenKnowledge files** — including single files that are not part of a project (see *Opening a file outside a project* below). It does **not** carry the in-project read/write runtime contract (the STOP rules for native file tools, the grounding and linking rules, the MCP routing table) — that ships separately as the project-local skill installed by `ok init` (see *Working inside a project* below).

> **CLI name.** Commands below use Stable's `ok` (`open-knowledge`). OpenKnowledge > Beta's terminal commands are `ok-beta` (`open-knowledge-beta`), with `~/.ok-beta/` > in place of `~/.ok/`.

Install OpenKnowledge on a repository

Run `ok init` from the repository root:

npx @inkeep/open-knowledge init
# or, after a global install:
npm install -g @inkeep/open-knowledge
ok init

`ok init` is the one setup verb. It:

• scaffolds a `.ok/` directory (project config — `content.dir` defaults to `.`);
• wires the OpenKnowledge MCP server into the coding agents it detects on this

machine — skip with `--no-mcp`;

• installs the **project-local runtime skill** into each detected agent's

skills dir (`<agent-dir>/skills/open-knowledge/`) so agents working in this repo get the full read/write contract. OK only writes into agent directories that already exist — it never creates one, so nothing appears for agents you don't use, and `ok init` says so when it finds none;

• ensures the project has a `.git/`.

Re-run `ok init` any time to refresh wiring and skills to the installed CLI version.

Share an OpenKnowledge project with collaborators

An OK project travels with its repository. To share one:

1. Commit the `.ok/` directory and whichever project-local `<agent-dir>/skills/open-knowledge/` directories `ok init` created, along with your `.md` content. 2. Collaborators clone the repo and run `ok init` once — that registers the MCP server on their machine and refreshes the project skill. 3. Start the editor + preview with `ok start` (or open the project in OK Desktop).

Collaboration is real-time once two writers have the project open against the same content directory.

`ok cowork` — Claude Chat & Cowork

`ok init`'s editor wiring does not reach Claude Chat or Cowork — those read a separate Skills list inside the Claude Desktop App. Run `ok cowork` to build `openknowledge.skill` and open Claude Desktop so the user can upload it (Customize → Skills → + → Create skill → Upload skill).

OK Desktop

OK Desktop is the standalone macOS app (`@inkeep/open-knowledge-desktop`). It bundles its own CLI, opens a project as an editor + preview window, and keeps the project's MCP wiring and skills current on every launch. Download DMGs from the releases page.

Opening a file outside a project

OpenKnowledge can open a single markdown file that is **not** part of an OK project — a loose `.md` / `.mdx`, **or a file that lives inside a regular repo/folder which was never `ok init`'d**. It opens in a throwaway session (a temp project in the OS temp dir — your repo is never touched, no `.ok/` is written into it) with the same live preview you get inside a project.

**Never run `ok init` just to view or open a file.** `ok init` turns a repo into a shared OpenKnowledge project; it is not a prerequisite for opening one file. Opening a file needs no project, no `.ok/`, and no server already running — each path below boots the session itself.

When asked to open or preview such a file, **decide by the viewing surface you actually have** — check the tool, not the host name. Only open a browser when you genuinely have one; never pop a browser tab on a host that has none.

• **You have an in-app / built-in browser** (Claude Code Desktop's Browser pane, Cursor, Codex, and similar) — this

is the default: call the **`preview_url` MCP tool** with `file` set to the absolute path (it finds, or boots on demand, the session and returns a full `url`), then **immediately open that `url` in your in-app browser**. "Open it" means navigate your browser — don't just print the URL and stop. This is also the only way to view it in a browser when the OK Desktop app is installed (`ok open` prefers the Desktop app). Get the URL from `preview_url` only — never hunt for it via `ok ps` / `ok status` / `ok start` or a guessed port.

• **No in-app browser** (a pure-stdio CLI) — run

`ok open /abs/path/to/file.md`: it opens the Desktop app when installed, else a browser, and boots the session itself. Don't force a browser tab the user didn't ask for; `ok open` is the right default here. If `ok` isn't on PATH, `npx @inkeep/open-knowledge open /abs/path/to/file.md` does the same.

If the OK MCP server isn't wired into this host there is