Install

Prerequisites

• Node.js ≥ 24 — check with node -v. Use nvm or fnm to upgrade.
• Git installed and on your PATH

CLI

The CLI alone is enough for most workflows:

npx @inkeep/open-knowledge --version

npx pulls the latest published CLI on demand. To pin a version or work offline, install globally:

npm install -g @inkeep/open-knowledge

Both open-knowledge and ok work as commands.

macOS desktop app

If you'd prefer a native app, install Open Knowledge from the macOS DMG. The first launch detects every MCP-capable editor on your machine and offers to wire them up — see Claude Desktop for the full first-launch flow.

The DMG bundles its own CLI; put it on your PATH from File → Install Command-Line Tools… if you want ok available everywhere.

Opening a folder

When you click Pick Existing Project (or open from Recents, drag-and-drop, or an openknowledge:// deep link), a consent dialog confirms scaffolding details before writing anything. You choose:

• Which directory to use as the content root (Browse… opens a folder picker constrained to the project)
• Extra .okignore patterns. Files that match these patterns are ignored by Open Knowledge
• Which AI tools to configure for this project

Picking a folder via the dialog scaffolds .ok/; if you don't want OK in this folder, click Cancel and the folder is left untouched. Folders you create through Start Fresh apply defaults silently.

When the picked folder lives inside a git repository, .ok/ lands at the git working-tree root with content.dir scoped to the relative sub-path.

Update channels

The desktop app ships on two channels: Stable (default, recommended) and Beta (opt-in early access). Both auto-update silently in the background and install on next quit. Beta builds get fixes and new desktop features earlier in exchange for less soak time.

To opt in to Beta, open Settings → User → Channel → Beta. Switching back to Stable shows a confirmation prompt before downgrading, since some recent settings or data shapes may not round-trip cleanly to an older version. The window header shows a small BETA badge while you're on the beta channel.

What's next

Run ok init in a project to scaffold .ok/ and register MCP wiring for your editors. The full walkthrough is in the Quickstart.