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Create a Capsule

Capsules are containers for related observations. Create one for each project, feature, or context.

Create a Capsule​

kindling capsule create my-project

Output:

Created capsule: my-project
Location: ~/.kindling/capsules/my-project.db

Naming Conventions​

Good capsule names:

  • payment-integration — feature-focused
  • auth-refactor — task-focused
  • q1-2024-learnings — time-boxed
  • debugging-session-001 — session-focused

Avoid:

  • Spaces (use hyphens)
  • Special characters
  • Very long names

Set as Default​

Make a capsule the default for observations:

kindling capsule use my-project

Now kindling observe uses this capsule automatically:

kindling observe "Something I learned"
# Stored in: my-project

List Capsules​

kindling capsule list

Output:

CAPSULE              OBSERVATIONS  CREATED           LAST UPDATED
default              3             2024-01-10        2024-01-10
my-project           0             2024-01-15        2024-01-15
payment-integration  42            2024-01-12        2024-01-15  (active)

The (active) marker shows the current default.

View Capsule Details​

kindling capsule show payment-integration

Output:

Capsule: payment-integration

Location: ~/.kindling/capsules/payment-integration.db
Created: 2024-01-12T09:00:00Z
Last updated: 2024-01-15T16:30:00Z
Observations: 42

Top tags:
  api (15)
  stripe (12)
  error-handling (8)

Recent observations:
  [2024-01-15] Stripe webhook signature must use raw body
  [2024-01-15] Idempotency key required for payment intents
  [2024-01-14] Test mode keys start with sk_test_

Archive a Capsule​

When you're done with a project:

kindling capsule archive payment-integration

Archived capsules:

  • Remain searchable
  • Don't appear in active list
  • Can be unarchived later

Delete a Capsule​

Deletion is permanent. :::
kindling capsule delete old-project

Confirm when prompted.

Project-Local Capsules​

Create a capsule in your project directory:

cd my-project
kindling capsule create --local .

This creates .kindling/ in the project root. Useful for:

  • Team-shared observations
  • Version-controlled knowledge
  • Project-specific context

Next: Write observations →