PromptOwl + ContextNest Docs
Contents

Frontmatter

Updated Open in ChatGPTOpen in Claude

Every Context Nest document begins with a YAML frontmatter block delimited by ---. The frontmatter contains structured metadata that the resolver, validator, and index generator use.

Required fields

Field Type Description
title string Human-readable title (1–200 characters)

Standard fields

Field Type Default Description
type string document Node type (see Node Types)
tags string[] [] Tags prefixed with # (e.g. ["#engineering", "#api"])
status string draft Lifecycle state — see Status Lifecycle
version integer 1 Current version number (auto-incremented on publish)
author string — Author identifier
description string — Brief description used by the generated index and listings
created_at ISO 8601 — Creation timestamp
updated_at ISO 8601 — Last update timestamp
derived_from string — contextnest:// URI of the source document

description

The description field is a one-line summary of the node. It is consumed by the index generator — it appears alongside the title in generated index/listing pages, so agents and humans can scan a folder without opening each node. Keep it short and specific.

Status lifecycle

status is no longer a simple draft / published toggle. It is a five-state governed lifecycle:

draft → pending_review → approved → published
                    ↘ rejected
State Meaning
draft Being authored; not yet submitted
pending_review Submitted for review; awaiting a steward's decision
approved Passed review; cleared to publish
published Live and resolvable by consumers
rejected Reviewed and sent back; not published

See Status Lifecycle for transitions, who can move a node between states, and the operations behind each transition.

Source node fields

Source nodes include an additional source block:

source:
  transport: mcp          # mcp, rest, cli, or file
  server: jira             # Server name from the config registry
  tools:                   # Tools used by this source
    - jira_get_sprint_issues
  depends_on:              # Other sources this depends on
    - contextnest://sources/project-config
  cache_ttl: 300           # Cache lifetime in seconds

source is a first-class node type, so the source: block is written, edited, and versioned through the standard governed write path like any other node. See Source Nodes for the full source frontmatter reference.

Skill node fields

skill nodes carry additional frontmatter describing the procedure and its guard-rails:

Field Type Required Description
trigger string (min length 1) yes The condition/phrase that invokes the skill
inputs array of input objects no Declared inputs the skill expects
tools_required string[] no Tools that must be available for the skill to run
output_format enum no Declared shape of the skill's output
guard_rails string[] no Constraints the skill must respect while executing 
---
title: "Escalate Incident"
type: skill
trigger: "when a P1 incident is declared"
inputs:
  - incident_id
  - severity
tools_required:
  - pagerduty_create
  - slack_send_message
guard_rails:
  - "Never page outside business hours without on-call confirmation"
---

Confirmed against the engine's skillMetaSchema: trigger is a required non-empty string; inputs is an array of input objects; tools_required and guard_rails are arrays of strings; output_format is an optional enum. A skill node is invalid without a skill block, so if trigger is omitted the engine/CLI/MCP default it from the title (e.g. "when asked to <title>").

Example

---
title: "Architecture Overview"
type: document
tags: ["#engineering", "#architecture"]
status: published
version: 4
author: "alice@example.com"
description: "High-level system architecture and key decisions"
created_at: "2026-01-15T10:00:00Z"
updated_at: "2026-03-10T14:30:00Z"
---

Related pages

  • Node TypesEvery document in a Context Nest vault has a type field in its frontmatter. The type tells agents how to interpret the content.
  • Status LifecycleEvery document in a nest carries a status that governs where it is in its life and whether retrieval can see it. ContextNest uses a five-state lifecycle —…
  • Source Nodes OverviewSource nodes are documents whose body contains instructions for fetching live data from external services. They are first-class nodes in the context graph…
  • Context Nest SpecificationThe Context Nest Specification is the canonical reference for the protocol. It defines the complete format, rules, and behavior that implementations must…
  • Core ConceptsContext Nest is built on a small set of composable concepts. Understanding these gives you the full picture of how vaults work.

Referenced by