Core Concepts
Context Nest is built on a small set of composable concepts. Understanding these gives you the full picture of how vaults work.
Architecture
┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Context Nest Vault │
│ │
│ ┌──────────┐ ┌──────────┐ ┌──────────────────────┐ │
│ │ Nodes │ │ Sources │ │ Packs │ │
│ │ (docs, │ │ (live │ │ (curated bundles │ │
│ │ refs, │ │ data │ │ with agent │ │
│ │ etc.) │ │ feeds) │ │ instructions) │ │
│ └────┬─────┘ └────┬─────┘ └──────────┬───────────┘ │
│ │ │ │ │
│ └──────────────┼───────────────────┘ │
│ │ │
│ ┌───────▼────────┐ │
│ │ Selectors │ │
│ │ tag, type, │ │
│ │ pack, status │ │
│ └───────┬────────┘ │
│ │ │
│ ┌───────▼────────┐ │
│ │ Resolver │ │
│ │ Evaluates │ │
│ │ queries, │ │
│ │ returns docs │ │
│ └───────┬────────┘ │
│ │ │
│ ┌───────▼────────┐ │
│ │ Versioning │ │
│ │ Hash chains, │ │
│ │ checkpoints │ │
│ └────────────────┘ │
└────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Key Concepts
| Concept | What it is |
|---|---|
| Vault Structure | How files and directories are organized |
| Node Types | The 8 types of documents a vault can contain |
| Frontmatter | YAML metadata that governs every document |
| Context Index | context.yaml — the machine-readable vault manifest |
| Selectors | Composable query grammar for filtering documents |
| Context Packs | Curated bundles of documents with agent instructions |
| Addressing | contextnest:// URI scheme for cross-referencing |
| Source Nodes | Documents that instruct agents to fetch live data |
| Versioning | Hash chains, keyframes, diffs, and checkpoints |
Related pages
- Context IndexThe context.yaml file is the machine-readable manifest of a Context Nest vault. It is auto-generated by the CLI and serves as the primary entry point for…
- Vault StructureA Context Nest vault is a directory containing Markdown documents, configuration, and version history.
- 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 —…
- Addressing OverviewContext Nest uses the contextnest:// URI scheme to address documents, sections, tags, and folders within a vault.
- Context Packs OverviewContext packs are curated bundles of documents with agent instructions. They let you define named collections of context that agents can request by name.