Kilns

A kiln is a directory of markdown files that Crucible treats as a connected knowledge base. Think of it like an Obsidian vault — a living collection of notes that grows and evolves over time. As you write, link, and converse, the knowledge graph deepens naturally. That growing graph is what gives your agents their memory.

What Makes a Kiln

A kiln is simply a folder containing:

• Markdown files (.md) - Your notes, ideas, documents
• Config.toml (optional) - Configuration for this kiln
• Any folder structure - Organize however you like

That’s it. No special database, no proprietary format, no lock-in.

Kiln vs Folder

Any folder with markdown files can be a kiln. The difference is what you do with it:

Folder	Kiln
Just files	Connected knowledge
Text search only	Semantic search
Manual organization	Wikilink-based graph
Static content	AI-assisted discovery

When you start using Crucible in a folder, it becomes a kiln — a living knowledge base that grows with you. As you add notes and conversations, Precognition draws on the whole graph to give your agents context.

Kiln vs Vault

If you’re coming from Obsidian, a kiln is similar to a vault:

• Both are folders of markdown
• Both use [[wikilinks]]
• Both have configuration files

The difference is philosophy:

• Obsidian vaults require Obsidian to get full value
• Kilns work with any text editor - Crucible just adds capabilities

Your files are always portable. You can open a kiln in Obsidian, VS Code, or plain Vim.

Creating a Kiln

Any folder becomes a kiln when you use Crucible:

# Process files and start exploring
cru

# Or explicitly initialize
cru init

See Your First Kiln for detailed setup.

See Also

• Plaintext First - Why markdown matters
• The Knowledge Graph - How kilns become connected
• Getting Started - Your first steps with Crucible