Getting Started

Welcome to Thalo! This guide will help you get up and running with your first knowledge base.

Installation

Thalo is distributed as a CLI tool. Install it globally using your preferred package manager:

# Using pnpm (recommended)
pnpm add -g @rejot-dev/thalo-cli

# Using npm
npm install -g @rejot-dev/thalo-cli

# Using yarn
yarn global add @rejot-dev/thalo-cli

Verify the installation:

thalo --version

Initialize Your Knowledge Base

Create a new directory for your knowledge base and initialize it:

mkdir my-knowledge
cd my-knowledge
thalo init

This creates:

• entities.thalo - Entity schema definitions
• entries.thalo - Your knowledge entries
• syntheses.thalo - Query definitions for synthesizing knowledge

Your First Entry

Open entries.thalo and add your first entry:

2026-01-08T14:30Z create opinion "Plain text is powerful" ^first-opinion #pkm
  confidence: "high"

  # Claim
  Plain text formats are the most durable and flexible way to store knowledge.

  # Reasoning
  - Works with any tool
  - Version control friendly
  - Human and machine readable

Validate Your Entries

Check your entries against the schema:

thalo check

This validates:

• Syntax correctness
• Required metadata fields
• Entity type definitions
• Link references

Next Steps

• Learn about Thalo syntax
• Explore entity definitions
• Check out the CLI reference
• See examples

Editor Support

For the best experience, install the VSCode extension:

1. Open VSCode
2. Go to Extensions (Cmd/Ctrl + Shift + X)
3. Search for "Thalo"
4. Install the official extension

The extension provides:

• Syntax highlighting
• Autocomplete
• Diagnostics
• Go-to-definition for links

What's Next?

Now that you have Thalo set up, start capturing your knowledge! The language is designed to be simple enough to jot down thoughts quickly, while being structured enough to query and synthesize later.

Your knowledge base grows with you—start simple and add structure as you need it.