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Install

The agent-first contract for Collections — intent search, bounded active-only reads, --view full, and archive/restore/purge as separate lifecycle operations — needs @driftless-sh/cli ≥ 0.27.9. Run driftless --version to verify; reinstall with the command above to upgrade.
The usage command and commercial-intelligence allowance contract require @driftless-sh/cli ≥ 0.28.0.

Authenticate

Run driftless login to open your browser to the Driftless dashboard, where you can copy your API key:
For non-interactive environments (e.g., CI), pass the key directly:

Install the agent skill

Install Driftless context instructions so coding agents automatically retrieve topics before editing:
This writes AGENTS.md and CLAUDE.md into your repo. Agents will see topic retrieval instructions every session.

Create your first topic

Driftless starts with topics: durable engineering memory anchored to the files and workflows where it matters.
Nothing concrete to record yet? Skip it. Work first and persist what you learn. A generic placeholder topic documents nothing and rots on day one. Enrich with structured context:
Connect topics with typed relations:
Anchor to file paths for drift tracking:
The CLI validates each pattern against your local checkout at write time. A pattern that matches zero files is blocked; one that matches over 100 files gets an over-broad warning.
Set DRIFTLESS_API_KEY for non-interactive environments. Set DRIFTLESS_API_URL only when targeting staging or a local API.

Config File

The CLI stores its state in ~/.driftless/config.json:

Command reference

Global flags