Getting Started

From zero to repository understanding in less than a minute.

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Prerequisites

Install Rune:

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/rune-context/rune/main/install.sh | sh

Verify installation:

rune --version

Example:

Rune 0.1.0

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Initialize a Repository

Inside your project:

rune init

Rune creates:

.rune/
├── spec.md
├── architecture.md
├── conventions.md
├── graph.json
├── files/
├── features/
├── ownership/
├── sessions/
└── cache/

Nothing outside .rune/ is modified.

Running rune init multiple times is safe.

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Build Context

Generate repository understanding:

rune index

Rune analyzes:

• files
• imports
• dependencies
• functions
• classes

and produces:

.rune/files/
.rune/features/
.rune/graph.json

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Explore the Repository

Example:

rune context "Add Google OAuth"

Expected output:

{
  "related_files": [
    "auth.py",
    "user.py",
    "settings.py"
  ]
}

Agents can then load only the files they need.

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Update Context

After modifying code:

rune update

Only changed files are refreshed.

No full reindex is required.

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Validate Repository Health

Run:

rune doctor

Checks include:

• stale summaries
• broken graphs
• missing files
• inconsistent metadata

Example:

✓ graph.json is valid
✓ file summaries are up to date
✓ no missing dependencies

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Typical Workflow

Initialize once:

rune init

Index repository:

rune index

Make changes:

Edit code

Refresh context:

rune update

Ask for relevant context:

rune context "Implement password reset"

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Example

Suppose the repository contains:

app/
├── auth.py
├── user.py
├── email.py
└── jwt.py

User request:

Add password reset email.

Without Rune:

50 files
100,000 tokens

With Rune:

spec.md
auth summary
user summary
email summary
graph.json

Source code is loaded only when needed.

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Generated Artifacts

spec.md

Repository identity and philosophy.

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architecture.md

Technology stack.

Example:

Backend: FastAPI
Frontend: Next.js
Database: PostgreSQL

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conventions.md

Coding rules.

Example:

Use repository pattern.
Never use raw SQL.

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graph.json

Dependency relationships.

Example:

{
  "auth.py": [
    "user.py",
    "jwt.py"
  ]
}

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files/

Per-file summaries.

Example:

Purpose:
Authentication service

Exports:
- login()
- logout()

Dependencies:
- user.py
- jwt.py

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features/

High-level feature maps.

Example:

login.tsx
↓
auth.py
↓
user.py
↓
jwt.py

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Language Plugins

Rune core is language-agnostic.

Future plugins include:

• Python
• TypeScript
• Go
• Rust
• Java

Examples:

rune-python
rune-typescript
rune-go

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Next Steps

Learn about:

• Commands
• Repository Format
• Architecture
• Plugin System
• Roadmap

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Philosophy

Humans don't read every file.

Neither should AI.

Git stores history.

Rune stores understanding.