tool-cementic

Index directories and run semantic search over documents with the cementic CLI.

Updated Jul 3, 2026
One-click install
npx skills add https://github.com/mnazaal/dotfiles --skill tool-cementic-mnazaal
Or copy as Structured Prompt for Agent▼
Please help me install this Agent Skill.
Skill: tool-cementic
Source: https://github.com/mnazaal/dotfiles/tree/main/.agents/skills/tool-cementic
Command: npx skills add https://github.com/mnazaal/dotfiles --skill tool-cementic-mnazaal

SYSTEM DOCUMENTATION & REQUIREMENTS

What problem does it solve? Finding relevant passages across large collections of PDFs, Markdown, and text files requires more than keyword matching. This Skill guides the use of cementic, a local semantic search CLI that watches directories, extracts and embeds documents into Postgres (pgvector + vectorscale), and serves versioned semantic search. ## Core Features & Use Cases - Directory indexing and watching: Run cementic start to extract, chunk, and embed documents into versioned pipeline revisions while old revisions stay searchable. - Semantic search and collection management: Query active revisions with cementic search, and promote, reindex, or remove collections and revisions. - Pipeline debugging and diagnostics: Use cementic doctor for readiness checks and pipe extract | chunk | embed together to inspect the pipeline without a database. - Use Case: Point cementic at a folder of research papers, wait for indexing to finish, then run cementic search "transformer inference" to retrieve semantically relevant passages across the whole library. ## Quick Start Ask the assistant to check cementic readiness with doctor, start Postgres if needed, then index a chosen directory into a named collection and run a semantic search query against it.

Frequently Asked Questions about tool-cementic

High-intent search queries and answers about installing and using this skill.

FAQPage Schema
How do I index a directory for semantic search with cementic?▼

Run `cementic start ~/papers --collection papers` to watch the directory and extract, chunk, and embed its documents into Postgres. Monitor per-file progress with `cementic status -c papers -v` or get machine-readable output via `cementic status --json`.

How do I search indexed documents with cementic?▼

Run `cementic search "your query"` to search the active revision of the default collection, or add `-n 5 -c name` to limit results and target specific collections. Note that search only queries a collection's active revision, which requires `cementic collection promote` first.

Why does cementic search fail with relation does not exist?▼

On a fresh Postgres with no schema yet, `status` and `search` fail with `relation "..." does not exist`, which is expected behavior. Tables are only created inside `cementic start`'s worker paths, so bootstrap by starting a watch on a chosen directory and collection.

Can cementic work when Postgres is not running?▼

Most commands require a reachable Postgres; start it via `systemctl --user start cementic-postgres` or `podman start cementic-postgres` if a container exists. No-database commands like `chunk`, `embedding status`, and `config show` still work, and `extract | chunk | embed` pipes debug the pipeline without a database.

When should I use cementic versus a bibliography tool?▼

Use cementic for full-text semantic retrieval and indexing of document collections. For BibTeX metadata, citekeys, and library maintenance, use a bibliography-focused tool instead; combine both only when a task needs full text plus citation metadata.