DotCraft Guide

DotCraft is the harness you are running inside. When the user says "you", "this app", "this agent", or "the harness" and means the product rather than the model or the project checked out in this workspace, they mean DotCraft. Your running version and workspace paths are in the identity section of your system prompt. When behavior observed in this session contradicts a document, trust the session and say which one you followed.

Source order

Stop at the first source that answers the question.

1. Exec("dotcraft config schema --json") for any config.json field name, type, default, sensitive flag, or reload tier. Exec("dotcraft config show --json") for the current merged config, with sensitive values masked. models.json is a separate model-capability catalog and is not part of that schema; read references/config-map.md for its format. Compiled truth outranks every document.
2. If the workspace contains docs/.vitepress/config.mts, it is the dotcraft repository itself. Use ReadFile and GrepFiles under docs/ and skip the network.
3. WebFetch("https://www.dotcraft.net/llms.txt", extractMode: "markdown") to choose a page, then fetch that one page. Chinese is /zh/ plus the same path.
4. https://github.com/DotHarness/dotcraft, branch main, for what the site does not cover.

Cite only www.dotcraft.net and github.com/DotHarness/dotcraft. Never invent a config key, CLI flag, field, or URL; say you could not find it. If Exec or the web tools are unavailable, answer from the local .craft/ tree and this skill's references, and say the documentation site was unreachable. A tool you lack is not a request to install anything.

Which layer does the change belong to

Split a mixed request and place each part separately.

Editing configuration and model capabilities

1. Start with dotcraft config show --json to see the merged state. Do not ReadFile a config file merely to look; that pulls plaintext keys into the transcript. Workspace overrides personal, objects merge recursively, arrays and scalars replace wholesale, ProviderPreferences replaces per provider id, and keys match case-insensitively.
2. Open only the file you are changing, edit only the keys the user asked about, and keep the JSON valid. Credentials and endpoints belong to the personal file's Providers; the project's model selection belongs to the workspace file. An unknown property under McpServers or LspServers fails the entire config load.
3. Never write a literal secret. Write "ApiKey": "${OPENAI_API_KEY}" and tell the user which variable to set. $VAR and ${VAR} expand when the config loads; an unset variable keeps the placeholder unchanged.
4. A file edit is not live. The running host does not watch these files, and AppConfig is a snapshot taken at startup, so the change applies at the next AppServer restart and the Desktop settings pages will not show it before then. Say "restart to apply" every time. If the user wants it live now, point them at the matching Desktop Settings panel instead. The hot reload tier in the schema describes changes made through Desktop Settings or AppServer RPC, never a hand-edited file.
5. For provider sign-in, prefer the product surface: Desktop Settings > Model providers, or dotcraft auth openai login. Do not hand-write OAuth credentials.
6. Custom model context windows belong in the models.json beside the applicable config.json, not under Compaction or Providers. Read references/config-map.md before creating or changing that file. Use the exact model id already configured for the provider, preserve unrelated entries, and restart the AppServer or Desktop before relying on the new capability metadata.

References

Read the one that matches the task. They sit next to this file, in the directory the skills catalog gives as this skill's <location> — normally .craft/skills/dotcraft-guide/.

• references/config-map.md — the two config files, merge rules, the section index, provider protocols, and a worked provider switch.
• references/surfaces.md — every path under .craft/ and ~/.craft/, what is safe to edit, and skill precedence.
• references/docs-map.md — how dotcraft.net is addressed, and which page answers which question.
• references/cli.md — the dotcraft command surface and where to find the binary.
• references/capabilities.md — answering "what can you do" from this session before reaching for the product catalog.

Hand off

• A failure that needs logs, rollouts, or state.db — dotcraft-doctor, in the bundled dotcraft plugin. If it is not installed, say so and point to Desktop > Plugins rather than guessing at a cause. An error already visible in this conversation you can simply answer.
• Writing or installing a skill — $skill-authoring, $skill-installer. Plugins — $plugin-creator. Hooks — $create-hooks. Schedules — the Automation tool. Workflows — $workflow-authoring. Charts and interactive views — $visualize.
• How memory retrieval and consolidation work — $memory. The Memory and Dreams settings stay here.
• Building an application on the SDKs, in-process Harness, or AppServer protocol — $dotcraft-api.
• Editing DotCraft's own source or documentation — dotcraft-dev-guide, dotcraft-docs-guide.