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carry init

Create a new Dialog DB repository.

Synopsis

carry init [LABEL] [--repo <PATH>]

Description

Creates a .carry/ directory. If --repo is not specified, the repository is created in the current working directory.

The command:

  1. Generates an Ed25519 keypair for the repository.
  2. Creates .carry/<did>/ with a credentials file and claims/ directory.
  3. Bootstraps the builtin concepts (attribute, concept, bookmark) so they can be used immediately.
  4. If LABEL is provided, asserts it as the repository label.

If a .carry/ directory already exists at the target location, the command reports its status.

Arguments

ArgumentDescription
LABELOptional label for the repository (e.g., “my-project”)

Options

FlagDescription
--repo <PATH>Directory where .carry/ should be created. Defaults to $PWD.

Examples

# Initialize in current directory
carry init

# Initialize with a label
carry init my-project

# Initialize in a specific directory
carry init --repo /path/to/project

# Initialize with label in specific directory
carry init my-project --repo /path/to/project

Output

Initialized my-project repository in /path/to/.carry/did:key:zAbc123

Notes

  • Running carry init inside a directory that is already within an existing repository creates a nested repository. Carry does not detect or warn about nesting.
  • The DID (e.g., did:key:zAbc123) is derived from the generated public key and is globally unique.
  • The private key at .carry/<did>/credentials is stored with mode 0600 (owner read/write only).