Memory roots

Memory roots tell Kanade which local markdown folders may feed the Hermes memory index. The default path is conservative, and the first-run setup can seed likely project and vault roots. Operators can also configure roots with environment variables.

Variable	Purpose
KANADE_MEMORY_ROOTS	Comma-separated roots to index for project memory.
KANADE_DEFAULT_MEMORY_ROOTS	Startup defaults used by the onboarding store.
KANADE_DISABLE_DEFAULT_MEMORY_ROOTS=1	Disable built-in default-root guesses.
KANADE_MEMORY_DIR	Where Kanade stores its markdown memory files and index.
KANADE_VAULT_ROOTS	Local reveal allowlist for private vault folders.

Kanade only indexes directories that exist. Relative paths are ignored. The settings UI should show which roots are active and which defaults were skipped, so memory is not silently pulled from a surprising place.

Practical setup

Use one root per durable knowledge source: a project docs folder, a personal operations vault, or a shared runbook directory. Avoid pointing Kanade at broad home directories. Narrow roots make recall faster, reduce accidental context, and keep future proposals easier to review.