Linked content
Cabinet can point at folders that live elsewhere on disk without copying anything. Two flavors:
- Linked directory — a plain symlink. Behaves like any folder in your cabinet.
- Linked git repo — a folder with a
.repo.yaml. Behaves the same, plus agents get repo context.
How to link a folder
Right-click any item in the sidebar → Load Knowledge → pick a folder on your machine → optionally name it → Load.
Cabinet creates a symlink inside the cabinet, so a folder at /Users/you/Development/my-repo/ shows up as ./my-repo/ in the sidebar tree. Edits stay in the original location.
For details and the .cabinet-meta schema see Guides → Load knowledge.
.cabinet-meta
Add metadata about the linked folder:
# /path/to/your/folder/.cabinet-meta
title: My Code Repo
description: Backend monorepo for acme.com.
visibility: cabinet
icon: ./logo.png
Cabinet picks it up on next scan. Title shows in the sidebar; description shows on hover.
.repo.yaml — turn a folder into a Linked Git Repo
If the linked folder is a git repo, drop a .repo.yaml at the root:
remote: github.com/you/my-repo
branch: main
description: Acme backend monorepo
language: typescript
The folder still acts like a normal cabinet folder — pages render, files are editable, agents can write into it. The difference: agents become aware of git context:
- The current branch and commit.
- Recent commit messages and authors.
- A diff for any range the agent asks about.
- Which files have uncommitted changes.
That makes a Code Reviewer agent qualitatively better — it can see what changed this week, not just what's there now.
Why linking matters
Most KB tools force you to import or copy. Cabinet works where your data already lives:
- Your code repo appears as a folder inside your cabinet — agents can read it without checkout.
- A Notes folder synced via iCloud/Dropbox can be navigated and searched from Cabinet.
- A multi-cabinet setup can share a common folder by symlinking it into both.
Where linked folders show up in the sidebar
Linked directories get a link icon. Linked git repos get an orange branch icon. Both expand and behave like normal folders — your fingers can't tell the difference.
CABINET_DATA_DIR
Cabinet looks for top-level cabinets at $CABINET_DATA_DIR (default ~/cabinets/). Set the env var to point at a different location:
export CABINET_DATA_DIR=~/Documents/cabinets
Useful if you keep cabinets on an encrypted volume or a synced folder. Agents respect the path; symlinks under it work normally.
Read on
- Guides → Load knowledge — the right-click flow in detail.
- Guides → Apps & repos — embedded apps and repos paired together.