Core Concepts

Hub layout

On this page

After chain init, your hub has this structure:

  • Directory~/chain-hub/
    • Directorycore/ bundled protected + catalog mirror (updated by chain init)
      • Directoryskills/ 14 protected operations skills (read-only)
        • …
    • Directoryskills/ your + installed skills (flat: skills/<slug>/SKILL.md only)
      • Directorydebug/
        • SKILL.md
    • Directoryrules/
      • global.md applies to all linked editors
    • Directoryagents/
      • …
    • Directoryworkflows/
      • …
    • Directorymemory/
      • Directoryidentity/ global memory rules (Brain → Memory)
        • …
      • Directoryworkspaces/<id>/ per-project rules after chain memory init
        • …
    • Directorylearnings/
      • Directoryqueue/ capture inbox (JSONL)
        • …
      • Directorydrafts/ reflect output + archive/
        • …
    • Directory.chain/
      • Directorydesign/ design-system profile.json per active project
        • …
    • brain.db local Library Health + usage signals (not synced)
    • skills-registry.yaml buckets, packs, github_sources

Skill tiers

Tier Location chain remove How to get it
Protected (14) core/skills/<slug>/ Blocked Every chain init
Authoring pack (9) skills/<slug>/ Allowed chain init --with-authoring or chain add
Registry / packs skills/<slug>/ Allowed chain add, chain add github:… --pack
Chain Hub Pro pack skills/, agents/, workflows/, rules/ Allowed Pro license → chain pro install-pack or hub Dashboard
Personal skills/<slug>/ Allowed chain new, manual copy

Hub paths

  • core/ Protected bundled content from the npm package; refreshed by chain init; do not treat as the place for personal authoring.
  • skills/ Personal, registry, pack, and optional authoring skills; no nested category folders under skills/.
  • rules/ , agents/ , workflows/ Hub content types with CLI chain rules, chain agents, chain workflows helpers.
  • memory/identity/ , memory/workspaces/ Durable memory rules synced to editors via chain memory sync; workspace folders appear after chain memory init in a repo.
  • .chain/design/ Design System profiles (profile.json) scoped to the active project — edited in hub #design-system.
  • brain.db Local SQLite store for Library Health skill-usage signals; machine-local — exclude from Git sync if you prefer.
  • skills-registry.yaml Tracks provenance, buckets, and GitHub pack sources for chain update and validation.

If you copy a protected slug into skills/, the hub serves your copy and hides the core entry until you delete the user-side folder.