Indexbind

Use when an agent needs to install or use indexbind from Node, browsers, Web Workers, or Cloudflare Workers. This skill helps choose the right package, CLI, artifact, and entrypoint, and points to the live markdown docs for details.

Use this skill when the task is about using indexbind from a host application or environment.

Usage examples

• "Use indexbind to add local search to a docs folder."
• "Help me choose between indexbind, indexbind/web, and indexbind/cloudflare."
• "Show me how to build a SQLite artifact for Node and a bundle for Workers."

Install

Install the package:

npm install indexbind

Optional global install when the goal is using indexbind as a shell command from arbitrary directories:

npm install -g indexbind

Then use either:

• npx indexbind ... for local installs and per-project workflows
• indexbind ... after a global install
• import ... from 'indexbind' or indexbind/build for programmatic usage

Platform notes:

• native prebuilds exist for macOS arm64, macOS x64, and Linux x64 (glibc)
• Windows usage should go through WSL

Install and packaging docs:

• https://indexbind.jolestar.workers.dev/guides/getting-started.md
• https://indexbind.jolestar.workers.dev/reference/packaging.md

Choose the right interface

• Index a local docs folder or local knowledge-base directory from the shell: use npx indexbind ...
• Local Node querying over a built SQLite artifact: use indexbind
• Programmatic build, incremental cache update, inspect, or benchmark: use indexbind/build
• Mixed local knowledge bases that need host-defined document classification, metadata, or directory weighting: normalize documents in the host first, then pass them to indexbind/build
• A mostly-default local docs or knowledge-base directory that only needs light host policy: use indexbind.build.js and indexbind.search.js beside that directory’s .indexbind/
• Browser or standard worker querying over a canonical bundle: use indexbind/web
• Cloudflare Worker querying: use indexbind/cloudflare
• Shell-driven build/update/export/inspect flows: use npx indexbind ...

API docs:

• https://indexbind.jolestar.workers.dev/reference/api.md
• https://indexbind.jolestar.workers.dev/reference/cli.md

Choose the artifact

• Local directory indexing for later Node queries: build a native SQLite artifact
• Local directory indexing for browser or worker delivery: build a canonical bundle
• Node runtime: use a native SQLite artifact
• Browser, Web Worker, Cloudflare Worker: use a canonical bundle
• Repeated rebuilds over a stable corpus: use the build cache, then export fresh artifacts or bundles

Concepts:

• https://indexbind.jolestar.workers.dev/concepts/runtime-model.md
• https://indexbind.jolestar.workers.dev/concepts/canonical-bundles.md

Common commands

Typical CLI commands:

• npx indexbind build ./docs
• npx indexbind build-bundle ./docs
• npx indexbind update-cache ./docs --git-diff
• npx indexbind build [input-dir] [output-file] [--backend <hashing|model-id>]
• npx indexbind build-bundle [input-dir] [output-dir] [--backend <hashing|model-id>]
• npx indexbind update-cache [input-dir] [cache-file] [--git-diff] [--git-base <rev>] [--backend <hashing|model-id>]
• npx indexbind export-artifact <output-file> [--cache-file <path>]
• npx indexbind export-bundle <output-dir> [--cache-file <path>]
• npx indexbind inspect <artifact-file>
• npx indexbind search <artifact-file> <query>
• npx indexbind benchmark <artifact-file> <queries-json>

Use indexbind/build instead when the host already has documents in memory or wants tighter control from code.

Index-scoped conventions

When one indexed root only needs a small amount of host-specific behavior, place convention files beside that root:

docs/
  indexbind.build.js
  indexbind.search.js
  .indexbind/

Use indexbind.build.js when the default directory scanner is already correct and you only need to:

• skip a few files from indexing
• derive canonicalUrl
• inject metadata such as is_default_searchable, source_root, content_kind, or directory_weight
• normalize title or summary

Use indexbind.search.js when CLI or Node search should automatically apply:

• a default search profile
• a metadata filter
• score adjustment defaults
• lightweight query rewrite or alias expansion

These convention files are index-scoped, not repo-global:

• if you index ./docs, the files live in ./docs/
• they affect only that indexed root
• there is no repo-root fallback

Common APIs

Use these APIs when the host already has documents or wants tighter control:

• openIndex(...) from indexbind
• buildFromDirectory(...) from indexbind/build
• buildCanonicalBundle(...) from indexbind/build
• buildCanonicalBundleFromDirectory(...) from indexbind/build
• updateBuildCache(...) from indexbind/build
• updateBuildCacheFromDirectory(...) from indexbind/build
• exportArtifactFromBuildCache(...) from indexbind/build
• exportCanonicalBundleFromBuildCache(...) from indexbind/build
• inspectArtifact(...) from indexbind/build
• benchmarkArtifact(...) from indexbind/build
• openWebIndex(...) from indexbind/web
• openWebIndex(...) from indexbind/cloudflare

Docs:

• https://indexbind.jolestar.workers.dev/reference/api.md
• https://indexbind.jolestar.workers.dev/guides/adoption-examples.md
• https://indexbind.jolestar.workers.dev/reference/cli.md

Cloudflare rule

Inside Cloudflare Workers:

• prefer indexbind/cloudflare
• if bundle files are not directly exposed as public URLs, pass a custom fetch to openWebIndex(...)
• use the host asset loader such as ASSETS.fetch(...) rather than monkey-patching global fetch

Docs:

• https://indexbind.jolestar.workers.dev/guides/web-and-cloudflare.md
• https://indexbind.jolestar.workers.dev/reference/api.md

Read in this order when unsure

1. https://indexbind.jolestar.workers.dev/guides/getting-started.md
2. https://indexbind.jolestar.workers.dev/reference/api.md
3. https://indexbind.jolestar.workers.dev/reference/cli.md
4. https://indexbind.jolestar.workers.dev/guides/web-and-cloudflare.md