Knowledge as Code

A small reference generator for serving evidence-backed, typed knowledge to people and agents from plain-text source files.

Canonical project home: https://knowledge-as-code.com/

The Implementation

Knowledge-as-Code keeps typed reference data in version-controlled plain text, validates its relationships and review dates, and generates consistent human- and machine-readable outputs from one source.

Six Properties

Property	What It Means	In This Project
Plain text canonical	Knowledge in human-readable, version-controlled files. No database, no CMS, no vendor lock-in.	Markdown and YAML files in `data/`
Drift-aware	Deterministic checks flag old review dates and incomplete relationships for human review.	Staleness, mapping, and completeness checks
Multi-output	One source produces consistent human- and machine-readable formats.	HTML site, JSON API, SEO pages, sitemap, `llms.txt`, and a separate local MCP runtime
Zero-dependency	Core tooling uses platform built-ins rather than a package dependency tree.	Node.js built-ins only
Git-native	Git is the collaboration layer, audit trail, and deployment trigger.	Issues, PRs, CI/CD, version history — all through Git
Ontology-driven	A vendor-neutral taxonomy maps to domain-specific implementations.	3 Requirements across 2 Frameworks

The Ontology

Every Knowledge-as-Code project has four entity roles:

Organization → Framework → Provision → Requirement

Role	This Project	What It Is
Primary	Requirement	Stable anchors that persist when sources change
Container	Framework	Grouping entities that contain provisions
Authority	Organization	Source entities that produce containers
Secondary	Provision	Mapping entities connecting containers to primaries

Primaries are stable; containers are unstable. When a framework is amended, its provisions change, but the underlying requirements persist.

Standing on Shoulders

This repository is one practical implementation of established ideas, not a claim to have originated the broader category.

File over App — Steph Ango on durable digital artifacts as files you control
Docs as Code — Managing documentation with version control, pull requests, CI, plain text formats. Write the Docs community
Living Documentation — Cyrille Martraire on documentation that evolves with the system it describes
GitOps — Git as single source of truth with automated drift detection. Coined by Weaveworks (2017)
Anti-entropy — Distributed systems pattern for detecting and repairing state divergence (Dynamo, Cassandra)

Live Examples

AI Tool Watch

AI model capabilities across 12 products

Every AI Law

Global AI regulatory landscape

Virtual Classroom Watch

Virtual classroom and meeting standards

Ecosystem

Knowledge as Code — The maintained reference generator and canonical project home
Graceful Boundaries — How services communicate operational limits to humans and agents
Siteline — AI agent readiness scanner for websites

Get Started

git clone https://github.com/snapsynapse/knowledge-as-code-template.git
cd knowledge-as-code-template
node scripts/init.js ../my-knowledge-base
cd ../my-knowledge-base
node scripts/build.js
open docs/index.html

Template: github.com/snapsynapse/knowledge-as-code-template

Knowledge as Code is a PAICE.work project.